Landscape What f/stop should I use ?

What f/stop should I use ? · **1 Like**

SharkyCA · 10-18-2020, 06:40 AM

Not sure of your "f-stop" no exif data with this photo, great by the way, but I would recommend a Circular Polarizing Filter to cut done on some of the haze.

@RICHARD L. I took the liberty of pulling the EXIF info from your photo, it is presented in below attached screen shot!

normhead · 10-18-2020, 06:49 AM - **1 Like**

ƒ8 on APS_c, ƒ11 or FF or just go for safe with ƒ16.

ƒ22 on FF with a 5omm lens will let you manually focus to a hyperlocal setting that has everything from 6 feet to infinity in acceptable focus. Wider lenses will be ƒ16 or less with ƒ11 being optimal for sharpness and DoF.

**pres589** · 10-18-2020, 06:57 AM

I'd set the lens to f11 and set the focus ring to just a hair before infinity focus and let the camera deal with ISO & exposure. I make the assumption that most of my lenses are losing sharpness by f11 to f16 so I try to stay away from f16 if I can.

normhead · 10-18-2020, 07:03 AM

Originally posted by pres589

I'd set the lens to f11 and set the focus ring to just a hair before infinity focus and let the camera deal with ISO & exposure. I make the assumption that most of my lenses are losing sharpness by f11 to f16 so I try to stay away from f16 if I can.

Shooting with brackets, I find ƒ16 to be acceptable. It's rare a land scape really needs ultimate sharpness. But, having 15 feet between the camera and the closest thing in the image helps keep the ƒ stop down. The scene in the end determines what's best. IN the above, I'm guessing ƒ11 was optimal, but on most curves, ƒ8 would have been better if he could have used it. When in doubt, bracket. Make up your mind afterwards,

**pres589** · 10-18-2020, 07:29 AM

Agreed on all points.

**RICHARD L.** · 10-18-2020, 09:10 AM

Ha ha ! You guys are funny ! It's the other photographer at the right of the image who is pondering what f/stop to use, not me. I thoroughly tried this DFA 28-105 mm HD lens and now I always use f/11 when I can.

Best regards to all of you !

P.S. Believe it or not, the haze you are seeing in the Grand Canyon in summer is barely diluted smog from Los Angeles, 400 miles away upwind.

Last edited by RICHARD L.; 10-18-2020 at 09:16 AM.

**Riggomatic** · 10-18-2020, 09:19 AM

Didn't even see the guy in the bottom right of the image

.

normhead · 10-18-2020, 09:38 AM

Originally posted by RICHARD L.

Ha ha ! You guys are funny ! It's the other photographer at the right of the image who is pondering what f/stop to use, not me. I thoroughly tried this DFA 28-105 mm HD lens and now I always use f/11 when I can.

Best regards to all of you !

P.S. Believe it or not, the haze you are seeing in the Grand Canyon in summer is barely diluted smog from Los Angeles, 400 miles away upwind.

Now you made me feel dumb.... No Christmas present for you this year.

**RICHARD L.** · 10-18-2020, 10:27 AM

Just kidding, Norm ! I love you all !

Regards

SharkyCA · 10-18-2020, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by RICHARD L.

Ha ha ! You guys are funny ! It's the other photographer at the right of the image who is pondering what f/stop to use, not me. I thoroughly tried this DFA 28-105 mm HD lens and now I always use f/11 when I can.

Best regards to all of you !

P.S. Believe it or not, the haze you are seeing in the Grand Canyon in summer is barely diluted smog from Los Angeles, 400 miles away upwind.

Smog or Smoke from the fires?

tuco · 10-18-2020, 11:48 AM

What f-stop you'd use is a function of both the focal length and where you have the focus set to achieve enough DOF assuming shutter speed is no consideration. If there are no near objects closer than 10 meters (like your picture), you have a lot more aperture choices at 28mm that will do the job than you will at 105mm.

