What f stop for micro 4/3rds landscape?

ian-83

ian-83

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Ian
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What f stop would people recommend for micro 4/3rds?

I have read at higher f stop around f11 etc diffraction starts setting in?

I have noticed lots of landscape taken on fill frame are around f11 so would halving this to take in the 2 times crop factor I should aim for f5.6?
 
Short answer is yes. This will give you the same depth of field.

Whether it's what you want might not be the case. If you are looking for landscape pictures with interesting foreground and sharp from font to back then the "hyperfocal distance" is key. If that's something you haven't looked into yet have a read. There are handy apps too that give then info. If the foreground is very close you might need a smaller aperture. If there's no foreground then a wider aperture works fine. Hope this helps.
 
Check if your camera has focus peaking, a lot of MFT cameras do. By turning this on it will highlight what is in focus, you can then pick an an f-stop to get the whole scene in focus.
 
Up to f/8 is perfectly fine, f/11 is getting to the limits if you are pixel peeping but fine otherwise and naturally you want to pick the aperture to suit the image you are taking.
 
newbie1 said:
Short answer is yes. This will give you the same depth of field.

Whether it's what you want might not be the case. If you are looking for landscape pictures with interesting foreground and sharp from font to back then the "hyperfocal distance" is key. If that's something you haven't looked into yet have a read. There are handy apps too that give then info. If the foreground is very close you might need a smaller aperture. If there's no foreground then a wider aperture works fine. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Cheers have a looked at hyperfocal distances and how to work then out.

sirch said:
Check if your camera has focus peaking, a lot of MFT cameras do. By turning this on it will highlight what is in focus, you can then pick an an f-stop to get the whole scene in focus.
Click to expand...

I have focus peaking set to a function button so can turn it on and off as needed. Not really used it that much yet, really need to set some time aside to have a go with it.

Nawty said:
Up to f/8 is perfectly fine, f/11 is getting to the limits if you are pixel peeping but fine otherwise and naturally you want to pick the aperture to suit the image you are taking.
Click to expand...

Cheers I have tried not to go past f11 as I had read somewhere micro 4/3rds lenses work best wide open but once you start stopping down at higher f stops the diffraction takes over.
 
Nawty said:
There is very little reason to go beyond f/11 for landscape.
Click to expand...

Yup

And very little reason to assume 'Landscape' means everything has to be in focus; I'm producing a set (ideally finished this year) in the Lake District where everything is shot at or below f2.8, and if I can pull it off properly all on an 85mm lens too (its a potential ARPS project)

If you have very close subjects and do indeed want max front to back sharpness then also look up focus stacking, this can help you to get the best from your lens (which might be f5.6 f8 or thereabouts) and yet give the impression of an f40+ aperture

Dave
 
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Don't overthink it. As others have said not everything has to be in focus, I often shoot woodland pictures at f2.8 to f5.6 full frame, can produce a dreamy feel. Classic landscapes anywhere between f8 - f16. For me technical perfection isn't as important as the mood and emotion
 
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