Landscape focusing technique

badboy1984

badboy1984

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After you frame the shot and you start to think about focusing. I understand the depth of field use on aperture and the rule of third etc.

My problem is sometimes I can't get the focus point to the subject I want to focus. I know I could manual focus but let's use auto focus for example. Do you compose first the adjust the tripod head so the focus point can focus the subject/area I want then recompose my shot then turn the AF off?
 
There's a few ways..
  • Manual focus
  • Use auto, switch to manual on the lens
  • Use auto, use focus lock
  • Use auto, use back-button focus and disable half-press focus

In general landscapes aren't moving subjects, so manual shouldn't be a problem and it's easy to focus precisely using liveview (with 5x and 10x zoom). I will generally use manual focus with liveview if I'm using a tripod, or handheld I'll use autofocus and I have the camera set-up for back-button focus anyway. Pressing the shutter has no effect on focussing the lens, which can be confusing if someone else uses it.
 
i know about auto focus then switch to manual to prevent the auto refocus etc.

The manual focus way probably better due to static subject and use liveview zoom to focus.

For auto focus where i can't move my focus point to the subject where i want to focus, do i adjust the tripod head first so i can focus on the subject then switch to manual focus on the lens/camera then recompose again by adjusting the tripod head?
 
badboy1984 said:
i know about auto focus then switch to manual to prevent the auto refocus etc.

The manual focus way probably better due to static subject and use liveview zoom to focus.

For auto focus where i can't move my focus point to the subject where i want to focus, do i adjust the tripod head first so i can focus on the subject then switch to manual focus on the lens/camera then recompose again by adjusting the tripod head?
Click to expand...

Yes.. focus and recompose. Loosen the tripod head, set your focus then compose the shot, lock the tripod and take the shot. The distance to a static subject will remain the same providing the tripod legs don't move.
 
ok man, i guess that would be the case but i just want to ask to confirm. thanks buddy.

I always had a problem finding the focus for the subject, i will give this method a try. My tripod is heavy and sturdy so should be alright
 
Common problem with landscapes is getting everything sharp from near to far distance, and optimising depth of field to get that. The technique is called hyperfocal distance focusing, and it's easily done with AF.

Is that what you're wanting to do?
 
The ultimate goal is yes and I understand the theory behind that. The problem I had before was the subject I want to focus on the third of the frame is not reachable on the focus point in my camera.

So I ask about a technique to focus and recompose on the tripod head.
 
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badboy1984 said:
The ultimate goal is yes and I understand the theory behind that. The problem I had before was the subject I want to focus on the third of the frame is not reachable on the focus point in my camera.

So I ask about a technique to focus and recompose on the tripod head.
Click to expand...

Okay, well focus-recompose (using centre AF point only) is the way most people do it, for most subjects.

You may well find that switching AF to the back button makes this easier, if available on your camera. Search 'back button AF'.
 
focus then recompose is the standard way of doing it. whether on tripod or not.

also, as mentioned, landscape is about getting all things in focus, so you can go around at f16 with stuff from 3 feet to infinity all in focus. then turn off AF and just shoot away.

the latter is certainly what i usually do. set infinity marker at the aperture value on the distance scale, then turn off AF and go trigger happy. :D



btw, Hoppy, awesome lenses, i wish to have a collection like that one day :)
 
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I will give the method a go. I admit i did not use centre focus on some of the shots and it seems it didn't focus too well. Will use centre focus point next time to see the different and also will set my camera to back button focus as well (my nikon d7000 can do that).

I use around f16-22 but i start seeing diffraction on some of my shots, need more testing to find the sweet spot on my lens, i use my tamron 17-50 to do landscape since thats my widest lens i go at the moment, saving up to buy a UWA at the moment.

thanks for all the input guys, is been very helpful. I normally don't do major landscape stuff but recently been hooked up on it, so hopefully i can go out and take some cracking landscape without regretting because i didn't get things right at the start.
 
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badboy1984 said:
I use around f16-22...
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That is quite extreme.

Remember that there's no point going for DoF that exceeds the scene you're trying to capture or going for detail that will not be visible in your final image.