**RICHARD L.** · 10-18-2020, 12:11 PM - **2 Likes**

I've visited the Grand Canyon (North and South Rims) 5 times in the last 8 years and you always see the smog from Los Angeles hanging in the depths of the Grand Canyon during the summer (chemical reaction with the NOx from combustion engines because of the intense sunshine releasing Ozone). Of course the smoke coming from the wildfires just adds up to the mix.

Regards

P.S. I'm sorry if the title of my post confuses people, I just intended it to be some good-humored joke.

tuco · 10-19-2020, 09:42 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by RICHARD L.

P.S. I'm sorry if the title of my post confuses people, I just intended it to be some good-humored joke.

My GX617 camera has no focus feedback. So I really use the DOF scale on the lens to get a feel for focus placement vs focal length vs desired DOF and have had to take test shots to gain the needed experience. The question was real for me.

**pres589** · 10-19-2020, 10:03 AM

Originally posted by RICHARD L.

P.S. I'm sorry if the title of my post confuses people, I just intended it to be some good-humored joke.

Every once in a while there will be a post here, someone asking why their lens gives what they believe to be poor optical performance, and the path to improvement lies in part with stopping the lens down. I remember one that went something like a newbie shooting with a Sigma 70-300 on their crop-body digital Pentax and the subject was a wire fence shot wide open and slightly out of focus with the focused subject being a tree or some such thing in the background. "Look at the fence! It's got purple and green fringe! This lens is awful!". A tough shot for a lot of glass; the answer was better focusing found through manual focus and Live View, stopping down, and learning to live with elevated ISO settings to get the shot back into shape.

This is a long winded version of saying "this was still a good thought exercise".

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10-18-2020, 06:40 AM	#2
SharkyCA Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 806	Not sure of your "f-stop" no exif data with this photo, great by the way, but I would recommend a Circular Polarizing Filter to cut done on some of the haze. @RICHARD L. I took the liberty of pulling the EXIF info from your photo, it is presented in below attached screen shot! Attached Images Last edited by SharkyCA; 10-18-2020 at 07:06 AM. Reason: adding exif info from my screen

10-18-2020, 07:03 AM	#5
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,448	Originally posted by pres589 I'd set the lens to f11 and set the focus ring to just a hair before infinity focus and let the camera deal with ISO & exposure. I make the assumption that most of my lenses are losing sharpness by f11 to f16 so I try to stay away from f16 if I can. Shooting with brackets, I find ƒ16 to be acceptable. It's rare a land scape really needs ultimate sharpness. But, having 15 feet between the camera and the closest thing in the image helps keep the ƒ stop down. The scene in the end determines what's best. IN the above, I'm guessing ƒ11 was optimal, but on most curves, ƒ8 would have been better if he could have used it. When in doubt, bracket. Make up your mind afterwards, Last edited by normhead; 10-18-2020 at 07:32 AM.

10-18-2020, 09:19 AM	#8
Riggomatic Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Auburn, Indiana Photos: Albums Posts: 3,883	Didn't even see the guy in the bottom right of the image.

10-18-2020, 12:11 PM - 2 Likes	#13
RICHARD L. Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,565 Original Poster	I've visited the Grand Canyon (North and South Rims) 5 times in the last 8 years and you always see the smog from Los Angeles hanging in the depths of the Grand Canyon during the summer (chemical reaction with the NOx from combustion engines because of the intense sunshine releasing Ozone). Of course the smoke coming from the wildfires just adds up to the mix. Regards P.S. I'm sorry if the title of my post confuses people, I just intended it to be some good-humored joke. Last edited by RICHARD L.; 10-18-2020 at 12:40 PM.

10-18-2020, 06:49 AM - 1 Like	#3
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,448	ƒ8 on APS_c, ƒ11 or FF or just go for safe with ƒ16. ƒ22 on FF with a 5omm lens will let you manually focus to a hyperlocal setting that has everything from 6 feet to infinity in acceptable focus. Wider lenses will be ƒ16 or less with ƒ11 being optimal for sharpness and DoF.

