There is definitely an art to using ultra wide lenses. Especially for all subjects which are not landscapes. But ultra wide lenses can make great images when one learns their lens of choice.
I think (as you say), a lot depends on the scene
So this is from the 35
Hanging the Line by
Adam Bonn, on Flickr
Had I used the 18, I think I could of got the visual impact a lot greater with so much more in the frame.
But I also know that I'd have given myself a veritable nightmare with the verticals and diagonals
This one is the 27
Hazy Beautiful Porto Light by
Adam Bonn, on Flickr
I'd have had no drama using the 18 here as everything is far away, but that was a 27 day
When I do use the 18 it's great if I'm far enough way, and I like it
Empty Matosinhos by
Adam Bonn, on Flickr
But for a lot of what I do... I'm in this geometrically complicated urban environment with so many different buildings that are different shapes and sizes plus its very hilly here and it just seems to punish my lack of wide usage discipline
I've got a shot I'm quite happy with, in front of a church with about 3 layers of people leaving, going into and ignoring the church, street guy heaven
But the church is on a hill and goes round a corner, and I've never got it too look right, by the time it even gets close, I'm starting to crop feet!!
And in case anyone is wondering (and probably not, this forum is full of very well informed people, plus me) the issue for me, is the field curvature inherent in a 18mm lens, it's not a problem with distortion (which is software corrected on the 18) it's just that 18 is damn wide... dont matter what equivalent FL length it is, it's a wide angle... you could put an 18 on m43 and it might give a 35(ish) FOV, but it's still an 18mm optic, one with field curvature!
Is it just me? Or am I totally hijacking this thread? Apologies