First Landscape with 40D. Advice Please

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Misty

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Got a new 40D Kit from Kerso a couple of days. Up to now I have posted shots taken with a P&S. Now I am in a different, sophisticated league trying to learn how to use this gem of a camera. I took this shot in "Auto Depth of Field" mode, hand held & used a polariser. I would appreciate advice on what manual settings e.g ISO, shutter speed, etc I could have used to make the pic. better. I live only 15 mins. from the location, so I can retake the pic. & repost. The pic. looks dull imo. I dont have ND filters & did not do any pp. Regards, Misty


IMG_0149_72ppi_.jpg
 
The picture isnt dull, but the composition is out.
You want the castle in the background to be sharp and not the scrubby stuff at the front. It chose f5. The 2nd castle was never going to be sharp at that. If you want them both sharp you'll need f16 or more.
If you shift the shot a tad down and left (lose a bit of tower and scrubby rocks then IMHO the shot is better)

IMHO the ADEP mode is about as useful as the green square. ie read the manual, a few books and never use it again.
 
Yes drop the horizon-never place the horizon in the centre always 2 thirds or 1 third if want more sky.

I wouldnt say you need as much f stop as 16 or more-many great landscapephotographers have noted that with landscape once you are focusing past infinity it will be sharp anyway-but more importantly if you wanted the castle foreground to be sharp would need to focus on something closer as dof works to a rough ratio of 2:1 so whatever you focused on should be about one third into the scene diastance wise and then the castle will be in focus and the distance.

Hope this helps
 
oldgit said:
The picture isnt dull, but the composition is out.
You want the castle in the background to be sharp and not the scrubby stuff at the front. It chose f5. The 2nd castle was never going to be sharp at that. If you want them both sharp you'll need f16 or more.
If you shift the shot a tad down and left (lose a bit of tower and scrubby rocks then IMHO the shot is better)

IMHO the ADEP mode is about as useful as the green square. ie read the manual, a few books and never use it again.
Click to expand...
Thanks Paul for your speedy reply. Will do as advised. Should I focus more on the castle as opposed to the tower & rocks. Regards, Misty
 
digitalmaniac said:
Yes drop the horizon-never place the horizon in the centre always 2 thirds or 1 third if want more sky.

I wouldnt say you need as much f stop as 16 or more-many great landscapephotographers have noted that with landscape once you are focusing past infinity it will be sharp anyway-but more importantly if you wanted the castle foreground to be sharp would need to focus on something closer as dof works to a rough ratio of 2:1 so whatever you focused on should be about one third into the scene diastance wise and then the castle will be in focus and the distance.

Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Thanks for your quick reply. Yes, your comments do help. With the P&S I was conscious of the 3rds. rule however I got carried away with trying to achieve pic. quality using the 40D more than 3rds rule. I will retake as I would like to have the castle on the right more in focus. Regards, Misty.
 
Don't get hung up on the rule of thirds. Why do you consider the shot dull? Did your P&S produce more saturated sky?

With the focal length and aperture you used, you could focus at about 15m and have everything from about 7m to infinity in focus.

Instead of a 1/200 exposure, you could've used 1/60 at the same ISO and expect to avoid camera shake, and then you could close the aperture to f9, focus at 7.5m and have everything from about 4m to infinity in focus. Increasing the ISO would allow you to further reduce the aperture if required, or use a faster shutter speed if it makes you feel more comfortable.

I am drawn to the detail of the stonework in the tower on the right, and you may feel you want to focus on it, then switch to manual and focus a bit further out, confident that the hyperfocal focusing method will cover everything.
 
photon said:
Don't get hung up on the rule of thirds. Why do you consider the shot dull? Did your P&S produce more saturated sky?

With the focal length and aperture you used, you could focus at about 15m and have everything from about 7m to infinity in focus.

Instead of a 1/200 exposure, you could've used 1/60 at the same ISO and expect to avoid camera shake, and then you could close the aperture to f9, focus at 7.5m and have everything from about 4m to infinity in focus. Increasing the ISO would allow you to further reduce the aperture if required, or use a faster shutter speed if it makes you feel more comfortable.

I am drawn to the detail of the stonework in the tower on the right, and you may feel you want to focus on it, then switch to manual and focus a bit further out, confident that the hyperfocal focusing method will cover everything.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your advice Photon. Maybe "dull" is not the right word, clarity would be more like it. I used a polariser for the sky. I will take the shot again with the camera settings adjusted to your recommendations & will repost. Regards, Misty
 
I took it as an authentic representation of the scene with the sun getting low, but here it is 1/2 a stop brighter and the saturation boosted a touch to compensate. I preferred not to use Paint Shop Pro's clarify filter for this one.

img014972ppieditpu3.jpg
 
Misty said:
Got a new 40D Kit from Kerso a couple of days. Up to now I have posted shots taken with a P&S. Now I am in a different, sophisticated league trying to learn how to use this gem of a camera. I took this shot in "Auto Depth of Field" mode, hand held & used a polariser. I would appreciate advice on what manual settings e.g ISO, shutter speed, etc I could have used to make the pic. better. I live only 15 mins. from the location, so I can retake the pic. & repost. The pic. looks dull imo. I dont have ND filters & did not do any pp. Regards, Misty
Click to expand...


I think it might be a bit underexposed, but not really dull! If you've been using a P&S, it's been my experience that they are generally programmed to saturate and sharpen a lot. Hence their output tends to look better at low resolution out of the camera, than a lot of dSLR's in program mode. As you learn the capabilities of your excellent and sophisticated 40D you'll be producing pictures that will blow you away!

Keep smiling!
 
photon said:
I took it as an authentic representation of the scene with the sun getting low, but here it is 1/2 a stop brighter and the saturation boosted a touch to compensate. I preferred not to use Paint Shop Pro's clarify filter for this one.

img014972ppieditpu3.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks Photon. I edited the pic. in CS3 & came up with a similar result. When I was using the P&S I had to do a lot of editing. Now that I have a 40D I would prefer to keep the editing to a minimum & get the best possible pics. from the camera & will follow good advice from members like yourself. I am waiting for similar skies & will return & reshoot. Thanks again for your interest & advice. Regards, Misty.
 
Hi Misty, you certainly have the right idea of shooting a subject and going back again it's a fab idea.
Some of the others have mentioned the horizon thing already but one thing that might be worth trying it changing your viewpoint. If you can get down a little lower and see how much that changes your perspective. Just make sure to wear old clothes, I'm often found crawling about trying to get a good angle!

Also try shooting at different apertures one shot after another so you can see the effect that the changes have made when you get back to your PC. I still do that quite regularly especially if I have not used a lens for a while.

And I don't think your shot was dull but I bet your next ones are better(y)
 
In the book I am reading it explains that when you focus for a landscape aim to focus on something a third of the way in depth wise (as mentioned above) But they also stated that when you do that the view in the viewfinder may be slightly blurred as you are viewing it through the viewfinder at a wide open aperture but when you actually take the shot it will be sharp as the shot will be taken with a smaller aperture (if that makes sense)

Maybe have a read of 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson I have just started reading it and it is really really good with lots of helpful, easy to understand explanations and advice.
 
Thanks all for your replies. I am waiting for good weather to return to the castles & will take your advice on board. I will post the pics. if I feel that they are ok. Regards, Misty.
 
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