i was wondering...

[PhotoGirl]

Hi Everyone,
I was doing some 'photography reading' and I was wondering if anyone could clarify a few things i wasn't sure about.

- I was reading about taking photographs (i'm thinking landscapes) that are very sharp, so you would use a very small aperature (f/22 for example), but where do I focus? the author mentioned to "not focus at all, but rather preset the focus via the distance settings" I'm not sure what that means.(I don't have depth-of-field preview, if that makes a difference).

- another thing I read, was that some people use beanbags to keep their camera steady instead of a tripod, has anyone tried that before, does it work? I was wondering about that because my tripod doesn't go very close to the ground and was wondering if that was a suitable solution.

- I've read somewhere that aiming the lens at the sun is harmful to the camera/lens. I've seen so many lovely shots that were backlit (with a little sun piercing through), sunsets and sunrises, is there any helpful hints I should know in photographing the sun, but not damaging the camera?

I know these are a bit of questions, but any advice would be very helpful; thanks.

[milhouse]

I can help with a few.

Hi Everyone,
I was doing some 'photography reading' and I was wondering if anyone could clarify a few things i wasn't sure about.

- I was reading about taking photographs (i'm thinking landscapes) that are very sharp, so you would use a very small aperature (f/22 for example), but where do I focus? the author mentioned to "not focus at all, but rather preset the focus via the distance settings" I'm not sure what that means.(I don't have depth-of-field preview, if that makes a difference).

- not sure enough to offer advice. I would also post this question in the nature forum.

- another thing I read, was that some people use beanbags to keep their camera steady instead of a tripod, has anyone tried that before, does it work? I was wondering about that because my tripod doesn't go very close to the ground and was wondering if that was a suitable solution.

For a point and shoot and a quick snap shot they may work but I wouldn’t even bother. Your tripod may have the option of taking the camera mount off and attaching it to the opposite end of the pole so the camera is now upside down under the tripod. At that point you can get real low. If I'm unclear, let me know and I will post a photo

- I've read somewhere that aiming the lens at the sun is harmful to the camera/lens. I've seen so many lovely shots that were backlit (with a little sun piercing through), sunsets and sunrises, is there any helpful hints I should know in photographing the sun, but not damaging the camera?

Sunsets are certainly fine. If you were on a beach at noon I wouldn’t go taking direct photos of the sun.

I know these are a bit of questions, but any advice would be very helpful; thanks.

[WesternGuy]

Hi Everyone,
I was doing some 'photography reading' and I was wondering if anyone could clarify a few things i wasn't sure about.

- I was reading about taking photographs (i'm thinking landscapes) that are very sharp, so you would use a very small aperature (f/22 for example), but where do I focus? the author mentioned to "not focus at all, but rather preset the focus via the distance settings" I'm not sure what that means.(I don't have depth-of-field preview, if that makes a difference).

- another thing I read, was that some people use beanbags to keep their camera steady instead of a tripod, has anyone tried that before, does it work? I was wondering about that because my tripod doesn't go very close to the ground and was wondering if that was a suitable solution.

- I've read somewhere that aiming the lens at the sun is harmful to the camera/lens. I've seen so many lovely shots that were backlit (with a little sun piercing through), sunsets and sunrises, is there any helpful hints I should know in photographing the sun, but not damaging the camera?

I know these are a bit of questions, but any advice would be very helpful; thanks.

Hi Photogirl - my thoughts

Distance settings - some lenses have distance settings marked on them in feet (ft) and metres (m). You may see numbers like 0.5/1/3/25/infinity/ in an area on the top of the lens near its front. Personally, I do not use these (not all my lenses have them), because I prefer to ensure that what needs to be in focus, is in focus.

Close to the ground - I can reverse the centre post of my Manfrotto tripod so the camera is upside down and I can get very close to the ground if I need to. I am not sure if yours can do that, but it is worth checking. You can also get clamps (e.g., ClamperPod) that allow you to attach your camera to one of the legs of your tripod, and other solid things, so that you can get very close to the ground.

