Depth of Field for landscaping?

[ICE]

hey all,

i got my first dslr (nikon d40) bout 2 weeks ago, still trying to figure out how to work it..
when takin landscape pictures, should i consider the depth of field?
like putting the f-stop number high? (smaller aperture)?

or is it all the same? thx

[OsmosisStudios]

The larger the number in your aperture, the smaller the opening and the deeper the depth of field. There is a point, however, at which smaller apertures usually HURT image quality. Anything above f/16 is usually going to do more harm then good.


If youre really into landscape photography, you'll need to learn something called the Hyperfocal Technique.

[navcom]

In landscape photography, DOF is one of the most important items to think about next to sharpness and image quality. I use an aperture between f/8 and f/13 almost exclusively. On rare occasions I go smaller if maximum DOF is required and it's worth the trade-off with diffraction.

Of course, every lens is different. The only way to really know where your lens is it's sharpest is to test it out at different apertures and see what you get.

[photolover]

Since the smaller the aperture, deeper is the DOF. So, if you need to focus on some particular thing and throw the rest out-of-focus then, then use a large aperture. Larger the aperture here, more sharp you subject would be.
If you want to keep whole image sharp than use small aperture, by small i mean as small as your lens can offer and it also depends on how sharp you want the image to be.

[JamesMorgan]

Nikon cameras are fantastic (I shoot with a D200) but their manuals are not. I recommend you purchase a commercially available book. Tom Hogan (do a Google search) has some e-books for Nikon but I don't know if he has one for your camera.
The issue of DOF is critical for landscape photography. (Research hyperfocal focusing.) It isn't simply solved by f stop. The focal length of your lens is also a major factor. Purchase a good wide angle lens and you will see what I mean. e.g. Nikon 18--28 mm