How many of you use a telephoto for landscapes?

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Philx1979

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I`ve got a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 lens and i`ve seen pro`s like David Noton take this type of lens on landscape shoots (obv the canon version!).

So how many of you take one out on lanscape shoots?

And is there a sweet spot when it comes to using an f stop? like for instance i find f16 is the sweetest spot when using my sigma 10-20mm for landscapes.
 
I personally use different lengths, your wide lens will give you the option of capturing more of the scenary but at the end of the day it all comes down to your own creativity and style, use the ones you have and enjoy.
 
I always carry my 70-200 around if doing landscapes, it isn't always possible to get to somewhere where what you want in your shot will be visable with a wider angle lens.

This shot - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom_holmes/2314403131/ - springs to mine, it is taken from a roadside maybe 150 yards away so the tree would have been lost had I used my 17-40 or something, but with the extra reach you can pick out parts of the landscape to focus on.
 
Yep, I use the very same lens. I have a great view over Manchester from where we live and I often photograph the light as it hits the city from the bedroom window.

Ok, I'm officially sad! :)
 
To be honest, never used it, I probably should though. I generally find my
17-70 covers 90% of the shots I like taking - always good to try something different though, think I'll take my telephoto along next time and see what happens (y)

simon
 
Philx1979 said:
And is there a sweet spot when it comes to using an f stop? like for instance i find f16 is the sweetest spot when using my sigma 10-20mm for landscapes.
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That seems unlikely. Most lenses are at their sharpest one or two stops down from their maximum aperture - around f/8 is usually pretty "sweet". Plus, by the time you get to f/16 your overall sharpness is probably being affected by diffraction.....
 
Philx1979 said:
And is there a sweet spot when it comes to using an f stop? like for instance i find f16 is the sweetest spot when using my sigma 10-20mm for landscapes.
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I've got the sigma 50-500 on a canon 400D. I took some test pics and found that at 500mm and about 6m to the subject (in case that affects things) it's sharpest at f8-f11. I've got the 10-20 too but not tested it yet. Looking through the pics I've taken with it though it is slightly soft everywhere even at f8. But 'smart sharpen' in photoshop with 100-200% at 1 pixel cleans it up quite well.

Michael Reichmann uses long lenses for some landscapes - like woods in the autumn from a distance. I bought a set of his dvds a few years ago when I first got a bit more serious in photography.
 
daugirdas said:
Yes, I do use it in addition to 24-70. It allows to capture a different perspective and isolate the areas of interest.
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As Stated a zooms handy the thing with the wide is it makes things apear to have more space between them and on the zoom it pulls them closer so if you have some rolling hills these can look great when zoomed a bit.
Good thing to have in the bag and if the lanscape not coming together you can use the zoom for more shots than the wide.
 
AliB said:
Yep, I use the very same lens. I have a great view over Manchester from where we live and I often photograph the light as it hits the city from the bedroom window.

Ok, I'm officially sad! :)
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Out of interest where is that Ali?

As you can see, I live in Eccles, but have took a few landscapes using my Siggy 70-300 from Rivington Pike.

Pete
 
StewartR said:
That seems unlikely. Most lenses are at their sharpest one or two stops down from their maximum aperture - around f/8 is usually pretty "sweet". Plus, by the time you get to f/16 your overall sharpness is probably being affected by diffraction.....
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hmmm think i`ll stick to f16.

So do you take most landscapes yourself at f8??
 
With a focal length as short as 10mm there should be no DoF issues even at F4 IMO
 
Philx1979 said:
So do you take most landscapes yourself at f8??
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Absolutely. I'm not a big fan of the big-foreground ultra-wide approach to landscapes, so I don't need huge depth of field. These were probably all taken at f/8 or thereabouts (click on small images to see bigger versions).





.
 
theyre very nice shots. i ussually use around f8-f11 for landscapes unless i want more DoF then use f16 or around there
 
pearce_jj said:
With a focal length as short as 10mm there should be no DoF issues even at F4 IMO
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Hmm not sure what you mean? i dont understand sorry.

StewartR said:
Absolutely. I'm not a big fan of the big-foreground ultra-wide approach to landscapes, so I don't need huge depth of field. These were probably all taken at f/8 or thereabouts (click on small images to see bigger versions).
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nice photos Stew.
 
I always have my 70-200 with me when doing landscap shots, so of my favourite landscape shots were taken on that lens.
 
Philx1979 said:
Hmm not sure what you mean? i dont understand sorry.
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With shorter length lenses DoF is greater than with longer lenses.

According to DOFMater on the iPhone on a Cannon DSLR a 10mm lens at f/4 focused at the hyperfocal distance of 1.33m will give a DoF from 0.66m to infinity.

For a 50mm lens at f/4 the hyperfocal distance is 32.9m and the DoF when focused at the hyperfocal distance is from 16.5m to infinity.

DoF reduces as lens length increases, increases with distance to subject and decreases with larger appature.
 
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