A wide-angle lens captures a wider view than would be possible without moving further back
BRIAN SAYS… Focal length is a factor, but it’s a combination of the sensor size and the focal length that determines if it’s a wide-angle lens. A 16-35mm lens is a wide on a full-frame camera, but on an APS-C the 1.6x crop makes it more of a ‘standard’ lens of 26-56mm. Wide-angle lenses have a field of view that is wider than normal human vision, and enable you to get more of a scene in the frame without moving a long way back.