Use THIS Aperture for BETTER PHOTOS in Landscape Photography Instead

The aperture is the most important stylistic instrument of all camera settings. This is why I always try to use the best possible aperture for my photos. What is the best possible aperture for landscape photography, is revealed in this video.
Christian Irmler
Landscape Photography Vlog - Tips - Tutorial
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[@roysecord7843]

Christian, you are such a wealth of information. You are turning me into an award-winning photographer. You solved so many of my technical problems. Many thanks.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Roy, that's so fantastic to hear that my videos are useful for you, thank you for your kind feedback :) In case you'd have any specific questions, feel free to leave a question in a comment below any of my videos. Have a great Sunday, Christian

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Great video Christian and explaining the aperture comparisons. I agree each individual lens has a different sweet spot depending on brand and focal lengths. You used some great examples to explain. Thanks for sharing the video my friend, cheers 🍻 🙏

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Adrian, thanks a lot for your kind comment, my friend :) Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@SenorGancho]

Great discussion of your process Christian combined with the examples made for an excellent session. Great point about the challenges of focus stacking in the forest. The issue of all the leaves and branches moving is obvious, once you mentioned it. But hadn't thought that through before. Vielen Dank!

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Senor, so fantastic to hear that the video was useful for you, my friend :) I wish you a great Sunday, Christian

[@rhodesia1578]

Christian your content is always worthy of a thumbs up 👍 .. brilliant and simplified . Thanks very much ! Stay well !

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Rhodesia, thank you so much for your kind comment, I really appreciate :) In case you'd have any specific questions, feel free to leave a question in a comment below any of my videos. Have a great Sunday, Christian

[@rhodesia1578]

@@christian.irmler thanks very much .. I am a photographer doing landscape and wildlife since 2014 .. but I like to follow photographers on KZbin which has helped my photography in leaps and bounds.. so I am basically self taught by KZbin 😂😂. It was cheaper and more fun teaching myself from good photographer’s like yourself . Thanks again Christian . Love your work it’s top notch class 👌🏻👍

[@Sharatkuchi007]

Beautiful Nature landscape

[@christian.irmler]

Thanks a lot, Sharat. So fantastic to find you here in the comments, again :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@kevinleblanc7965]

Hi Christian. I stumbled upon this video and I am so glad that I clicked play. I have to say I am very excited to become a subscriber. Your information is very helpful and your energy in your presentation is refreshing. Your passion for photography really comes through in your instruction and your photographs are truly inspiring. I will look forward to your videos in the future.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Kevin, thank you so much for your kind words, which means a lot 🙂 Welcome to the channel, my friend! As I'm currently traveling for experiencing some amazing photography adventures, there will come some videos more in vlog style over the next weeks (starting with today!), but also with lots of tips included as always in my vlogs. I hope you'll like them 😉 Nice greetings, Christian

[@Auroralover9797]

Thank you very much for this video. I learned so much from you. 🙏😊

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @turihong6541, thank you for your nice feedback, my friend, that's really kind :) See you in the next one ;) Nice greetings, Christian

[@derkarhu5079]

really nice discussion of some of your more subtle choices of aperture...valuable insights.

[@christian.irmler]

Thanks a lot, Karhu :) Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@DarrenJSpoonley]

Super job as always , great depth of detail too :-)

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Darren, thank you so much for your kind feedback, my friend :) Have a great Sunday, Christian

[@Ivanophilia]

Thank you for a wonderful explanation 🙏♥️

[@christian.irmler]

Hi sherif el kadi, I thank YOU for watching, my friend ;) Nice greetings, Christian

[@LeePelling]

Very well put together informative video mate , sure that will help many new and old photographers! 👍

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Lee, thanks a lot, buddy! You know, I always try to keep my videos interesting for every level of photography, from beginners over advanced, up to high-end, actually :) Have a good start into a fantastic week, Christian

[@CarlWicker]

amazing, very helpful.

