[biz-engineer]

For taking landscape photographs, I soon realized that Pentax K1 does have an all Auto mode (Green mode), but no landscape mode that you automatically set the aperture value that produce all-in-focus shots. I've tried P mode, landscape mode, but it sets the aperture to f/11 for any focal length from 24mm to 70mm with the DFA24-70. A study of the hyperfocal distance values at various focal length between 24mm and 105mm (covering DFA28-105), I found out the following minimum aperture values for shooting landscapes:

24mm -> f/5
35mm -> f/7.1
50mm -> f/10
70mm -> f/14
105mm -> f/20.

My conclusion was that the DFA28-105 is definitely more suited to landscape photography because its widest aperture nicely follow its focal length, from f/3.5 down to f5.6, which is just fine even stopping it down 1 or 2 stops from wide open. Said otherwise, one could select the P, MFT mode and get the best aperture for shooting landscape at any focal length. On the other hand, the wide f/2.8 aperture of DFA24-70 would almost never serve for landscape, except for shooting night skies for example.

What's more striking is the lack of feature of the K1 to compute the best aperture for landscape based of the focal length value of set on the lens. And I'm actually wondering how Pentax users do to set their proper aperture value to be sure that all elements of a landscape will be in focus.


Having researched the forums, I did not quite find what I was looking for.


Any idea? Anyone well into landscape could share a method on how to set the right lens aperture when in the field without having to perform complicated calculations?

[microlight]

I use a free app called TrueDoF. It has a very simple interface with three slider settings: set your focal length on the left, aperture on the right, and then the centre slider for distance has a bracket for infinity and closest focus. So for example, I just set a 20mm focal length and an f8 aperture, so that when I set the distance slider to place the infinity bracket at infinity, the actual distance to be set on the lens is just a hair over six feet, with point of closest focus due to DoF being three feet. Very simple, and seems to work.


You could vary your usage in that you could set the focal length and put the infinity marker on infinity, and then vary the aperture slider until the centre scale shows the distance you want.

[SteveinSLC]

I wouldn't get too wrapped up in thinking about a preset hyperfocal length. It really probably depends on the composition of the photo and how much you have in your foreground.
When I use the K-1 for more serious landscape work, I'm almost always shooting on a tripod. So I don't really worry too much about exposure length. So I almost always shoot at fairly low ISO, and a mid-range aperture, like F11 or 13(this applies whether I'm using the 15-30 or the 28-105). Sharpness is good at those apertures, there's low distortion, and DoF is good, so I can usually get pretty much everything in fairly good focus. If you want to be extremely accurate, you're probably better off focus stacking anyway.

[mattb123]

I shoot a lot of landscapes and have that lens but for landscape I often do not worry about hyperfocal distance. I just focus on something about 1/3 of the way into the shot and stop down to f/10-13 (or more depending on subject) in Av mode and shoot. If I need more dof I'll go to f/16 or more. Diffraction might reduce sharpness a little but so does using hyperfocal and stopping down is easier.

[CNunez]

You Tube

You Tube

just about 4 mins in. great tutorial

[Mikesul]

I shoot a lot of landscapes and have that lens but for landscape I often do not worry about hyperfocal distance. I just focus on something about 1/3 of the way into the shot and stop down to f/10-13 (or more depending on subject) in Av mode and shoot. If I need more dof I'll go to f/16 or more. Diffraction might reduce sharpness a little but so does using hyperfocal and stopping down is easier.

This is much what I have always done. It seems to work well most of the time. I was surprised that biz-engineer was surprised at the absence of his feature. Does that exist on any modern camera?

[biz-engineer]

I was surprised that biz-engineer was surprised at the absence of his feature. Does that exist on any modern camera?

For Canon, Nikon, Sony, I don't know if there is a feature that sets f-stop based on lens focal length and frame content. On the Pentax K1, hyperprogram (P mode) "Landscape" or "Auto", and the all auto Green mode also somehow works. From testing and looking at camera behaviour, in "Auto" mode, if there is a subject separation from the background, the camera will use a wide aperture setting. And if there is not subject to background distance separation, the camera stops down the lens to about f/11, regardless of the lens focal length. If P-mode + Landscape is selected, the camera will stop down the lens aperture to f/11 regardless of the focal length. At 24mm FL, f/11 isn't the best, and at 70mm FL, f/11 isn't stopped down enough. Using the hyperfocal distance value table to set the camera f-stop manually in Av mode, gave sharper images than using P mode. What intrigued me was that every tool available out there , we have to enter the f-stop and it give a hyperfocal distance, and as a photographer, we would want to have it done the other way around: give a lens focal length and get a f-stop value returned by the tool. To me it looks like for old film cameras the user had to make his own evaluation to set f-stop manually, but I find it odd that the camera now equipped with a powerful processor are still not doing better than the old manual film camera regarding optimization of the f-stop setting. Or is it intentional to let the users play with M mode like it was in former times?

---------- Post added 04-08-18 at 06:48 ----------

just about 4 mins in. great tutorial

Thanks for sharing, I've watched the video, but isn't exactly what I'm looking for.

---------- Post added 04-08-18 at 06:49 ----------

I use a free app called TrueDoF.

Yep, I've installed that app on my phone.

---------- Post added 04-08-18 at 06:51 ----------

It really probably depends on the composition of the photo and how much you have in your foreground.

You are right. To some extent there is no general rule when it come to having something in the foreground, I've realized that the general rule may fail and user interpretation of the scene is necessary in order to alter camera settings for the best results.

