How do I choose the best aperture for landscape sharpness when using a tripod?
Asked 4/26/2022
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I’m shooting landscapes with a Sony A7C and a 35mm lens. In auto mode, the camera may choose something like f/11 at 1/250 in bright light, but in dimmer light it might choose f/8 at 1/60 to keep the shutter speed up. If I put the camera on a tripod, I can use a slower shutter speed, so I’d like to pick the aperture that gives the best overall landscape sharpness. How should I decide which aperture to use? I’m also trying to understand the tradeoff between maximum depth of field and maximum sharpness, since those are not always the same thing.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
3
Some ideas to consider.
A Landscape will hardly have a depth of field problems. Most of the elements will be far away, so if you focus on them they will be in focus.
To maximize the depth of field, simply use the smallest aperture you can.
But that does not mean that that is the sharpest you will get. You already know this, because you mentioned possible diffraction on f13.
So you probably need to find the sweet spot on your lens (or range of them)
You also need to make some test to find out what relative distance among different planes reacts with that range of sweet spots.
But a blurry natural landscape can also be the result of some wind.
You could get rid of the camera shake but probably some trees will move. So if you find out that you like the sharpness at f5.6, and you do not have many planes, and you can focus all the planes on your framing at f5.6, and there is some wind, you probably what to use that aperture, and not an unnecessary slow f11.
My camera chooses aperture 8 and shutter speed 1/60.
Do not use a program setting, simply use aperture priority. That way you limit the variables to just 1 (besides ISO setting)
Originally by user37321. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37321
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Depth of field and maximum sharpness are related, but they are not the same goal.
- For maximum depth of field, stop down more and use hyperfocal focusing when appropriate.
- For maximum optical sharpness, most lenses are usually best a bit stopped down from wide open, at their “sweet spot,” not at the smallest aperture.
- If you stop down too far, diffraction reduces sharpness.
So a tripod helps only with camera shake: it lets you use a slower shutter speed, but it does not tell you the best aperture by itself.
For landscapes, the practical approach is:
- Find your lens’s sweet spot by testing or checking typical behavior for that lens.
- Choose an aperture in that range unless you need more depth of field.
- If you need near-to-far sharpness, focus at or near the hyperfocal distance instead of just using the smallest aperture.
- Remember that a tripod won’t stop subject movement such as wind in trees or grass.
In short: use a moderate stopped-down aperture for best sharpness, and stop down further only when you need more depth of field and accept some diffraction tradeoff.
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