For example...

At 17mm and f22 your DoF will be just over 1 foot to infinity which raises two questions...

Do you need DoF to infinity?
and...
Do you need the DoF to start at just over a foot? Is there anything that close to the camera?

17mm and f8 will give you from just over 3 feet to infinity.
 
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i've currently got a Sigma 12-24mm UWA for sale in classified :) it's got aperture marker on its distance meter, so it's very easy to set and see what will be in focus.

/plug
 
Thanks for asking this question...the same thing was bugging me for a while.
 
woof woof said:
That is quite extreme.

Remember that there's no point going for DoF that exceeds the scene you're trying to capture or going for detail that will not be visible in your final image.

For example...

At 17mm and f22 your DoF will be just over 1 foot to infinity which raises two questions...

Do you need DoF to infinity?
and...
Do you need the DoF to start at just over a foot? Is there anything that close to the camera?

17mm and f8 will give you from just over 3 feet to infinity.
Click to expand...

Thanks Alan for the advice :)
 
Went home and done some testing on the garden, the technique gave me some pleasing results and i will use it on my work flow next time when i go out :)

Still hit and miss on my 10 stop filter. I really need to apply my ND grad before the 10 stop but my 10 stop is screw on filter and all my 1-3 stop ND and Grad is hitech square filter .... i guess is time to invest a square 10 stop as well.
 
Forgive me if I'm being an idiot, but on my 1100d it has an A-Dep mode on it for landscapes. in this mode you have to make sure all the points you want in focus are covered by a focus point. On some shots I've taken there are hundreds of meters between some of the focus points, and the camera will select an aperture of about f3.5 or f4.5, and give me really fast shutter speed. why is this when I've always thought/read that for landscapes you need a higher f.nos?

Apologies for hi-jacking your thread.
 
Mike C said:
Forgive me if I'm being an idiot, but on my 1100d it has an A-Dep mode on it for landscapes. in this mode you have to make sure all the points you want in focus are covered by a focus point. On some shots I've taken there are hundreds of meters between some of the focus points, and the camera will select an aperture of about f3.5 or f4.5, and give me really fast shutter speed. why is this when I've always thought/read that for landscapes you need a higher f.nos?

Apologies for hi-jacking your thread.
Click to expand...

you mode you talking about is kinda like auto mode where the camera select shutter, aperture and focus for you. Is like a scene mode in nikon. To get a slower shutter and higher aperture you better shoot with Manual mode and meter yourself. If manual mode is too difficult then start using Aperture mode till you under everything before you start shooting in manual.
 
I have no problem using manual or aperture. I was just wondering why if selecting an aperture to get everything in focus you would choose f16 or f22 for example In manual or semi. Then why does the camera choose very nearly wide open? Surely this goes against what any book would tell you.
 
I think I understand what you mean, the focus points were covering a large area so the camera selects an aperture that would result in them being 'just about' in focus. But if I were zoom in on the picture I would see that they were all just out of focus, but due to size of the photograph all looks good. If I were to photograph a smaller landscape then due to the focus points being closer, and therefore more detail in the photo, then a smaller aperture would be used. If I'm talking woo woo then just tell me and I'll sod off!
 
Mike C said:
Forgive me if I'm being an idiot, but on my 1100d it has an A-Dep mode on it for landscapes. in this mode you have to make sure all the points you want in focus are covered by a focus point. On some shots I've taken there are hundreds of meters between some of the focus points, and the camera will select an aperture of about f3.5 or f4.5, and give me really fast shutter speed. why is this when I've always thought/read that for landscapes you need a higher f.nos?

Apologies for hi-jacking your thread.
Click to expand...

The A-Dep mode, if it's being used correctly, will only set f/3.5 or f/5.6 when that's as high as the aperture needs to go for sharpness between the selected points, according to the internationally agreed standards that everybody works to.

There's a lot of depth of field at distance, especially with a widish lens on a crop format camera. Check it all out on this DoF calculator http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

BTW, the A-Dep mode is nothing like a regular 'scene' mode.
 
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