How to take good landscape shot?
- Thread starter Falcon
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Lookup somewhere in the net and found the following advice:
Front-to-back sharpness is vital for most landscape pictures, so make sure you stop your lens down to f/11 or f/16 and use the depth-of-field scale on the lens barrel to check what the zone of sharp focus will be. I use the hyperfocal focusing technique to maximise depth-of-field. To do this, focus the lens on infinity then check the depth-of-field scale to see what the nearest point of sharp focus will be at the aperture set. By re-focusing the lens on this distance - known as the hyperfocal distance - depth-of-field will extend from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.
- freelance specialist Lee Frost
DUn really understand how to use the above technique for digital camera. I tried shooting landscape once but it appeared soft.
Front-to-back sharpness is vital for most landscape pictures, so make sure you stop your lens down to f/11 or f/16 and use the depth-of-field scale on the lens barrel to check what the zone of sharp focus will be. I use the hyperfocal focusing technique to maximise depth-of-field. To do this, focus the lens on infinity then check the depth-of-field scale to see what the nearest point of sharp focus will be at the aperture set. By re-focusing the lens on this distance - known as the hyperfocal distance - depth-of-field will extend from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.
- freelance specialist Lee Frost
DUn really understand how to use the above technique for digital camera. I tried shooting landscape once but it appeared soft.
I use the 1/3 rule: foreground, subject, horizon.
Would love to know if there is any other better ways.
Would love to know if there is any other better ways.
Use a sturdy tripod, it helps to a certain extent. Unlike action photography, one generally has more time to compose or wait for good lighting so using a tripod shouldn't be too much of a problem. The use of hyperfocal distance technique also helps, as you've described, though some of the AF lenses tend to have fewer DOF markers than older MF lenses. But the DOF may be calculated if you have the appropriate tables.
You might like to consider using medium format too. I personally find that medium format is quite suited for landscapes because setting up a shot takes longer time than 35mm and in doing it I have more time to think about how I want the scenery to look and other factors too. You could try getting a used Rolleicord or Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera, these generally should cost less than $600. Could even try a made-in-China Seagull TLR that goes for $200+ or less new.
andrew
You might like to consider using medium format too. I personally find that medium format is quite suited for landscapes because setting up a shot takes longer time than 35mm and in doing it I have more time to think about how I want the scenery to look and other factors too. You could try getting a used Rolleicord or Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera, these generally should cost less than $600. Could even try a made-in-China Seagull TLR that goes for $200+ or less new.
andrew
I don't see why anybody can't achieve that with 35mm gear when certain degree of discipline is being exercised.
Originally posted by Falcon
Stress... Medium format??? Any technique that can be used for prosumer digital camera.
patience? + tripod :dunno:
As for prosumer cam... the dof should be great for landscape shots...
But in singapore... what kind of landscape are you interested in that are not sharp?
Originally posted by Falcon
Stress... Medium format??? Any technique that can be used for prosumer digital camera.
Actually I was about to suggest some books that I've found useful over the years but these pertain to film photography. I'm not at all familiar with digital camera. Does the CCD or the CMOS respond in the same way as a negative film? Now that the sensor in digital cameras have reached the size of a conventional 35mm film maybe it's time for me to go into it. Interesting thought.
andrew
Originally posted by Falcon
As above. Experts in this area pls advise. I have seen landscape shots that are tack sharp while some appear rather soft. Is it caused by poor technique or the limitations of the camera.
Tks.
its the weather. clear days are not so easy to come by. oh yeah, ND grads degrade the picture quality slightly but visibly.
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