As for pointing your camera at the sun - sunsets and sunrises are okay. There are a lot of good examples around, but I agree with the previous sentiment not at high noon or other times, unless it was behind a cloud or concealed by a part, or all, of a building or something similar. (Think of looking directly at the sun at noon!)

HTH

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[WesternGuy]

PhotoGirl, reference for you to check out

WesternGuy

http://www.clamperpod.com/

[Glen A Ford]

i think this refers to a method known as hyper-focal distances. i'm not too sure, but basically i think this is how it works:-

every lens for a given aperture will have a distance which the subject matter will be sharp, so long as it is within the distance range (depth of field). where you want to get as MUCH in focus as you can then if you set the focus to infinity then you have wasted some of the focal distance. i've just checked on a 35mm lens i have, which says on the lens that if the focus point is 3m and i have a f22 aperture, then infinity will also be in focus. the good news is that at 3m focus point, then anything beyond 1m will also be in focus. if i let the camera focus on infinity then my lens tells me that anything closer than 3 m will be out of focus. so in this case, i gain an extra 2m of focusing distance close to the camera by not letting the camera focus on infinity, which is great if i had a flower / or rock really close but also wanted the distance sharp too. so if i wanted as much as possible to be in focus i would be better to manually set the lens to 3m, f22, knowing that infinity would be in focus.

make sense? it gets a bit complex

bean bag - yes, anything that helps you steady the camera will help. bean-bags tend to be used with long focal lens, as resting these on a bean bag takes the strain and helps to keep steady. not too sure i've heard of people using them with short-lens. note- this only helps

sun - same applies with your eyes. don't look at sun if in full glare, but when low or behind clouds, trees then okay but be careful if it suddenly comes out. the difference to be aware between your eyes and the camera, is that the lens will magnify the effect, so take care if in doubt.

hope that helps and best wishes,

[another view]

Beanbags can work - I have set my camera on top of a sweater on top of the car (engine turned off due to vibration) and it worked. Not very versatile, but easy to carry.

I used to shoot into the sun fairly often with film, but I don't get the same effect with digital - the sensor reflects the sun's light differently. You will probably see some ghosting and lens flare, but you should see that in a photograph done this way. A workshop with Layne Kennedy got me thinking along those lines, look through his work and you'll find several like this. Stop down the lens all the way and it'll make a star pattern too. Be very careful not to hurt your eyes though. Usually I did this with very wide angle lenses like 20mm (again on 35mm).

And for the tough one... The farther you stop down (higher "f" number), the larger the depth of field (DOF) which is the area that's in focus. There is no exact science involved in determining what is and is not in focus - it's really an opinion. I know of at least one person who used the guides on a lens at one stop less than he was shooting (used f16 settings but f22 exposure for more sharpness). Those guidelines are for hyperfocal focusing. If your lens doesn't have the guide lines on it, focus in 1/3 of the area you want in focus and check it with the DOF preview, but if you don't have it you'll have to guess - or better yet take a few shots with different apertures to be sure.

One thing to consider is that lenses can lose sharpness at small apertures, so I generally don't stop down all the way unless I have to. The wider the lens, the more DOF you'll have so you might not need more than f8, for example.

[freygr]

A lot of the older lenses have DOF guides on the lens. My new Nikkor 50mm AF has a DOF table by F stop and Distance and DOF guides on the lens.

[PhotoGirl]

Thank you so much everyone for your friendly and helpful replies!!:smile5: :smile5:

I don't think my tripod's center pole can be reversed, but the 'ClamperPod' certainly looks very interesting, thanks for letting me know about it WesternGuy.

If your lens doesn't have the guide lines on it, focus in 1/3 of the area you want in focus and check it with the DOF preview, but if you don't have it you'll have to guess - or better yet take a few shots with different apertures to be sure.

I don't think my lens has guide lines on it (I will check), but I was doing more reading on this and this option was suggested too (focusing 1/3 way into the photo). I guess I'll have to do some exprimenting!:wink5: