Suggested f-step for shooting landscape

[o hey tyler]

This is good info on the F-stops.

So what do you typical shoot using larger F-stops like F12-22?

Those are both pretty small apertures. Larger f/stops are something like f/2 or f/1.4.

 

[Tailgunner]

This is good info on the F-stops.

So what do you typical shoot using larger F-stops like F12-22?

Those are both pretty small apertures. Larger f/stops are something like f/2 or f/1.4.

Yes sir, I really need to work on better explaining what it is I'm trying to say through more correct terminology. I was talking about larger F-stop numbers. Now with that said, this forced me to re-evaluate what it is I thought I knew. That's why I love photography, it's more complex than simply pointing and shooting.

 

[Centropolis]

Assuming I already have my framing decided and my camera on a tripod, I would usually start with f/11 and then "bracket" one stop both ways by changing the aperture. But I am not truly bracketing exposure but rather just let the meter do its thing in 'A' mode and change the aperture plus and minus one stop for the same picture.

But another thing to keep in mind is whether your landscape have something in the foreground that you want sharp, like blades of grass or rocks. Of course, another thing is how far the foreground is from your camera. Many criteria really....

 

[o hey tyler]

Assuming I already have my framing decided and my camera on a tripod, I would usually start with f/11 and then "bracket" one stop both ways by changing the aperture. But I am not truly bracketing exposure but rather just let the meter do its thing in 'A' mode and change the aperture plus and minus one stop for the same picture.

But another thing to keep in mind is whether your landscape have something in the foreground that you want sharp, like blades of grass or rocks. Of course, another thing is how far the foreground is from your camera. Many criteria really....

Why do you bracket exposures using aperture? Is it for HDR purposes? Your technique seems needlessly complicated.

 

[480sparky]

Assuming I already have my framing decided and my camera on a tripod, I would usually start with f/11 and then "bracket" one stop both ways by changing the aperture. But I am not truly bracketing exposure but rather just let the meter do its thing in 'A' mode and change the aperture plus and minus one stop for the same picture.

But another thing to keep in mind is whether your landscape have something in the foreground that you want sharp, like blades of grass or rocks. Of course, another thing is how far the foreground is from your camera. Many criteria really....

Why do you bracket exposures using aperture? Is it for HDR purposes? Your technique seems needlessly complicated.

It's not really bracketing if the camera is in Auto. All that accomplishes is changing the shutter speed AND aperture. A 'correct' (0EV) exposure will be created for each frame.

 

[Centropolis]

Why do you bracket exposures using aperture? Is it for HDR purposes? Your technique seems needlessly complicated.

Hi, no I am not really bracketing. It is what 480sparky said. I am just having the camera take 3 pictures with the same exposure but using different f-stops and see which of the 3 has the best sharpness results and what I want.

 

[jowensphoto]

Why do you bracket exposures using aperture? Is it for HDR purposes? Your technique seems needlessly complicated.

Hi, no I am not really bracketing. It is what 480sparky said. I am just having the camera take 3 pictures with the same exposure but using different f-stops and see which of the 3 has the best sharpness results and what I want.

That is interesting. Not a technique I'd ever thought of or seen anyone use.

 

[Centropolis]

That is interesting. Not a technique I'd ever thought of or seen anyone use.

I am sure more experienced landscape shooters will have different things that they do. Since once I have everything setup on a nice scenery, I wouldn't be just taking one or two shots and hope they turn out fine. So I would try different things and see which one comes up with the best results. Each lens have a best sharpness at certain f-stops so I try different f-stops.

Another tip is quality ND filters so that you don't have to go to f/22 or something if it's bright.

 

[480sparky]

I am sure more experienced landscape shooters will have different things that they do. Since once I have everything setup on a nice scenery, I wouldn't be just taking one or two shots and hope they turn out fine. So I would try different things and see which one comes up with the best results. Each lens have a best sharpness at certain f-stops so I try different f-stops.

Another tip is quality ND filters so that you don't have to go to f/22 or something if it's bright.

My method involves knowing what aperture the lens is sharpest at prior to shooting anything. That's the aperture I prefer to shoot at.

 

[o hey tyler]

My method involves knowing what aperture the lens is sharpest at prior to shooting anything. That's the aperture I prefer to shoot at.

^^^

 

[Centropolis]

My method involves knowing what aperture the lens is sharpest at prior to shooting anything. That's the aperture I prefer to shoot at.

That's what I would like to do. Just like I would love to test for front/back focusing on all my lenses but I am afraid of opening a can of worms.

 

[amolitor]

Possibly the point is about depth of field, though.

It makes sense to bracket apertures if you're not sure of how much depth of field you're going to get versus how much depth of field you're going to need. Yes, you can calculate it out with dofmaster.com which will give you.. an answer. And if you decide you want to print it bigger than that, or that you find the far ridgeline looks better a bit soft, then dofmaster is useless to you.

It's a bit like taking a bunch of pictures of a person. One of them will be the best one, you just don't know which one, otherwise you'd just take that one.

 

[480sparky]

My method involves knowing what aperture the lens is sharpest at prior to shooting anything. That's the aperture I prefer to shoot at.

That's what I would like to do. Just like I would love to test for front/back focusing on all my lenses but I am afraid of opening a can of worms.

Ignoring it won't make it go away. :er:

 

[Centropolis]

Possibly the point is about depth of field, though.

It makes sense to bracket apertures if you're not sure of how much depth of field you're going to get versus how much depth of field you're going to need. Yes, you can calculate it out with dofmaster.com which will give you.. an answer. And if you decide you want to print it bigger than that, or that you find the far ridgeline looks better a bit soft, then dofmaster is useless to you.

It's a bit like taking a bunch of pictures of a person. One of them will be the best one, you just don't know which one, otherwise you'd just take that one.

That is what I am thinking for landscapes for sure. I mean it also depends on what you're shooting at. If you have a leading line (like a river) that goes to the bottom of your frame and you're close to the river, even if I know the sharpest f-stop of my lens is say f/8, I might get better results with a f/11 or f/16 even. Many factors.

 

[amolitor]

Lens testing is a journey into sorrow. You do a whole lot of work and find out two things:

1) your lenses don't take very good pictures of test charts
2) now you want to spend a bunch of money