Maintaining focus on the *entire* photograph area

[jefflipsman]

Buy and read <I>Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera</I> by Bryan

Peterson. It answers all of your questions and then some.

[frank uhlig]

You can be in P mode and any other mode and still control which aperture you are using for proper exposure and proper DOF. Think about that: what would you need to do in each of the 4 modes:

[frank uhlig]

You can be in P mode and any other mode and still control which aperture you are using for proper exposure and

proper DOF. Think about that: what would you need to do in each of the 4 modes: P, A, S, and M to do just that?

Good luck, and do try this out on the camera. You will grow by 3 inches once you understand how simple

photography is. Do ask if this is too hard for you, please.

[fd photo]

Phoenix,

A couple of further suggestions...

 

Make sure that your lens is clean; it is amazing how much gunk can accumulate on the front of a lens.

 

Make sure that you are focusing at a the proper distance - the hyperfocal distance. When you focus on the hyperfocal distance, the depth of field extends from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity. There are lots of free tables on the internet for determining hyperfocal distance for different zoom and f/stop combinations. If you follow the method properly you should be getting very sharp images.

 

Also watch out for movement in the scene. Using this method for huge depth of field usually leads to small f/'s and long exposures. Even the slightest breeze will make leaves, tall grass and such appear blurry due to wind movement.

[neill_farmer2]

Arrrhhhhh! Phoenix. Read that camera manual a few times. But if you can't wait what you are after is a shutter speed of around 1/500 to reduce camera shake, and a aperture of around f8 to f11 to get a good depth of field. Adjust your ISO up to get these minimum settings, no need for tripods and mirror lock ups. You can do this 3 ways; by setting your camera on landscape mode, by setting the shutter speed Tv on 1/500th or setting the aperture Av on f8-f11. Move the ISO setting around until the camera's auto exposure system achieves these. If you have a lot of sky in the shot compensate by increasing exposure compensation by +2/3 stop. (now you know why you need to read the manual). Set your focus point on something that's about 100 feet away or on the main object you wish to capture. Sometimes we make things more complicated than they need to be.

Neill (a Canon owner!)

[fd photo]

It seems like replies are falling into two main groups:

 

1. Getting big DoF via proper settings and technique (without the hyperfocal method)

 

2. Getting huge DoF via the hyperfocal method

 

Each has it's place. Method number 1 is probably sufficient for scenes with most of the subject matter distant when you don't care about having near objects sharp. Method 2 (hyperfocal) is the way to go if you want everything acceptably sharp from very near the camera out to infinity. Once you learn the hyperfocal method it really isn't difficult to employ. It is also nice that it forces you to slow down and think about what you are doing.

[lech1]

The issue you mentioned has been adressed directly by Canon constructor, who provided A-DEP mode. The camera uses info from the nine AF pionts and chooses proper A setting that is balanced in an optimal way. Manually you can use P mode and the depth preview.

[rarmstrong]

Phoenix, you have received some excellent pointers here. The D300 is a complex camera for someone starting out with a DSLR. But, you can accomplish what you are asking quite easily with the 18-200 VR lens. You can handhold the camera and get good results, although a tripod will be essential at very slow shutter speeds. I have the D300 and the same lens. For almost all of my work I set the camera in A...aperture priority, so that I am in control of the DOF. The camera then chooses the shutter speed based upon the available light. You should shoot at the lowest iso setting possible for your conditions to get the highest quality image. The D300 is very good at higher iso settings. I don't start to pick up much noise until I get above iso 800 and even at 1600 it's not bad. For landscapes the advice about staying in the f8 to f16 range is correct. Here is a recent shot, handheld with the D300 and the 18-200mm VR zoom, with the VR on, handheld. Everything is in focus, which is what you are trying to achieve...<div></div>

[marypar4]

Best advance is to set camera in A mode..and go out and shoot..changing the aperture..and see what you get..remember you can throw away the pictures..Larger F stops like F16 will yield sharper images..so just have fun and experiement. Bring your tripod..and turn off VR ..this will get you the sharpest results. A wireless remote shutter release is also good idea.Enjoy!

[richard_turner1]

I have the same set up and am a beginer too, everything that has been said is very helpful and i will be using your advice in the future. One thing though, the DOV button on the front, i press it and everything in the viewfinder just gets a grey haze over everything and i can't seem to work out what i am actually supossed to be looking for, any sugestions?

[richard_turner1]

Sorry about the bad spelling, trying to do 5 things at once this end and something has to give, lol..