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This is how you get photos that are sharp throughout the frame: Use a lens that's sharp throughout the frame. Stop that lens down to where it performs best. This is usually around 2 stops down from wide open. You can look this up for most lenses. If you are relatively close to what you're photographing or if there is great distance between important subjects you will need to resort to combining several photos, each with a different focus point - a.k.a. focus stacking.That is how really, really sharp photos of cityscapes are made. To get even bigger resolution and sharpness you can also combine several photos vertically and horizontally. Also, using a medium format camera or a DSLR with 40+ megapixels can help if your lens is up for the task.---A cheaper DSLR with the kit lens is not going to give you perfect landscape/cityscape shots.
You forgot the most important: use a tripod, and switch the image stabilization off!(and use a remote control maybe)
Also, using a medium format camera or a DSLR with 40+ megapixels can help if your lens is up for the task.
Quote from: Chichikov on June 30, 2017, 12:54You forgot the most important: use a tripod, and switch the image stabilization off!(and use a remote control maybe)I would've thought that was obvious. Hard to do focus stacking without a tripod.A remote control is good but often not necessary since you can just use the shutter delay function on most cameras.
understanding how to use hyperfocal distance
Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on June 30, 2017, 14:05understanding how to use hyperfocal distanceYes, that.And stacking if you have something very close to the camera as well as bits at infinity in the same image.
Quote from: increasingdifficulty on June 30, 2017, 12:21 Also, using a medium format camera or a DSLR with 40+ megapixels can help if your lens is up for the task.No, quite the opposite...A larger sensor reduces DOF (all other things being equal), so if your ultimate goal is everything in focus in the frame, a smaller sensor like in a compact camera might even be better.Obviously that introduces other problems with overall image quality, and - as this is in the alamy forum - they don't really want images from compact cameras.But going to medium format itself does nothing to increase overall sharpness.I'd side with BaldricksTrousers, learning about hyperfocal distance is the way to go.
I wouldn't normally want to have distant objects in focus if I've got a subject of interest very close to the lens. Of course, another alternative is to use tilt on a t/s lens. That was a common approach with large format on film in the old days. Wide-angle T-S lenses tend to be a bit expensive, though.
No, quite the opposite...A larger sensor reduces DOF (all other things being equal), so if your ultimate goal is everything in focus in the frame, a smaller sensor like in a compact camera might even be better.
Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on July 01, 2017, 01:59I wouldn't normally want to have distant objects in focus if I've got a subject of interest very close to the lens. Of course, another alternative is to use tilt on a t/s lens. That was a common approach with large format on film in the old days. Wide-angle T-S lenses tend to be a bit expensive, though.Yes, that's an alternative. What you normally would want might not be what someone else wants. Anyway, the biggest use for it is with cityscapes where you are RELATIVELY close (not 10 feet) but you want the image to be tack sharp from the first skyscraper to the last.There is always just ONE spot with perfect sharpness, so it's just all about how much deviation you are willing to accept, or what's visible. To me, skyscraper details such as windows should all be tack sharp for a stellar image.
Well take this one:https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/doha-qatar-february-17-2016-highrise-615071813I got the palms and the buildings at a focal length of 34mm on f7.1 on a Canon 6D (17-40L f4 lens), with no problems, handheld at 1/200s.Perhaps the OP shutter speed was too short for handheld or he was shooting at f22 or above and getting diffraction.
Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on July 01, 2017, 01:59I wouldn't normally want to have distant objects in focus if I've got a subject of interest very close to the lens. Of course, another alternative is to use tilt on a t/s lens. That was a common approach with large format on film in the old days. Wide-angle T-S lenses tend to be a bit expensive, though.You'd never pay off a T/S lens with microstock landscape photos.
The OP didn't answer what camera he was using. The only time I got rejections was when I had a defective camera and didn't know it until the rejections started coming in. That camera went back and I got a new one and never had a problem again.
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Topic: Landscapes and soft or lacking focus (Read 7296 times)