[@christian.irmler]

Thanks a lot, Carl :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@msantero5845]

Great info. For all the years I've watched videos, I don't believe this has been ever presented in this way.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @msantero5845, thank you so much for your kind comment, my friend. Means a lot :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@mjellings]

As a total beginner I didn't realise different lenses had different F stops at which they are sharpest, thanks I'll check out your other video and test this on my lenses.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @mjellings, fantastic to have you here :) Yes I can highly recommend to check your lenses for their capabilities. Don't look only for the sweet spot, but also for the area of acceptable sharpness. Not every lens allows us to be used on each aperture. Nice greetings, Christian

[@JetCooper3D]

Subscribed - appreciated - brilliant. Thank you.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Jet, thanks a lot, my friend! And welcome to my channel 😉 Nice greetings, Christian

[@margareteirmler6998]

Wieder ein sehr aufschlussreiches Video 👏

[@christian.irmler]

Vielen Dank :)

[@GuidoVanDeWater]

Great video and it gives good insights of you're tought proces. I get a lot of comments that people find it strange that I use Hugh apertures often because according to them it is not the sharpest for my set. But In my opinion its not all about that sharpnes. Sometimes I deliberately use the higher apertures to create a mysterious painty look to an image. Especialy when there is a bit of fog that works very well is my experience. I think it all depends on what you like best yourself. I often shoot multiple different apertures and look on the computer witch is the best. Advantage of living in the digital age I guess... grt guido

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Guido, oh yes, sharpness is important, but I think a bit overrated, as well. Trying out different apertures is indeed a quite good tip. Thank you for adding this here in the comments :) Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@MA-no8tz]

This was so great that I just subscribed.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi MA, thank you so much, my friend! Welcome to the channel 😉 Nice greetings, Christian

[@torideyplaza4318]

Thank you for imparting

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @torideyplaza, I thank YOU for watching, my friend :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@kritikverloren1814]

pretty good thoughts and analysis you did here - thank you

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @kritikverloren1814, that's really kind, thank you :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@okaro6595]

1:40 You can get that sharp with f/1.4. Learn the hyperfocal distance. I see that as beyond which focus does not really matter. At 50 mm and f/1.4 it is about 60 m. For each two f-stops it is cut by half. However , always focus on the main subject. Many beginners think that if there are great distances in the photo one needs much depth of field even though nothing is really close. However, it is not pin sharp. Depth of field is calculated using circle of confusion 0.03 mm on full frame. That is about one megapixel resolution.If you print it 60 cm wide the circle of confusion is 0.5 mm. As Tony Northrup said the biggest misconception of the depth of field is that it exists. The unsharpness increases linearly from the focal plane and at some point someone in the film era decided that it is sharp enough.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @okaro6595, thank you for your thoughts! Hyper focal distance is usually not my first choice, to be honest, as it doesn't lead to the best possible sharpness. It just leads to the best spread of acceptable sharpness over an image. But that's not enough for me. Especially with higher resolutions of modern cameras the difference is huge and clear to see. I mentioned more about the different focus methods, which I prefer, which not and why and even which focussing method leads to the best possible sharpness, in my focus video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmiTc2yYesecZ8k Thanks a lot for watching, my friend and nice greetings, Christian

[@yophotodude7693]

Many lenses start suffering from diffraction at smaller apertures. This is why you lose sharpness at f/16 or f/22. Diffraction is light bouncing off of the aperture blades which softens the image. It’s also how we get sunstars. Most lenses are there sharpest at f/8-f/11. If you need more DOF than f/11 you should focus stack.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Photo Dude, thanks a lot for adding your experience here, my friend :) It is all about the circle of confusion. Fullframe lenses are indeed sharpest around f8, but for aps-c for instance, it will be more something like f6.3. And it is also all about the material of the surface of all the elements inside the lens, such as aperture blades, for instance. Here is a huge difference between cheap lenses and quality lenses, for instance. Most of my Sony GM lenses have an acceptable sharpness between f2.8 and f18, whilst cheap lenses are indeed often just acceptable between f5.6 and f11. Just in case you are interested, I gave a lot more tips about sharpness in my sharpness video: Just in case you are interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqOxoHiHqJiUi80 Thanks a lot for your comment, fantastic to have you here, my friend, Christian

[@garyrowe58]

​@@christian.irmler Hi - I tested my Sigma 24mm & 50mm lens - they're sharpest at apertures between 2.4 and 3.2!! Thankfully, it's f10 before diffraction starts really affecting them noticably. I use an R5, and given the high MBs from the full frame sensor it behaves like an APS-C, so I try to not go above f8 as I really want , and have started doing focus stacking for really sharp prints at both near and far parts of the image ... I find the 'acceptable' sharpness that the standard depth of field calculations is way too soft (still based on out-dated 35mm values) so I don't trust them.

