Ultra-wide Lens
A lens with a very wide field of view, even among wide lenses. In full-frame terms it is shorter than about 24mm, roughly 14-20mm, and this site shows it at 16mm. To frame a person at the same size you have to get very close, so what is in front looks huge, the background looks small and far away, and space stretches strongly. Unlike a fisheye, it keeps straight lines straight.
How it feels
- Grandeur
- Openness
- Exaggeration
- Distortion
- Claustrophobia
When to use it
- Fitting an entire cramped interior or a building in one frame
- Compositions with a big foreground in front of a wide landscape
- Exaggerating a very close object until it looks enormous
- Making a character feel trapped or crushed
In the movies
The Favourite 2018
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan used an ultra-wide 6mm lens and said the view was so wide that every crew member and piece of gear had to be cleared from the hall set. He described the distortion as going beyond the usual fisheye look without bending too much.
Not to be confused with
- Wide Lens
- The same family, just a difference in degree. CineBunny calls about 24mm wide and anything shorter ultra-wide.
- Fisheye
- An ultra-wide is corrected to keep straight lines straight; a fisheye deliberately lets them bend round.
- Wide Shot
- A wide shot is a shot size where the person looks small; an ultra-wide is a lens.
Prompt
ultra-wide lens
Ultra-wide 16mm lens very close to the subject. The foreground looks huge, the street behind stretches far away and the space feels exaggerated, straight lines kept straight.
Try these combinations
Ultra-wide + low angle: a foreground that looks enormous
Ultra-wide lens, low angle, a skateboarder kicking toward the camera, the board looks huge, city behind
Ultra-wide: a small figure in a vast space
Ultra-wide-angle shot of an ornate palace hall, a tiny queen walking alone, symmetrical