Didn't come out the way I wanted...

[VehementBehemoth]

What did I do wrong here? I used f/5.0 and a 10 second shutter speed. ISO was 100, yet it seemed to have come out blurrier than I expected...

 

[dhilberg]

What blurriness are you talking about? It looks fine to me. Everything seems to be in focus. Although I would probably have used f/8 instead of f/5.0.

 

[VehementBehemoth]

Well, it just didn't get the light the way I intended. :\

 

[bevin]

If it was a cloudy night the clouds could be reflecting the light from the city??? Maybe the same photo with the same setting taken on a clear night may come out as you were hoping????

Just thinking out loud. That may be a load of crap

 

[LaFoto]

For one, I think you chose too wide an aperture here. Like Dennis was saying already, F8 might have helped you get the lights as clearly defined as you wished them to be. Bevin may also be right: the air might have been too humid, you get haze, and that kind of "smears" the lights on their long way from where they start to where you and your camera were. Haze is reflective.

 

[Katier]

I think I'd have closed the shutter more than f8, pushed the shutter speed to 30s and if needs be bumped the ISO up to 200 or even 400 so I could run it at f16 or f22.

 

[bdavis]

I think it's a great shot. Like the others said, wait for a clearer night, smaller aperture, and longer shutter and you've got it.

 

[Village Idiot]

I think I'd have closed the shutter more than f8, pushed the shutter speed to 30s and if needs be bumped the ISO up to 200 or even 400 so I could run it at f16 or f22.

+1

Under certain conditions, you can get shallow DOF shots at narrower apertures than f/2.8, unlike what some people's general perception is.

An example of total DOF with a Nikon 1.5x crop APS-C sensor and 50mm lens.

Total @ 50mm f/5= 2.45'
Total @ 50mm f/8= 3.98'
Total @ 50mm f/22= 15.4'
Total @ 50mm f/22= 37.4'

Online Depth of Field Calculator

 

[SrBiscuit]

did you shoot this out a window in a building?...might expain some of the haze

 

[VehementBehemoth]

Well, I shot it outdoors. It didn't seem too hazy when I shot it. :\

But yeah, Is hot at f/22 as well with a 25 second shutter and it was just too dark... Ididn't want to bump up the ISO because I didn't want noise, but is it worth it in this situation?

 

[Katier]

noise shouldn't be an issue at 200 or 400 ( even 800 ).

I've done 30s F22 200ISO shots without any problems at all ( or apparant noise ).

 

[chris miss]

Great shot. Is that the Mormon Temple off of 495 in Kensington, MD?

 

[VehementBehemoth]

Great shot. Is that the Mormon Temple off of 495 in Kensington, MD?

Haha, nope. It's the one off of the 5 (or was it the 805) in San Diego.

 

[Steph]

+1

Under certain conditions, you can get shallow DOF shots at narrower apertures than f/2.8, unlike what some people's general perception is.

An example of total DOF with a Nikon 1.5x crop APS-C sensor and 50mm lens.

Total @ 50mm f/5= 2.45'
Total @ 50mm f/8= 3.98'
Total @ 50mm f/22= 15.4'
Total @ 50mm f/22= 37.4'

Online Depth of Field Calculator

:scratch: These numbers don't make any sense without a focusing distance. Looking at the shot from the OP, it looks like all of the subject is quite far away; meaning than an aperture like f8 should provide enough DOF.