10-18-2020, 06:57 AM	#4
pres589 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Wichita, KS Photos: Albums Posts: 4,528	I'd set the lens to f11 and set the focus ring to just a hair before infinity focus and let the camera deal with ISO & exposure. I make the assumption that most of my lenses are losing sharpness by f11 to f16 so I try to stay away from f16 if I can.

10-18-2020, 07:29 AM	#6
pres589 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Wichita, KS Photos: Albums Posts: 4,528	Agreed on all points.

10-18-2020, 09:10 AM	#7
RICHARD L. Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,565 Original Poster	Ha ha ! You guys are funny ! It's the other photographer at the right of the image who is pondering what f/stop to use, not me. I thoroughly tried this DFA 28-105 mm HD lens and now I always use f/11 when I can. Best regards to all of you ! P.S. Believe it or not, the haze you are seeing in the Grand Canyon in summer is barely diluted smog from Los Angeles, 400 miles away upwind. Last edited by RICHARD L.; 10-18-2020 at 09:16 AM.

10-18-2020, 09:38 AM	#9
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,448	Originally posted by RICHARD L. Ha ha ! You guys are funny ! It's the other photographer at the right of the image who is pondering what f/stop to use, not me. I thoroughly tried this DFA 28-105 mm HD lens and now I always use f/11 when I can. Best regards to all of you ! P.S. Believe it or not, the haze you are seeing in the Grand Canyon in summer is barely diluted smog from Los Angeles, 400 miles away upwind. Now you made me feel dumb.... No Christmas present for you this year.

10-18-2020, 10:27 AM	#10
RICHARD L. Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,565 Original Poster	Just kidding, Norm ! I love you all ! Regards

10-18-2020, 11:05 AM	#11
SharkyCA Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 806	Originally posted by RICHARD L. Ha ha ! You guys are funny ! It's the other photographer at the right of the image who is pondering what f/stop to use, not me. I thoroughly tried this DFA 28-105 mm HD lens and now I always use f/11 when I can. Best regards to all of you ! P.S. Believe it or not, the haze you are seeing in the Grand Canyon in summer is barely diluted smog from Los Angeles, 400 miles away upwind. Smog or Smoke from the fires?

10-18-2020, 11:48 AM	#12
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,019	What f-stop you'd use is a function of both the focal length and where you have the focus set to achieve enough DOF assuming shutter speed is no consideration. If there are no near objects closer than 10 meters (like your picture), you have a lot more aperture choices at 28mm that will do the job than you will at 105mm.

10-19-2020, 09:42 AM - 1 Like	#14
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,019	Originally posted by RICHARD L. P.S. I'm sorry if the title of my post confuses people, I just intended it to be some good-humored joke. My GX617 camera has no focus feedback. So I really use the DOF scale on the lens to get a feel for focus placement vs focal length vs desired DOF and have had to take test shots to gain the needed experience. The question was real for me.

10-19-2020, 10:03 AM	#15
pres589 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Wichita, KS Photos: Albums Posts: 4,528	Originally posted by RICHARD L. P.S. I'm sorry if the title of my post confuses people, I just intended it to be some good-humored joke. Every once in a while there will be a post here, someone asking why their lens gives what they believe to be poor optical performance, and the path to improvement lies in part with stopping the lens down. I remember one that went something like a newbie shooting with a Sigma 70-300 on their crop-body digital Pentax and the subject was a wire fence shot wide open and slightly out of focus with the focused subject being a tree or some such thing in the background. "Look at the fence! It's got purple and green fringe! This lens is awful!". A tough shot for a lot of glass; the answer was better focusing found through manual focus and Live View, stopping down, and learning to live with elevated ISO settings to get the shot back into shape. This is a long winded version of saying "this was still a good thought exercise".

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