[@rogerbarnett8412]

@@christian.irmler All that said, I sort of agree. But, I often shoot at extremely tiny f/stops with pro glass, as I want either a good sunstar..or extreme depth of field. I could focus stack, but that takes too long. I know that I could point to a bunch of images at f/16 and smaller (aperture size) that are plenty sharp.

[@rogerbarnett8412]

Not always. I made a post here within 20 min. See if you can find it. Others agree.

[@Michael-Bennett]

Wonderful shot at 14:40. Beautiful!

[@christian.irmler]

Thank you so much, Michael. I really appreciate :) Nice greetings from the mountains, Christian

[@a2roland]

Thank You! 🙏

[@christian.irmler]

I thank YOU, Norman :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@chrispark11]

W and V words are fun! Good video.

[@christian.irmler]

Oh yes, you know, I'm not a native english speaker, I'm more a "creative English speaker" 😉 Thanks a lot for watching, Chris. Have a great Sunday, Christian

[@GypsyOdyssee]

I learnt something new ❤

[@christian.irmler]

That is fantastic to hear, @GypsyOdyssee. Thank you for your kind comment and welcome to my channel 😉 Nice greetings, Christian

[@HR-wd6cw]

If you need front to back sharpness and you have a little time (like 30 seconds or more) I would personally focus stack (find out what the aperture your lenses are sharpest at and then do a stcak of images at that aperture for sharpest results, but you'll need a tripod for this). For moving subjects, it can't really be done, unless only part of the frame is moving (let's say the front is a bunch of flowers and the mid and background are mountains--then you can probably do this because in the other two or three shots (of the mountains) it doesn't matter if the flowers are moving because they will be masked out when the images are combined). I found this to be the best approach and honestly, faster than trying to find the hyper focal distance (which leaves less room for error). If I'm shooting at a smaller aperture, like f/8, it's a bit more forgiving and doesn't have to be exactly precise in many cases, except for maybe thing that are very close to the camera, like 10 ft away).

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @HR-wd6cw, thanks a lot for your insights, my friend. Fortunately, in most of the cases we have enough time, which allows us to decide on the best possible option after we have built up our composition. Of course, from time to time there are time critical situations as well where we have to react as fast as possible to get the shot. But in my experience, in situations like that when I have just 30 seconds or so, it is very unlikely to have enough time to use my tripod. It is more then that I throw down my backpack, grab my camera, and use an aperture where I'm sure that it will be enough to cover my entire frame with sharpness. Also if I would have my camera already on my tripod, there is a reason why the situation is time critical: maybe there is any special weather phenomenon or any special light situation. Focus stacking is a good technique, I often use that. But especially in time critical situations I usually try to get the shot in one exposure, as it is very likely that the "special light" will effect my distance layer, midground, and foreground. Focus stacking could lead to different light situations inside my frame. But when I have time instead, how it is in most of the cases, I choose the best possible technique for the particular composition. And when focus stacking is an advantage or even necessary, I use it of course :) By the way, hyper focal distance focussing is a fantastic focussing technique, but since I switched over to digital photography I use it just in very special exceptions. It simply doesn't lead to the best possible sharpness (just the best possible spread of sharpness over the frame), which is especially to recognize with modern cameras with lots of megapixels. I talk in my focus video a bit more about focussing techniques. How and where I focus. Just if you are interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmiTc2yYesecZ8k Thanks a lot for watching. Nice greetings, Christian

[@ewairmler]

Sehr interessanter Beitrag!

