Aperture for landscape photography

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gaz_jameison

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Gary
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Hi all,

Was always under the assumption that the smallest aperture possible would get everything in the frame in sharp focus whilst taking landscape pictures, but I have since ben reading about 'diffraction' with a lot of people saying they shoot at f/8, f/11 or maybe f/16.

I understand every situation is different but I guess I just supposed you always went with the smallest aperture you could get so I was always using f/22 or something.

What are your opinions on this 'diffraction'? So far I have to say I haven't noticed any major problems with my f/22 shots, although as I didn't even know what diffraction was, maybe I just didn't know what to look out for...
 
Diffraction is a real phenomenon - however it's probably more subjective as to when it becomes a problem that you may (or may not) see in your shots.

To see if you think it's noticable for you - take a picture of a static object at the point of focus at a variety of apertures - see if you notice any differences. Do it with a couple of lenses to rule out lens characteristics.

Having said all that - in MOST cases if you open up the aperture to reduce diffraction effects and end up with things out of focus because of insufficient depth of field then that will be worse that the softness that diffraction gives.

The other reason that you'll hear the shoot at f8 argument is that most lenses tend to produce their best results at medium apertures - bit of a generalisation I know but tends to be the case more often than not.

Suppose at the end of the day it's like all things in photography - it's an awareness of the factors at play and then making the best decision based on the specific situation and what you're trying to achieve.
 
:agree:

But the simple fact is you rarely need more than the DoF that anything about f8-f11 will give you, so as shooting at f22 will soften the image slightly compared to its optimum sharpness why bother

Of course if you need a slower shutter then that's a reason, and if you have something just inches from the lens and want back-to-front sharpness that even hyperfocal focusing won't give you then maybe f22 is for you - generally though, no its not

Use the aperture that gives you the DoF you need, just sticking it on f22 or higher isn't often a good idea

Dave
 
Remember that focal length affects your depth of field.

Eg. 17mm focused at 150 feet into a landscape gives depth of field from approx 5 feet to infinity.

50mm focused at same distance DOF from approx 35 feet to infinity.

On wide angle lenses the difference in DOF from stopping right down is minimal.
 
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