Lake--- Poor DOF

[Nitin Vyas]

Canon 7D

Used Tripod

16-35mm L series lens

f/8

shutter speed 1/60

ISO 100

focal length 22mm

I have been trying to shoot landscapes with much superior DOF but unable to get the right quality of image. Have shot this image at 7am immediately after the sunrise.

1)Where am I going wrong?

2)are the camera settings incorrect?

3)is it because of the low light conditions in the morning?



This image was taken with f/13 and shutter speed 1/20sec.,focal length 22mm

The image quality(DOF) is poor in spite of f/13 setting.

Appreciate if some one can analyse the images and tell me what's wrong with my settings/photography/processing skills..

[SwissJon]

Your camera should be perfectly capable of handling this, and with those settings, both photgraphs should have been in focus all the way to infinity.

I think what the problem here is haze or morning mist.. Do you have a haze filter (UV) on your camera? A polorizing filter? If not, it might be worth obtaining one or both.

[autofocus]

Are you confusing poor DOF with the haze in the background? Based upon your settings, you probably have good DOF. The haze area will appear soft because of the distant diffused morning light. Even though you are shooting at a nice time of day, why not try shooting it in the late afternoon using the same settings and see what you get.

[Nitin Vyas]

thanks Jon. No, I do not have UV or polarising filter. As I understand , both these filters are used in bright sunshine to eliminate the unwanted light rays! I did not know that UV filter can be used in low light/hazy conditions. Will shoot another pic with UV filter and see the difference. thanks .

[Nitin Vyas]

Yes, there is morning mist. I have taken similar pics at around 10am also but the results are same. it could be (1) I go to this place for bird photography and my camera is always set for spot metering and single point focus. (2)usually my camera is set for aperture priority setting...but today these pics have been shot with manual settings.

I see some stunning landscapes here and feel totally dejected when I compare my pics with those stunning images.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by Nitin Vyas

Yes, there is morning mist. I have taken similar pics at around 10am also but the results are same. it could be (1) I go to this place for bird photography and my camera is always set for spot metering and single point focus. (2)usually my camera is set for aperture priority setting...but today these pics have been shot with manual settings.

I see some stunning landscapes here and feel totally dejected when I compare my pics with those stunning images.

Neither of those issues should effect DOF. DOF is a factor of f/stop, lens focal length used, sensor size, and proximity of the camera to subject distance. You should be getting excellent DOF based on your settings. (and probably are, I might add)

[StarShark]

I think it you crop the picture cutting half the sky and half the foreground and give it that pano feel... you'd feel happier with it. That's a great vantage point though.

[SwissJon]

If it's morning mist, then a haze filter should help.

You can use a UV Haze filter at all times of the day, the only time I would suggest you shoot without one is when you're shooting night time photos with long exposures, as they can cause unwanted internal light reflections.

UV Haze filters are relatively cheap, and there's been at least one occasion where I've fallen and broken the filter where it would have been the much more expensive lens if I hadn't had it on. Blowing sand, salt, rain etc can also damage your lens, which would be protected by the filter.

This is the effect you can see with a haze filter, which mimics the problem you have:

[Nitin Vyas]

wow!! the UV haze filter makes a big difference in the image quality. need to get it immediately as you rightly said that it also protects the lens.
Thank you so much Jon.

[Nitin Vyas]

yes, will crop it and see the result. thank you Shark.