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01/03/2009 09:53:24 PM · #1 |
I just read this:
Resolution
I don't know of any way to reliably make a perfect calculation of when the airy diffraction disc begins to rob acuity from edges. But I can usually visually see the break point. On my D200 it seems to be around f/13. On the D300 and D2x it is clearly f/11. Beyond f/11 and you'll likely start saying to yourself that the results don't look like you're getting the full impact of more DOF. And at certain settings, the diffraction, noise reduction, and sharpening all start to make hard edges look soft. So stick to f/11 or wider if you can.
All these things all add up, though. Put a D300 on a light tripod, set a shutter speed of 1/15 without mirror lockup and an aperture of f/22 and though you might think you should get plenty of focus depth, you instead get acuity results much less than you expected.
on Thom's review of the D300.
//www.bythom.com/nikond300review.htm
So does that mean when shooting landscapes I shouldn't be going higher than f/11 or f/13 as diffraction starts to creep in and fuzzy the DOF? When people shoot landscapes at f/22, are they ignoring diffraction?
Never heard of the Airy Disk before reading his article, very informative.
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airy_disk |
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01/03/2009 11:03:40 PM · #2 |
Isn't this really a lens-specific thing? It is really based on aperture diameter, and the sweet spot aperture range is unique to each lens. Going out to f22 is almost always too far on any lens--usually ~ 2 stops in from wide open is optimal.
There is a discussion in this recent thread |
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01/03/2009 11:28:44 PM · #3 |
Thanks I didn't see that thread.
I still wouldn't shoot landscapes at f/4-f/5.6, but f/11-f/13 sounds feasible. |
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