[@christian.irmler]

Vielen Dank :)

[@pannthongarunyik4803]

Thank you for info, all of comment I'm agree with you.... Thks

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Pann, that's really kind, my friend. Thanks a lot :) Nice greetings from the mountains, Christian

[@Stop-All-War]

'Most lenses' are sharpest between F2.8 & F8. Hyperfocal distancing & Focus Stackings helpful, Exposure bracketing too. Circular Polariser recommended. Tripod & 3s timer.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi StopAllWar, a fantastic nickname by the way! Lens are usually sharpest around a middle range of apertures, which is around f8. But this is just for fullframe lenses. In the end of the day it is all about the circle of confusion. So, for aps-c lenses the sharpest apertures area is at more open apertures than that, for instance :) Thank you for adding additional tips about how to get sharper images, as well. That matches with some of the tips I gave in my sharpness video, where I gave even many more tips about sharpness and explain how sharpness works, actually. Just in case you are interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqOxoHiHqJiUi80 Fantastic to have you here, my friend. Nice greetings, Christian

[@Stop-All-War]

@Christian Irmler - Landscape Photography. When technicians test Lenses properly for Aperture & Resolution, Sharpness, it is very surprising in some cases. Some are best at f2.8, or F5.6, many towards F8. Enjoy your day Christian!

[@okaro6595]

Focus on the main subject, not on some hyperfocal distance. I find stage how people talk at which aperture the lens is sharpest and the depth of field in the same context. Any lens at any aperture is way sharper than the requirement for the depth of field calculations.

[@oneeyedphotographer]

I am not expert in optics and diffraction, and I have forgotten some of what I learned in school sixty years ago, but Dustin Abbot describes himself as a professional lens tester, so I expect he does understand it. I used to own a 5Ds, and according to Dustin diffraction becomes apparent at F5.6. Of course, it's worse with your 61 megapixels Sony, and any imperfections in your lenses your sensor can record more accurately. Now, I use a Lumix S1R for some of my landscape photography. At 47.3 megapixels it's close enough to the same as the 5Ds regarding diffraction. In its 187 megapixels mode, diffraction is not worsened. Usually, I focus where I want you to look and shoot at or near F5.6. I don't think there is any circumstance I would shoot at F16. Usually, close enough is close enough. Only a photographer would stand close enough to a big print to touch it with his nose, sensible viewers stand back to take it all in. If you can se what I want you to see, does the rest matter that much?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi John, thank you for your insights, my friend. The way you focus is how I tend to focus for clear figure/ground based compositions, such as portrait shots of a subject, for instance, whenever there is one clear area I want you to look to. Woodland scenes or tighter vistas is also a good example. For a wider vista scene instead with a more seamless figure/ground architecture, I usually want you to look to multiple areas in my composition :) We want to scan wider vista views. This has prehistoric reasons, such as making sure if the landscape has potential to survive. In such kinds of compositions we usually want to get our photographs sharp from front to back. This is why many landscape photographers tend to use something like f16 all the time for wider vistas. This works though, but this doesn't lead to the best possible image quality. I hope this video encourages landscape photographers who always tend to photograph with "the maximum closed aperture" to open it as far as possible to the sweet spot of their lenses. And yes, definitely - just a photographer tends to do pixel beeping. Viewers would not care that much :) Thank you for watching and nice greetings, Christian

[@bhalchandrakapatkar1710]

🙏👌no.1 👍👍

[@christian.irmler]

Thanks a lot, Bhalchandra. I'm really happy you liked it ;) Nice greetings, Christian

[@jeffross9620]

Christian, Thank you for all of the good advice. I think it would be a great service to your viewers to link all referenced videos in the notes section. It is quite distracting to have to stop watching the current video to click on the link to get the URL for a referenced video. I think you would still get the same amount of clicks for those who are interested. Thank you for your consideration.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Jeff, thank you so much for your constructive suggestion! I really do appreciate every idea I get. To be honest, I tried that for a while with linking in the description instead of using cards, but then I got the opposite suggestion from someone else, to use the link cards inside the descriptions, so that it is not necessary to click on the description and search after the link :) I really would love to have a solution that would cover both scenarios. But I'm limited to that what KZbin offers :) I think it would be a good idea if KZbin would offer a kind of "link list" for every video, which is easily to access and where all links are included, which are linked inside the video. I will write a suggestion to KZbin, although I fear that I'm too small to achieve here anything :) Jeff, just an idea: what you could do is as a viewer, you could click on the "watch next" link in the link card. So then you don't have to interrupt the current video, it will get played automatically then after the video you are watching. But I will definitely keep me eyes open. As soon as I see any better solution from the creator's side, I will definitely consider that. So, thank you again and have a great Sunday, Christian

[@jeffross9620]

@@christian.irmler Yes, I will try the click and wait, but I don't always have time to watch consecutive videos, but I can cut and paste the links into a sort of playlist; all good ideas!

