I shot this image last June after returning from Kenya and finding Rocky Mountain National Park filled with wildflowers and lingering snow. The late snowfall we received in May brought a beautiful spring. This photo also depicts the new growth in Moraine Park after the fires we had the previous December.
Here is a quick amateur question for you - is it acceptable to shoot at f/22 in an effort to use a slower shutter speed without dramatically overexposing the photo? I found myself doing this quite often last summer but have gradually adjusted to f/16 or so. What exactly are the cons of using f/22 when not absolutely necessary?
Thanks!!
Nikon D5100
Nikkor 18-55 mm
18 mm
f/22
1 sec
ISO 100
First of all, I love the image. I see nothing I'd do differently. Well composed, perfect exposure, lovely scene and light. In response to your question about whether or not it is acceptable to use f/22, the answer is that it strongly depends on what you're willing to sacrifice in terms of image quality. At f/22 on most wide angle to moderate telephoto lenses the image starts to suffer from diffraction which, in a nutshell, is an overall loss of sharpness. I very, very rarely use f/22 for this reason. On a web sized image you probably won't notice it. In a 16" x 24" print you most certainly will see it, especially if you compare it to an image shot at a larger aperture.
The workaround for longer shutter speeds is to use a lower ISO, if possible, or affix a solid neutral density filter to your lens. You can buy them in various powers ranging from around 2 stops to 10 stops. If you're only buying one I'd probably pick up a 5 stop ND. Using a solid ND filter will allow you to use a larger aperture, i.e. f/11 to retain overall sharpness while still achieving the longer shutter speed you want.
Hope this helps!
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 8, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Ditto on Bret's comments. You may find that the 2 stop light reduction provided by a polarizer might be sufficient for your longer exposure needs.
As Bret noted, if your intended end product is a big print, avoid f22. I'd recommend checking this out yourself. Take two images, at f8 and f22, and compare them side by side at 100% magnification. If you don't see any - or enough - difference with your lenses, then ignore our advice.
When I need the DOF, I shoot f8 and focus stack.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on March 8, 2014 at 11:30 AM
Completely agree on the diffraction comments. The optimum aperture is going to depend on your varied lenses, camera sensor size and the subject you're shooting. f/11, on average, is usually a good baseline to see where things are sharpest through and through on late model Nikon crop sensor cameras and wide angle zooms, like yours, that I've had experience with.
Be careful with filters though. I love polarizers and NDs (they are the only filters I seem to use at all anymore) but the more things you put in front of your lens, the more image quality suffers as well - especially if you buy inexpensive plastic or resin filters that can scratch easily. Spend a little more dough for high quality resins like Singh-Ray or glass like Tiffen (as well as other brands). There's lots of reviews out there to help your research.
Bill's idea of focus stacking, shooting several frames with different subjects in optimum focus then combining them later in Photoshop - kind of like HDR for focus, is a great solution as well.
Joshua brought up a good point that I somehow overlooked - image quality can suffer if you use poor quality filters. I've never understood why someone would spend $2,000 or more on a pro-level lens only to run out and throw a $30 UV filter on the front.
Like Joshua, the only two filters I even carry anymore are a circular polarizer and variable ND filter, both by Singh-Ray. I don't recommend variable ND filters, though. They're too thick to use on a wide angle lens, even the "thin mount" filters, and they produce strong color casts when used at higher powers. As I mentioned, I'd buy a 5 stop solid ND. Much less expensive than a variable ND, too!
Bill's point about focus stacking is also a good one.
Posted by Monika Chace on March 9, 2014 at 4:08 PM
This is really quite nice, Crystal. Fine light and a well thought out composition. Great advice from the others regarding neutral density filters. I've been using Hoya ND filters for years now. Good quality glass at a price that won't break the bank.
Posted by Kurt Bowman on March 17, 2014 at 10:28 PM
Nice image Crystal and I agree with everything already said. I certainly don't use ND filters as much as others being mostly a wildlife photographer, but I have also seen and once sued a friends variable ND filter. It was also a Hoya and offered 1.5 to 9 stops. Personally I sort of liked the idea of having only one ND filter to carry around which provides me the flexibility of deciding the number of stops I want depending on what I want to accomplish, so I am buying one myself. If you google Hoya variable ND filter, several pleas offer them up for around $140
Discussion
8 repliesHere is a quick amateur question for you - is it acceptable to shoot at f/22 in an effort to use a slower shutter speed without dramatically overexposing the photo? I found myself doing this quite often last summer but have gradually adjusted to f/16 or so. What exactly are the cons of using f/22 when not absolutely necessary?
Thanks!!
Nikon D5100
Nikkor 18-55 mm
18 mm
f/22
1 sec
ISO 100
The workaround for longer shutter speeds is to use a lower ISO, if possible, or affix a solid neutral density filter to your lens. You can buy them in various powers ranging from around 2 stops to 10 stops. If you're only buying one I'd probably pick up a 5 stop ND. Using a solid ND filter will allow you to use a larger aperture, i.e. f/11 to retain overall sharpness while still achieving the longer shutter speed you want.
Hope this helps!
As Bret noted, if your intended end product is a big print, avoid f22. I'd recommend checking this out yourself. Take two images, at f8 and f22, and compare them side by side at 100% magnification. If you don't see any - or enough - difference with your lenses, then ignore our advice.
When I need the DOF, I shoot f8 and focus stack.
Be careful with filters though. I love polarizers and NDs (they are the only filters I seem to use at all anymore) but the more things you put in front of your lens, the more image quality suffers as well - especially if you buy inexpensive plastic or resin filters that can scratch easily. Spend a little more dough for high quality resins like Singh-Ray or glass like Tiffen (as well as other brands). There's lots of reviews out there to help your research.
Bill's idea of focus stacking, shooting several frames with different subjects in optimum focus then combining them later in Photoshop - kind of like HDR for focus, is a great solution as well.
Like Joshua, the only two filters I even carry anymore are a circular polarizer and variable ND filter, both by Singh-Ray. I don't recommend variable ND filters, though. They're too thick to use on a wide angle lens, even the "thin mount" filters, and they produce strong color casts when used at higher powers. As I mentioned, I'd buy a 5 stop solid ND. Much less expensive than a variable ND, too!
Bill's point about focus stacking is also a good one.