---------- Post added 04-08-18 at 06:55 ----------

I shoot a lot of landscapes and have that lens but for landscape I often do not worry about hyperfocal distance. I just focus on something about 1/3 of the way into the shot and stop down to f/10-13 (or more depending on subject) in Av mode and shoot. If I need more dof I'll go to f/16 or more. Diffraction might reduce sharpness a little but so does using hyperfocal and stopping down is easier.

Thanks, that's a safe way of setting the f-stop. Works well on a tripod since there is not limitation of shutter speed in this case. That's what I've been doing so far, although I am not fully sure if I really mastered it, I was never fully sure if my f-stop setting was right, it was more of gut feeling approach to setting the f-stop for a landscape shot without really knowing if I could have used a better setting.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

Any idea? Anyone well into landscape could share a method on how to set the right lens aperture when in the field without having to perform complicated calculations?

It kind of sound like you want to know the sharpest setting for the scene you are about to shoot.

What I have found useful is to know the point at which the defocus blur is equal to the blur introduced by diffraction for the given dof you require.

One of the aps I like to use you input the FL, the start of your DOF and the end of your DOF and the ap calcs the point where diffraction and the defocus blur are equal. this aids in helping you to select the fstop that is a best fit for what you are shooting

One of the aps I like to use is .OptimumCS


One of the reasons why I like this method is you forego the need of setting CoC to model for DOF, why this is important to me is that for calculating CoC you need to predetermine what size your image is going to be displayed at. When you know the point at which both defocus blur and diffraction blur occur at the same level you will know that stopping down the lens will not give you anymore DOF and that extra DOF ether falls out side of the frame or the area you want to be in the DOF regardless the size of final image is going to be . Think of it as a way of future proofing your captured image so that you can capture the best resolution for however you are going to display your image.

[pschlute]

I was never fully sure if my f-stop setting was right, it was more of gut feeling approach to setting the f-stop for a landscape shot without really knowing if I could have used a better setting.

get hold of an old K, M, or A series lens which has a detailed DOF range engraved on the barrel.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

it was more of gut feeling approach to setting the f-stop for a landscape shot without really knowing if I could have used a better setting.

This is why knowing the point at which blur from diffraction and the blur from defocus are equal. This way you have an idea with how blur is captured in the image, you don't want to introduce more diffraction blur than you need to while you also don't what have what you want to fall outside of the DOF.


As for setting where to focus your lens it is really lens dependent and how the lens acted in their corner performance, the best way would be to run some test shots for the lens your are shooting and what is the best place to set your focus point.

[Rondec]

I don't use hyperfocal much on the K-1. I do on APS-C cameras with my DA 15 limited, as for whatever reason I get a lot softer corners if I use auto focus, but setting aperture to f8 and just shooting seems to work quite well. On the K-1, I tend to use aperture between f8 and f11 and then auto focus similar to what Matt does (when shooting landscape). I would say too that hyperfocal shooting is most useful in wide angles and not particularly helpful in longer lenses (as demonstrated by you list).

[MrB1]

...for landscape I often do not worry about hyperfocal distance. I just focus on something about 1/3 of the way into the shot...

I've seen that suggestion a number of times before and maybe I've never really understood what it means. E.g. Unless shooting from a high vantage point, the horizon might be about 6000 metres away. So if the focus point is around 2000 metres, wouldn't several metres of foreground sharpness be lost?

[biz-engineer]

get hold of an old K, M, or A series lens which has a detailed DOF range engraved on the barrel.

Yes, true, old manual focus lenses do have distance and aperture scale for hyperfocal focusing. Unfortunately, the only M lens I have is the SMC M50 1.7. it's fun to play with.

This is why knowing the point at which blur from diffraction and the blur from defocus are equal.

One of the aps I like to use is .OptimumCS

Thanks for the hint. Indeed OptimumCS looks like the right tool for my post. I looked at it, it's only available for iOS, not yet for Android, so I'll wait.

Doing some search on the web, I've found a small book dedicated to the topic from Harold M. Merklinger: it's here and downloadable: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact...wZqxI_qeTSJHnd


It is quite substantial document about the topic. At the end of the book there is a short summary of the method that is based on the "disk of confusion" consisting of keeping the aperture within the range of 2 to 5mm and focusing at infinity. e.g for 50mm, f-stop should be f/10 or higher. For 24mm f-stop should be f/4.8 or higher. I've tried , it kinda works. This is mostly an advantage over default camera settings when using wide angle and ulta wide angle lenses where opening up diaphragm is less and less a limitation as the FoV gets wider.

---------- Post added 04-08-18 at 13:41 ----------

I tend to use aperture between f8 and f11 and then auto focus similar to what Matt does (when shooting landscape).

In fact when using the DFA15-30 at 15mm, it is possible to shoot almost wide open and still have the whole frame in acceptable focus, with the advantage of letting more light in, or not needing a tripod.

[BROO]

The camera has a DOF preview on the on/off switch which stops the lens down to the set aperture. You can check visually.
I think you can over complicate things. Just go f8 or if in doubt f11 to be sure. I shoot in manual mode when taking landscapes.

[Mikesul]

The camera has a DOF preview on the on/off switch which stops the lens down to the set aperture. You can check visually.
I think you can over complicate things. Just go f8 or if in doubt f11 to be sure. I shoot in manual mode when taking landscapes.

Glad someone else had the same reaction.