[@alien4898]

Excellent video ! Let’s be more practical I a nearly always use f8 as a sweet spot…because is the center of lens…and many times I have the lens to infinity all in focus…and at the end of the day the editing is doing the job! The important job is the synthesis….

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Alien, thanks a lot, my friend 😊 Apertures in the middle indeed tend to work best for most lens architectures. For me it is also important to know how far I can go on the aperture without getting unacceptable diffraction. Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@chrissbayer9561]

Sehr interessante Tipps, Christian, danke für‘s Teilen. Ich bin immer wieder beeindruckt von deinen anschaulichen Erklärungen, die gezeigten Bilder sind immer super gut ausgewählt. Hab ein schönes Winterwochenende ❄️⛄️😊

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Chris, vielen lieben Dank für das nette Feedback. Freut mich echt sehr, wenn dir das Video gefallen hat :) Hab einen schönen Sonntag, Christian

[@markh2719]

Thank you for a great video Christian! Wow, there is really a lot to consider when choosing the right aperture for each individual composition which means there is no hard rule when it comes to landscape photography. In terms of determining the 'sweet spot' for each lens, how did you do that? Also, if the sweet spot for your GM 16-35mm lens is f9 and I have the exact same lens, does that mean that f9 is the sweet spot for all GM 16-35mm lenses, or does each GM 16-35 lens differ? Also, what impact, if any, does the body of the camera play on which the lens is attached? If you use your GM 16-35mm on a different body, will the sweet spot still remain at f9?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Mark, I would recommend to start with finding out the sweet spot of your lenses and considering the depth of field, using Photopills, for instance. As soon as that works like binding your shoes, consider the additional tips I gave in this video. In the end, I promise you: all together will not be more complicated than binding your shoes. We have just to get used to it :) And to your question according to testing out lenes: I made a video where you see exactly how I tested my G-master lenses: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5LZYq13f8SqobM In production in general, there are always differences between the different loads and also inside a load could be differences between products. But as lenses need to be designed and produced quite accurate, I think there are not all too many differences between the products (of one and the same lens). Could be that there is a marginality between f9 and f10, for instance. But I can't imagine that there comes out a GM24-70 that has its sweet spot at f9 and another one at f13, for instance :) The only thing that should be considered are different releases. When there comes a new release of a particular lens, it could be that the sweet spot gets shifted, due to a change in the architecture. I generally test all my lenses, just to be 100 percent sure. But I test not only my lenses, also my other gear - also when the sweet spot depends on the lens, only. There are other things that can help you to get more out of your gear. I mention that all in the mentioned video. I hope this helps :) Have a great Sunday, Christian

[@TimvanderLeeuw]

About f/5.6 ... I know that one of my favourite lenses, the Fuji 16-55mm f/2.8 for APS-C, has its sharpest aperture at f/5.6. So when I can get away with f/5.6, I do use that!

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Tim, I think I forgot to mention that aps-c lenses generally tend to have their sweet spot at a more opened aperture. f5.6 is already on the more open side of usual sweet spots of aps-c lenses. But I think this shows so well how important it is to test all the lenses before using. That's great how you handle that. And sometimes f5.6 leads definitely already to a high enough depth of field. Thanks for your comment, my friend and enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@ww8wv1]

I’m no pro but I personally like between F7.1 and F10.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @ww8wv1, thank you for your insights, my friend! It always depends on what we are photographing, which type of artistriy architecture we are choosing for a composition. In woodland I tend to go more open, for instance, than for vistas with a quite close foreground 😊 It was really such a big difference for me when I started to test my lenses and knew which apertures I can use to get the best possible result, in point of view of sharpness, but also of art. Thank you so much for watching and nice greetings, Christian

