landscape question from newbie ;-)

[VegasPhotoNut]

Hey Just picked up a new lens (sigma 17-50 f/2.8) and was out doing some test shots from a local hill. shooting towards the city at night i really wasnt able to get the city very sharp. Im curious is it because i was simply just so far away that the camera cannot create a sharp image at that particular focal point? Id say i was a good 7-10 miles away. this is just one of many and i didnt edit them at all just straight from LR.

shot at f/22 49sec

 

[Audible_Chocolate]

Tripod? Cable release? Or even try putting the mirror up. Nikon is called Mup mode. Less shake

Sent from my DROID BIONIC

 

[VegasPhotoNut]

Was using a tripod and a cable release. Also had image stab on from the lens. i dunno?

 

[willis_927]

I don't know from personal experience, but I have seen many people on the forum say that you should turn the IS off for these types of shots!

 

[480sparky]

49 seconds......... even with MirrorUp, a remote release, and good focusing....... even wind can cause a slight movement in the camera. As can large trucks rumbling by.

 

[Compaq]

Looks to like the focus is on the houses in front of the city. Are you sure you nailed the focus? Those houses are sharp.

 

[willis_927]

Also when you are focusing so far away, you don't need f22. When focusing that far away you could use a much larger aperature to get more light in and increase that shutter speed.

Online Depth of Field Calculator

Put it to F4 and 20000 ft, and see just how huge your depth of field would be.

 

[LightSpeed]

I wouldn't think IS would hurt anything since the cams on a tripod.
On Pentax, it senses that the cameras on a tripod and turns off stabilization automatically
In other words, there has to be movement for it to work.

When you photograph something far away, I think it's more a resolution problem than anything else.
Also more light tends to sharpen things considerably.

A 49 second bulb mode shot isn't helping matters.
Though you may not see it, vibration is still at play. You can see my theory clearly through a high power 6 inch F5 refractor with a 2.5mm Nagler eyepiece magnifying the image to unheard of proportions.
Again though, with high magnification, sensitivity increases exponentially. In other words you can see someone step onto the ground, walking, while they are behind you, while looking through the telescope.

The lens you used it not nearly that.........but my point is that the same principles are at play. But not nearly as intense.
Could this be seen in a recorded image? Quite possibly to some degree.
Even on a tripod.

Other than that I can't explain it either.
I do know that F22 isn't helping matters.

Now that I think about it, I can't figure out why you'd shoot a subject/scape , 7 miles away and use F22 and deal with possible diffraction.
But I think I see what happened.
You think that going all the way F22 will aid in sharpness for any small error in focusing.
Then having a go at a 49 second bulb shot at night.
I probably would have shot this at 5.6 - 7.1. Why? Because the lens is not at it's sharpest at F22 which only aided the debacle.

 

[Rephargotohp]

Also f/22 causes softness due to diffraction. On a crop camera don't shoot much above f/11

 

[KmH]

There is a lot of roiling atmosphere between you and downtown in that shot that will soften focus.

F/22 didn't help, like willis_927 was mentioning.

At night the ground, parking lots, streets, buildings, etc all give up a lot of the heat they gained during the day, and all that warm air is rising.

If it's overcast the heat dissipation effect is not a pronounced.

It's one of the reasons major astronomical telescopes are sited well away from cities.

 

[VegasPhotoNut]

The reason I shot at f/22 was just because while reading understanding exposure it was said that when shooting landscape just use f/22. Like I said I'm new and learning! So f/22 no Bueno when shooting a subject landscape that far away. Got it. Also, with crop camera why not shoot past f/11?

 

[LightSpeed]

There is a lot of roiling atmosphere between you and downtown in that shot that will soften focus.

F/22 didn't help, like willis_927 was mentioning.

At night the ground, parking lots, streets, buildings, etc all give up a lot of the heat they gained during the day, and all that warm air is rising.

If it's overcast the heat dissipation effect is not a pronounced.

It's one of the reasons major astronomical telescopes are sited well away from cities.

Astronomical telescopes are sited well away from cities to avoid " light pollution" more than anything else.
Doesn't have anything to do with the atmosphere. It has to do with light.
The are quite a few Astronomical telescopes that are NOT sited in the Nevada deserts. Millions.

 

[LightSpeed]

The reason I shot at f/22 was just because while reading understanding exposure it was said that when shooting landscape just use f/22. Like I said I'm new and learning! So f/22 no Bueno when shooting a subject landscape that far away. Got it. Also, with crop camera why not shoot past f/11?

Study " Depth of field " and you'll see where this is ill advised.

 

[480sparky]

Astronomical telescopes are sited well away from cities to avoid " light pollution" more than anything else.
Doesn't have anything to do with the atmosphere. It has to do with light..........

Incorrect. They're located away from cities because they don't build cities on top of mountains...... tall mountains......... where there's less atmosphere above them...... to distort the view due to atmospheric turbulence.

 

[LightSpeed]

Astronomical telescopes are sited well away from cities to avoid " light pollution" more than anything else.
Doesn't have anything to do with the atmosphere. It has to do with light..........

Incorrect. They're located away from cities because they don't build cities on top of mountains...... tall mountains......... where there's less atmosphere above them...... to distort the view due to atmospheric turbulence.

Incorrect in your defense.
Observatories are located on mountain tops.
Astronomical telescopes are everywhere. There are people in back yards doing astrophotography.
It is preferred to be on top of a mountain. Most often those into astrophotography are in their back yards.
In many instances in rural areas so as to avoid light pollution.

Without a mountain in a 500 mile radius.


No offense.


Limme go ahead and edit this.
Your point is well taken. The atmosphere does play a part and that changes on a daily basis based on " seeing" conditions.
One of the reasons why the hubble scope took such great images in outer space. It did not have to contend with " atmosphere."
There are times that the mountain top is no better than my back yard , based on weather.
To say " astronomical telescopes are located far from cities," is misleading.
It's preferable. Light pollution is the most common problem, inner city.