Hello, qingtian.
I checked the EXIF of your photos.
Photo number one is at f/22 at shutter speed of 2.0 seconds.
Photo number two is at f/18 and at shutter speed of 30 seconds.
In my opinion, there are two possibilities:
1. Diffraction. At narrow apertures of f/18 and f/22, diffraction would cause you to lose sharpness.
2. The second photo at shutter speed of 30 second would be more susceptible to shakes caused by wind blow and such, even on a tripod.
My opinion.
Yup, I think diffraction is culprit here.. If you don't really need that long a shutter speed you can afford to shoot at f/8-f/16 if you want optimum sharpness..
Just to add on, I shoot these pix by using ALL the Auto-AF...
The reason I didn't shoot using the center auto focusing system are because I am not sure where should I focus the point on...
I'm not sure does this contribute to the problems above?
Hi limwhow... Thanks for looking deep into my EXIF and evaluate the setting!
Could I check with you are the f numbers between f/8 to f/16 more suitable for landscape shooting?
Thanks for clarifying this parts as I always thought that by setting the f numbers highest will result in better in focus landscape shot.
Just to add on, I shoot these pix by using ALL the Auto-AF...
The reason I didn't shoot using the center auto focusing system are because I am not sure where should I focus the point on...
I'm not sure does this contribute to the problems above?
To avoid diffraction, i try not to cross f/16...and that's for macro photography!
Looking at your scene, where the nearest subject's at least 100m away, even f/5.6 would have sufficed
Still, for general landscape photography, i think f/11 is a nice ball-park f-number to use if you want everything to be in focus when you're using a wide-angle lens, imho
If i was capturing this, i'd manually focus the lens to infinity, then set an appropriate f-number of say.... f/5.6-f/11?
just to add on... at this distance, it won't matter which building you focused on since they're all pretty far away =o
Yes, as our good brothers Daedalus Trent and J-Chan have elaborated, keep your aperture at around the stated settings. Indeed, for that night shot, you can choose a wider aperture say at f/8 and quicken your shutter speed drastically.
For that day shot, an f/8 would improve the sharpness.
I am no expert in landscape, but I have personally tested these apertures and found the difference to be significant enough.
Check up Wikipedia on "Diffraction". Very interesting learning experience for me.
Google for terms such ad Diffraction and Hyper-focal distance.
At that distance, as long as you lock on to an object, the DoF should cover all the buildings. The water thats closer to you would be blurred anyway by the long shutter so not much point stopping down too much..
Last 2 questions, are there any suggested guideline in camera setting to avoid your pictures from getting too soft?
I guess the problems I am having in my pic seem to turn more onto human problem instead of a "lemon" body? :bsmilie: