[wtlwdwgn]

Excellent Civiletti! I'll have to explore that technique some.

[civiletti]

Excellent Civiletti! I'll have to explore that technique some.

Thanks. It was done with donation-ware LRenfuse, which also does natural looking HDR without tonemapping.

[TylerD]

Thanks civiletti, I googled stacking as I hadn't even heard of it before. It sounds quite complicated but I'll maybe have a go when I have the time to try it out properly. Appreciate the advice

[Na Horuk]

I like to use the DA 40mm XS, its sharp, brings you a little closer, and it doesn't take up room when you take it with you.
The reason wide angles are cherished is because you can get a really wide DoF. But you shouldn't be too far away, because then you just lose the focus of the shot. Also, beware of getting too much empty space in wide angle shots.
It is also a good idea to get a manual lens for landscapes, one with a long focus throw and useable distance scales, then use optical preview and manual focus to get a good shot.
You will also probably need a tripod and lens hood. A polarizing filter can also be useful, it darkens the sky and can cancel out reflections. Bonus points if you use zone focusing (or hyperfocal focusing) and a remote shutter trigger.

[TylerD]

Thanks Na Horuk. Is there any particular manual lens you would suggest?

[Rondec]

I understand what you mean Jon, I suppose it then depends on how much room there is for manoeuvre. And thanks very much for the illustrated explanation of using manual lens for setting hyperfocal distance .

I take on board too Jim what you say about the wider lens giving the impression of greater depth from back to front.

It really comes down to what you say John, I need to go out and see what works for me and what doesn't. I do have the kit lens and funnily enough 2 of my favourite landscape shots were taken with this . Somehow though I got it in to my head that because its a kit lens I must be able to do better with the 50-135 ( or say a 15mm). Maybe I should concentrate on my technique instead of spending money on "better" equipment

You get very different images with longer focal lengths versus wide angles. With a lens like the DA 15 limited, it is crucial to have something in the foreground that is pretty sharp. On the other hand, longer focal lengths let you pick a detail out of a landscape and focus on that.

These were taken on Tuesday of this week (posted elsewhere).

15 limited.





100 mm DFA WR macro.

[Na Horuk]

Thanks Na Horuk. Is there any particular manual lens you would suggest?

Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database
You can check out the film era lenses here. There are also third party (non-Pentax, but compatible with Pentax cameras) lens reviews. The best part is you can look at reviews and sample photos. Look at some 28mm lenses, those tend to be valued for landscape photography But the focal length will really depend on what style of photos you want. The post just above this one illustrates this.

[civiletti]

Thanks civiletti, I googled stacking as I hadn't even heard of it before. It sounds quite complicated but I'll maybe have a go when I have the time to try it out properly. Appreciate the advice

The focus stacking process with LRenfuse is not very complex. One simply switching from exposure priority used for HDR to contrast priority. The original exposures need to cover the image depth with sufficient depth of field to have everything sufficiently in focus in one of the exposures. I suggest using optimum aperture for whatever lens is used [usually F5.6-8]].

I have not tried it, but one could have sharp focus on a near point and a far point and let the image get soft in between. This would be quite unusual for an image made with a non-tilting lens.

[dmfw]

A prime lens would be the best help. Also, I assume you are using a tripod.

There is also a trick where you can shoot 3+ shots at different focus (close, middle, long) and blend them together via. Photoshop. It is not easy, but you will get more of the scene in focus.

[TylerD]

Thanks dmfw, yes I'm using a tripod.
I think what you've mentioned is the focus stacking suggested by civiletti. I'm going to give that a go.

[abacus07]

For landscapes you need to cover a broad range of focal lengths. There is no such thing as one focal length that is perfect for all shots. Sometimes you need to be wide and sometimes wide leaves a lot of empty space. I usually don't take many landscapes longer than 50mm's but I've seen some great shots from others.

Imo you'll either want to get a Tamron 17-50 zoom at a minimum or even better get the DA* 16-50. the other option is building up a set of primes but you need to cover the focal range. Your widest should definitely be the DA15 or DA21 although you could get the excellent M20f4 for about half the price (or less) of the newer ltd's. Pretty much every Pentax prime is an excellent lens (zooms are hit and miss) but I like the K's most of all. Look for a couple out of the K28f3.5 (100ish), K35f3.5 ($100ish), K50f1.4 ($100ish) or the K55f1.8 ($50ish). I think any new (to me) legacy lens will be a K although there are a few M contenders like the M20, M85, M100f2.8 or f4macro and the M300.

[jimjinw]

When I first used my K 200m F4 manual lens to take landscape shot, I actually quite liked it. Here is a picture, hand held using K 200mm, in a cloudy day. No PP

[zekewhipper]

I think the lens you have should be fine at 50mm. However, if you want to increase your DoF from the fixed point where you are standing, get a tripod and stop the lens down to within 0.5 to 1 from all the way down (like F16 or f19). Stopping the lens down to f8-f11 is only good for maximizing lens sharpness within about 100ft.. After that, trying to use the lens' aperture sweet spot is pretty much useless, as you're not going to be looking at those details typically any larger than your monitor screen or for an 8"x10".

[ramseybuckeye]

For landscapes you need to cover a broad range of focal lengths. There is no such thing as one focal length that is perfect for all shots. Sometimes you need to be wide and sometimes wide leaves a lot of empty space.

I agree with abacus. It's all technique and what you want to show. Very wide is nice for sweeping vistas, but that is not the only type of landscapes there are. I don't consider myself a landscape expert by any means, but my more satisfying landscapes are usually longer focal lengths. Several people have mentioned manual focus lenses for landscapes, which is a good idea on a tripod, especially if you have focus peaking. Here's a range of focal length examples:, note on the 300mm example is an effect that you can't get with a short focal length.

13mm


35mm


55mm


100mm


300mm

[GDRoth]

love the snow images, ramsey