what aperture for a landscape?

[g&m]

Hello, i read somewhere that i have to set a narrow aperture for a landscape.

I guess f/8 is not good, what is a good aperture that i shoud use?

I know that it depends from the light but... can you tell me something like "not less than ...."
for example "not less than f/11"?

Thanks

[wulf]

There is not a hard and fast rule. It depends partly on light and even more on depth of field. That latter aspect (depth of field and particularly the related area of hyperfocal distance) is the main one to read up on but, since you aren't wasting film, don't be afraid to experiment using a series of shots on the same scene at different apertures.

Wulf

[fire-eyes]

I agree with Wulf, there is no hard-set rule. That being said, I have found through experimentation and with the hyperfocal fun-times that I start with 9.0 on my 1.3x crop body. Then I aim the optimal focus (with DOF preview held down!) about 1/3 into the image, getting there by focusing from close in to out, unless I have other plans.

At times I will go down to 5.6 or so to intentionally blur out the background just a touch, this seems more "realistic" to me.

[Krusty79]

Usually, most people want a lot of depth of field in a landscape. Is that what you want? If so, you want to use a smaller aperture. Most of the pros on this site generally don't recommend apertures smaller than about f/13 or else diffraction may degrade the sharpness. In general, f/11 is a good place to start, but it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

You could do what wulf suggests and shoot the same scene at different apertures and compare the results on your computer later. Seeing the difference may hit home better than reading the words.

[Fuzz62]

Personally as said its all about hyperfocal and not dof for me, when taking certain pictures the dof can be created by the scene itself.

Normally you would want to use a higher aperture as possible to ensure everything is pin sharp front to back, when i take my tripod out i use anywhere from f16 - f27, but as you usually want iso 100 -200 it means the shutter speed starts to creep slower and slower meaning hand held goes out the window.

the shot below was hand at the end of the day, as i had been hiking i hadnt taken my tripod, so instead i tried a number of options but the best one i found was f4.5, i think in this shot it works.



Camera Samsung GX10
Exposure 0.011 sec (1/90)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias +2 EV

[navcom]

You've already received good comments but I'll throw in my take...

Landscapes usually do require a larger depth of field. This usually means something around f/11 or f/13. Any smaller than that and diffraction may start and that will soften your image. The smaller you go, the worse it will get. And when it starts and how bad it gets is specific to each individual lens. That doesn't mean you never use a smaller aperture. They make the settings for a reason. But for my work, I need a good reason to go smaller than about f/16.

All that said, what you should be doing is applying the use of your aperture based on what you need for a DOF, not necessarily going with a particular setting based on the genre you are shooting. Set your aperture based purely on the DOF you need for the scene you are shooting...be it a landscape, portrait, sports, etc. Aperture controls DOF...just set it accordingly...and understand the limits of your lens (diffraction, flaring, image quality and sharpness, wash out, etc.)

Hope that helps!