Landscapes with the Canon 24-70mm

DaelpixPhotography

DaelpixPhotography

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David
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Just curious what aperture others use when taking landscapes with this lens

Currently I use f11. Is this ok?
I always use a tripod when taking landscapes in most situations
 
f11 should be fine. The higher the f number the more area in front and behind your area of focus will or should be sharp. At the end of the day it depends what you’re looking to achieve.

I have this lens myself and personally think it’s superb. I use the highest/widest aperture I can.
The 70-200 f2.8 II is another great landscape lens.
 
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You can take 2 or 3 with different aperture and compare later. One with what you think is right, sat f11 and then an f8 and f16 or whatever
 
I don't think you need our permission to use f/11. Sure it is OK.

You know your copy of your lens the depth of field required for a particular images you shoot better than any of us.
 
I dont have this lens... However generally for landscape work between f8 and f11 is perfect... as long as you dont need the extra DOF greater f numbers offer. If you are unsure about DOF or hyperfocal focusing... which I sugest you must be or you would not ask the question... then you should get aquainted. You wont need f16+ unless you are quite close up to your foreground subject.

There is an element of sweet spot about each lens also that sits about f8 - f11... but it differs depending on the lens. It's just an optical fact the lens performs its best at that apeture in terms of overall image sharpness.
 
Or you could be a bit more creative and use the f2.8 end - front to back in focus is a bit boring after a while and not how we see things with our own eyes

Try using a shallower DoF to place emphasis on parts of the landscape that defines it for you

But - to be 'safe' - shoot everything at f11 first then get more creative once you've got the safe shots in the bag :)

Dave
 
DG Phototraining said:
Or you could be a bit more creative and use the f2.8 end - front to back in focus is a bit boring after a while and not how we see things with our own eyes

Try using a shallower DoF to place emphasis on parts of the landscape that defines it for you

But - to be 'safe' - shoot everything at f11 first then get more creative once you've got the safe shots in the bag :)

Dave
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I would sort of like to disagree with you here. Your eyes may "see" the scene in a shallow depth of field, and relatively narrow field of view, each. However the scene is perceived by the brain that processes the input and creates a wide depth of field ultra wide angle landscape. So it is not so straightforward. Photography is art anyway, so the decisions one way or another are typically based on the creative merit rather than anatomy of the eye or the neural network.

Secondly it is technically very hard to create an strong enough depth of field effect at longer focal distances with 24-70mm lens. I find myself wanting it all in focus or a lot of defocus with just the details standing out. Nothing in between at all.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
I would sort of like to disagree with you here. Your eyes may "see" the scene in a shallow depth of field, and relatively narrow field of view, each. However the scene is perceived by the brain that processes the input and creates a wide depth of field ultra wide angle landscape. So it is not so straightforward. Photography is art anyway, so the decisions one way or another are typically based on the creative merit rather than anatomy of the eye or the neural network.

Secondly it is technically very hard to create an strong enough depth of field effect at longer focal distances with 24-70mm lens. I find myself wanting it all in focus or a lot of defocus with just the details standing out. Nothing in between at all.
Click to expand...

No problem with anyone ever disagreeing :)

I've found that f11-f16 and hyperfocal focusing is rarely 'right' IF everything front to back needs to be sharp, I find it better to focus stack if that's really the aim, in which case I shoot at my lens' "sweet-spot" and vary focus point accordingly

That said, my last (errr LOTS of) landscape shots have all be taken at f2.8 down to f2 and usually on my 85mm. I've done the everything in focus thing for long enough, and I'm finding this added creativity enlightening :)

Dave
 
I would also consider corner sharpness. The 24-70 is not the be all and end all, whilst you might achieve the depth needed at F4 if all the scene is in the distance the corners might be soft relative to the center and at F11 the sharpness more uniform accross the frame. Until you know the copy, play it safe.
 
Maybe give focus Stacking a go, if you've got a close foreground subject but still what a good dof, then focus Stacking can help to keep your lens in it's sweet spot. Also once you start getting into big f numbers, diffraction could start to become obvious (although not having this lens, I don't know well it performs at high f numbers).
 
DG Phototraining said:
No problem with anyone ever disagreeing :)

I've found that f11-f16 and hyperfocal focusing is rarely 'right' IF everything front to back needs to be sharp, I find it better to focus stack if that's really the aim, in which case I shoot at my lens' "sweet-spot" and vary focus point accordingly

That said, my last (errr LOTS of) landscape shots have all be taken at f2.8 down to f2 and usually on my 85mm. I've done the everything in focus thing for long enough, and I'm finding this added creativity enlightening :)

Dave
Click to expand...


Dave, why not try posting some of those? I'd certainly like to see what sort of thing you're aiming for.
 
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