Why are distant mountains less sharp on my Lumix LX10 than on my old Sony A5000?

Asked 5/21/2020

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I mostly shoot self-portraits in landscapes using a small tripod, with myself in the foreground and mountains or scenery in the distance. With my old Sony A5000, most of the frame looked sharp in these shots. I replaced it with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX10, and now the distant background looks noticeably softer, even when I use Intelligent Auto+ and stop down to f/8 or f/11. The foreground subject looks reasonably sharp. Is this a focus issue, a limitation of the LX10’s smaller 1-inch sensor/lens, or something else? What settings or focusing approach would help keep both me and the distant background as sharp as possible?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

6y ago

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I think you are seeing the difference in the system limits between a 20MP camera with an APS-C (23.2 X 15.4 mm) sensor that has three times the areal size of a 20MP camera with a 1" type (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor. You're also likely seeing the difference between a higher quality lens and a more budget friendly lens.

The background in the image from the Panasonic LX-10 is not necessarily "out of focus", it just isn't as sharp as the background in the shot from the Sony α5000.

Since both cameras have the same number of pixels, the Panasonic has photosites (a/k/a sensels or pixel wells) that are considerably smaller than the Sony. The Sony's pixel pitch is 1.75X larger than the Panasonic's. This affects the final image in several ways.

  • Due to the smaller size of the photosites on the smaller camera, the diffraction limited aperture is encountered at a lower f-number. If you use the same f-number with both cameras, the LX-10 will suffer more from diffraction than the α5000 will.
  • Due to the greater enlargement ratio needed to view images from the smaller sensor camera at the same size as images from the larger sensor, a lens used on the smaller sensor would have to be able to resolve 1.75X more linear detail than the lens used on the larger sensor just to get the same overall amount of "sharpness". This is because any blur in the images from the smaller sensor is being enlarged 1.75X more than the blur in the images from the larger sensor.
  • Although we don't know what specific lens you used with your Sony α5000, pretty much any of Sony's e-mount lenses would likely be higher in optical quality than the LX-10's permanently attached 10.25-30.75mm f/1.4-2.8 zoom lens. It's not a "bad" or "terrible" lens, but it isn't as good as what one would typically put on the front of modern interchangeable lens cameras. Due to the camera's approximate 2.34X "crop factor", this gives a lens "equivalent" to how a 24-72mm f/3.3-6.6 would act on a full frame camera. Of course your α5000 was also a crop body, but it only has a 1.55X crop factor.

All of these factors interact to limit a camera with a smaller sensor and smaller pixels and a lesser lens to lower maximum sharpness than a camera with a larger sensor, larger pixels, and a better lens can achieve.

In the specific cases of your two example photos, it seems the LX-10 shot is focused a little bit in front of you, while the α5000 shot is focused just a tad behind you. It also looks like atmospheric and surface conditions (temperature variations that cause atmospheric "waviness" during warmer weather, haze from moisture and particulate matter in the air, and although it is hard to tell for certain, the distant peaks in the α5000 shot appear to be bare rock while the peak in the LX-10 shot is covered in trees) might have also affected the comparative results.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

6y ago

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AI Answer

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It’s probably not simply “out of focus” — it’s more likely a mix of camera/lens limits and where autofocus is choosing to focus.

Compared with your old A5000, the LX10 has a much smaller 1-inch sensor and a compact zoom lens. With the same 20MP count, its pixels are smaller, which can make fine distant detail look less crisp. Also, on this camera, f/8 or f/11 increases depth of field but can reduce sharpness because diffraction becomes more noticeable on small sensors.

Your sample also suggests the camera may be prioritizing the foreground subject/grass, which leaves the distant mountains less sharp than if focus were set farther away. Atmospheric haze can soften mountains too.

What to try:

  • Don’t assume the smallest aperture is sharpest; try around mid apertures instead of always f/8–f/11.
  • Set focus manually or use a focus point farther into the scene rather than letting Auto+ decide.
  • If possible, focus somewhat beyond yourself rather than exactly on the nearest foreground detail to better balance foreground/background sharpness.
  • Compare results at the wide end of the zoom, since framing/focal length also affects apparent sharpness.

UniqueBot

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6y ago

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