Landscape focus?

[ahcigar1]

I have a couple of questions. I was wondering what is done in general for landscape photography and sharpness? I have the 14-24mm f/4 lens which I love because it is sharp. But it seems that I can't get the closer objects or the very distant objects in as sharp focus as I would like, even if stopped down to f/11 or higher. What do people generally do to get the whole image sharp? Do they take multiple photos of different focus points with same exposure then somehow paste together in post processing or is their something in camera that I seem to be missing? Would love some suggestions on how to fix this issue.

 

[KmH]

At about f/11 diffraction often starts softening focus - Diffraction Limited Photography: Pixel Size, Aperture and Airy Disks

The further away things are, particularly when those things are near the ground, the more moving atmosphere can cause some problems by it's moving around.

When the astronauts were on the Moon they had severe difficulty gauging distances over a few hundred feet, because there was no atmosphere to blur the distant points of interest.
What looked like a few hundred foot walk to an interesting boulder turned out to be many times that, and the boulder was a lot bigger than they initially perceived because it was so much further away than they perceived.

 

[cosmonaut]

I shoot F/22 all the time and make huge prints and they are sharp front to back. Always use a tripod, the timer or shutter release and manual focus on the closest object you want in focus. Your eye is better than any AF system so manual focus.

 

[KmH]

You don't have any Nikon lens listed in your profile.

As it is, I thinking the OP has Nikon's AF-S 12-24 mm f/4 DX lens and not the Nikon AF-S 14-24 mm f/2.8 FX lens.

 

[ahcigar1]

You don't have any Nikon lens listed in your profile.

As it is, I thinking the OP has Nikon's AF-S 12-24 mm f/4 DX lens and not the Nikon AF-S 14-24 mm f/2.8 FX lens.

Yes it is the f/4 portion sorry I always get the 12-24 andc 14-24 mixed up. And as far as having equipment listed I'm assuming in signature area, I'm not quite sure how to do.

 

[ahcigar1]

At about f/11 diffraction often starts softening focus - Diffraction Limited Photography: Pixel Size, Aperture and Airy Disks

The further away things are, particularly when those things are near the ground, the more moving atmosphere can cause some problems by it's moving around.

When the astronauts were on the Moon they had severe difficulty gauging distances over a few hundred feet, because there was no atmosphere to blur the distant points of interest.
What looked like a few hundred foot walk to an interesting boulder turned out to be many times that, and the boulder was a lot bigger than they initially perceived because it was so much further away than they perceived.

THank you for the link. I will check it out this evening when I have a bit more time.

 

[ahcigar1]

I shoot F/22 all the time and make huge prints and they are sharp front to back. Always use a tripod, the timer or shutter release and manual focus on the closest object you want in focus. Your eye is better than any AF system so manual focus.

Well not exactly sure what the issue is then because when I went out to shoot a couple months ago some landscape farm shots, used tripod and all the shots the foreground was blurry and the background was sharp. All images were shot in range from f/8-f/22 to test and all had the same issue. And if I focused mainly on foreground then had the exact opposite problem of foreground being sharp but background slightly out of focus.

 

[KmH]

My mistake. I meant cosmonaut didn't list any Nikon gear.

 

[cgipson1]

You may find this helpful: http://dofmaster.com/dofjs.html Check out hyperfocal distance!

 

[pgriz]

Try using the hyperfocal method for setting the focus point and aperture to get the sharpness you want. You can find the hyperfocal distance calculation here: Online Depth of Field Calculator. Let's say you have the Nikon D7000, with your zoom set to 24mm, and your aperture set to f/8. According to the calculator, the hyperfocal distance is 11.9 ft. If you focus the lens on an object at that distance, then everything from 6 ft. to infinity will be in focus.

Edit: Charlie types faster, but he's thinking the same thing...

 

[rokvi]

Check this out.Online Depth of Field Calculator

 

[amolitor]

Really serious landscape people use a view camera (or, I suppose, a tilt lens) to rotate the plane of focus closer to horizontal, which is a big big help in getting the whole world (which is, very roughly, laid out on a horizontal plane) in focus.

 

[cgipson1]

Check this out.Online Depth of Field Calculator

There be an Echo Echo Echo Echo in here...

 

[table1349]

If you are really serious about this you might consider a subscription here. Landscape Photography Magazine Excellent articles, tutorials etc.

Another good resource that is free.
The Luminous Landscape
Landscape photography tips and techniques

 

[rokvi]

Check this out.Online Depth of Field Calculator

There be an Echo Echo Echo Echo in here...

Argh Hate that!