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03/08/2004 04:26:47 PM · #1 |
Hi, I know for landscapes, you want to get the most DOF. But I also know that in the middle of an aperature range, is when the pictures are the sharpest. 5.6 is mid in my range. the question is, should i use 5.6 and get the sharpest results, or use 8.0 (the highest on my camera) and get that little extra bit of DOF?
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03/08/2004 04:31:07 PM · #2 |
If everything is very far away, then the DoF won't really effect it noticably.
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03/08/2004 04:44:21 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by Konador:
If everything is very far away, then the DoF won't really effect it noticably. |
...or if the lens is already focused at infinity, the only thing DOF will get you is more foreground in focus. If your not focusing on anything that doesn't fall into the lens focus range at infinity, then you won't have a problem at 5.6 or 8. Konador just needed a little help clarifying what he knew. :D |
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03/08/2004 05:57:08 PM · #4 |
DOF is affected by apperture, but as said here, in large areas or distant subjects, this is not a probleam. Sharpness... well it depends of your camera lens manufacturer. Each lens has your construction details that affects sharpness. Some lens of same manufactor and likeness types have diferent apertures were it are sharpest. You need to find your correct sharpest aperture by yourself. Some search on the net over your Zeis lens can help you. But is not truth that the most sharpest image requires a half of aperture. This is only a myth.
Other issues is the use of a hard tripod and the self timer or remote shutter release. Is incredible how blurry your image can be if you shake a bit your camera when shooting. This is an inversely proportional relation with distance of objects and the refraction your lens. When you increase the distance, less shake is need to compromise your picture.
Shortening, you will set the focus mode to infinite, to do your shoot with your aperture stoped where the best sharpness is acquired with the camera mounted over a huge tripod and using the self timer or remote control. It´s the formula to catch a good landscape.
Message edited by author 2004-03-08 17:58:53.
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03/08/2004 06:15:34 PM · #5 |
There are a couple of things to consider
1/ aperture. Like you said, there is a sweet spot for this, beyond which you get more depth of field, but with a general decrease in sharpness. This is the same for SLR lenses, where stopping down to F22 or f32 or F45 is going to give you a worse result than shooting at f11. For a prosumer camera in the f2-f8 range, f5.6 is the optimal point, but with slightly less depth of field. On the plus side, a prosumer/ small sensor camera has tons of DoF anyway so you can use f5.6 without too much problems, unless you want a sharp foreground element
The second thing to consider is where you actually focus. Loosely, the area of acceptable focus extends from a point about 1/3rd before where you focus on to about 2/3rds beyond the point you focus on. (Someone will no doubt jump up and down, waving equations around to prove that this isn't always so - but in general it is true)
There is only actually one point that is 'in focus' but you have this region (1/3rd in front and 2/3rds behind) that will be acceptably sharp. So to get the best landscape DoF, you need to focus on something that is roughly 1/3rd of the way into the depth of the scene. For any particular aperture this will give you the most possible DoF.
The term 'Hyperfocal' distance is the point at which you should focus so that you get from infinity to the closest possible point in focus. This hyperfocal point varies with aperture and establishes the closest point you can have in focus, while still having a sharp image all the way to the horizon. You can find tables and calculators to work this distance out, or you can just set your aperture to f5.6 and pre-focus on something that is roughly 1/3rd of the way into the 'depth' of the scene you want to shoot and you'll be pretty close to the right DoF.
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