[@doderiolarkisso4038]

i'm a straight F/8 guy when it comes to landscapes. I use hyperfocal distance when possible, when not i use focus stacking. But yeah, i'm also an avid supporter of photopills.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Doderio, I used hyper focal distance focussing also for a while. But we have to consider: hyperfocal distance doesn't lead to the best possible sharpness, just to the best possible spread of sharpness. Especially on high resolution cameras of today the difference is significant. Today, hyper focal distance doesn't lead to sharp enough images for me, to be honest. If you are interested, in my focus video I talk a bit more about that topic and also about different focussing methods, and which one leads to the best possible sharpness for me: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmiTc2yYesecZ8k There are also some special situations where I still use hyper focal distance, of course, but that's not often :) Thanks a lot for watching and enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@MannyScoot]

a lot of people also forget ISO ...... I use ISO 500 to 1000 in Daylight landscape photography and the amount of Dynamic Range it adds using my Canon 5DSR is absolutely Amazing !!!!!

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Manny, there are indeed lots of things photographers overlook at ISO, there are also many misunderstandings, and that all leads often to wrong ISO choises out in the field. I will make a video about that, for sure. But give me some time therefore, please. Currently, I'm working on a bigger project and there are already some other ideas in my pipeline :) But there will come a video. Thanks a lot for your comment and nice greetings, Christian

[@hushni]

People afraid of the noise from ISO, but people forget that noise can get fix by using editing tools, but not with not sharp images..

[@bamsemh1]

For me, I stand between F8-F22. Especially high when shooting sunsets, because I love the star sun 😊 I also started to play with high F number on moon halo shots.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Villiam, oh yes definitely. The aperture is one of the most important stylistic instruments. If you like to have a sun star in your composition, quite closed apertures will be your friend :) Thanks a lot for your comment and nice greetings, Christian

[@thomaseriksson6256]

F22 is it sharp?

[@07wrxtr1]

F13 is the best compromise - move with your feet!

[@derkarhu5079]

Guten Morgen!

[@christian.irmler]

A very good morning, Karhu :)

[@motleypixel]

Using the app with regards to my Ricoh GR III (18.5mm actual lens but due to APS-C sensor effective 28mm on FF) would I use 18.5mm or 28mm to do the calculations? Thank you.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @motleypixel, yes there is a difference between sensor sizes. You should choose your camera in the DoF module of Photopills, so that everything is calculated especially for your camera with the exact crop factor. In this way you don't have to calculate the crop factor in when you are out in the field :) I hope this helps. Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@omranmohammed4811]

Hey sir thanks for this video man. Can you please tell me which aperture is perfect for landscape videos like moutains and greens .

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Omran, videography is not different to photography, here. The only difference is that your camera shoots e.g. 25 every second :) If you want to have a bokeh (blurry background) when filming people for instance in landscape, it is likely that you will need to use a neutral density filter when you want to open the aperture. But again, it is totally the same as for photography. Use photo pills to find out which aperture you need to get everything sharp you want. I hope this helps. Nice greetings, Christian

[@erichstocker8358]

Wieder gut hergestellt! Ich muss sagen dass ich mehr Struktur im Wasser gern habe. Viele Foto von Wasserfälle sind mir zu weich und man sieht das Wasser nicht --nur eine weiße Fläche.

[@christian.irmler]

Hallo Erich, ja ich mag es auch meistens wenn da viel Struktur im Wasser zu sehen ist. Aber ich mache es letztendlich von der gesamten Komposition abhängig, ob ich länger oder kürzer belichte. Wenn auch nicht oft, aber manchmal sind für mich sogar sehr lange Belichtungen zielführend :) Hab einen schönen Sonntag, Christian

[@derkarhu5079]

bokeh also changes with aperture, more important with closer subjects, where the background is soft...your DOF calculation shows quite clearly, that for a 'vista', where there is really nothing close to the camera, using that optimum 'sweet spot' is an obvious...well, not *so* obvious, selection. for many of the best lenses, one reaches opptimum sharpness only 1-2 stops from wide open, but, as per your testing, it's more complex for zoom optics, and undoubtedly changes a bit with selected focal length...

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Karhu, yes the testing process of lenses has definitely to consider the different focal ranges of a lens, as I did it in the mentioned video. I make a difference here between sweet spot and acceptable sharpness. Cheap lenses tend not to allow a high range here than quality lenses, on my experience. Thank you for mentioning bokeh. Yes, definitely :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@joekelly9369]

Depends on the focal length of your lens , superwides on full frame , dont need super narrow apertures

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Joe, yes definitely. And it also depends on the depth of field we really need in the end. Going extremely close to the foreground could also mean to go for a higher aperture number, even when we are using a very short focal length. Thanks a lot for your thoughts, my friend! Nice greetings from the mountains, Christian

[@joekelly9369]

@@christian.irmler yes i use the 14 -24 even at 2.8 the snapshots are ridiculously sharp , anything over 24 yes , iv been more into wildlife so 2.8 to 4 is my max ,

[@joepardi9369]

What is the app you are talking about don’t understand photo? Thank You! Joe P.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Joe, I'm so sorry that I forgot to write the name of the app anywhere on the screen :) It is called "Photopills". It costs a few bugs, but as it supports lots of other useful features it is really worth. And that said: I'm not sponsored by them. I hope this helps, my friend. See you, Christian

[@sohrubjoshi5189]

What app you use for finding DOF ? Also how do one find out what is sweet spot of particular lens ?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi SohRub, thanks for asking. The app is called "Photopills". It costs a tiny bit, but it delivers so many useful functions for landscape photographers, it is absolutely worth. And that said, I'm not sponsored by them. To your question of finding out the sweet spot of your lenses, I made already a video about that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5LZYq13f8SqobM Thanks a lot for watching, my friend, Christian

[@minimeguju6868]

Love your videos, I did not catch the app name. I tried to search all photo app on Apple Store to no success. Please let me know the name of the app. Cheers.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi MiniMe, thanks a lot, my friend! Really fantastic to meet you here in the comments section 😊 The app is called "Photopills". I forgot to write it on the screen in my video, sorry. Photopills is really great, it offers lots of features that are useful in landscape photography. I hope you'll like it. Nice greetings, Christian

[@brianlemke6017]

I watched a video a while ago where an accomplished professional landscape shooter did a focus stack using f16 on a static scene, nothing moving. I posted a question in the comments - politely - asking him why he chose f16 rather than opening up to, say, f8 to get the sweet spot on his lens. Unfortunately, he didn’t respond. I think I may have put him on the spot. It’s certainly a mistake I’ve made. I have a scene with a very close foreground and a very distant background so I automatically start at f16 to get as much depth as possible. Then I review my image in camera and see the foreground is soft; so I do a small stack of 2-3 shots to blend later. But I forget to open up my aperture to the sweet spot. Once we decide we need to focus stack, it doesn’t much matter if we take 2 shots or 5 for the stack, so we might as well get the sharpest aperture, right? Your video is a great reminder for me and also to use my PhotoPills app more often.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Brian, thank you for your comment, my friend :) Focus stacking doesn't necessarily mean always to use the sharpest aperture on your lens. There are some situations when it gets better to use a more closed aperture, especially as the exposures have to be stitched together afterwards, seamlessly. Just think about a very close foreground for instance, which decreases your depth of field by focussing at it. I will make a video about how to master focus stacking, as there are a couple of things to be considered to really master it. But give me some time therefore, please. There are a lot of other topics in my topics&ideas pipeline, already :) Thanks a lot for watching and nice greetings, Christian

[@thomaseriksson6256]

I had difficulties to get sharp images with my Nikon D300. I usually shoot with F16 all the time. The camera broke down 2 years ago so I got a D700 12 Mpix and this year a D800E 36Mpix. I need to check my lenses for the sharpest aperture. I'm slowly upgrade my F-system to D850 standard with 70-200mmF2.8 VR Zoom, and a 2nd hand 400mmF2.8 G VR and also I will get a 2nd hand D850.I'm into woodland and some wildlife. I have some PC lenses to use before focus stacking. I dont see you use TS/PC lenses, not sharp enough?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi again :) Yes, I can highly recommend to check your lenses for their capabilities. Not only for the sweet spot, but also for the area of acceptable sharpness. TS could be an advantage, but just if it was a zoomed TS, which is not available for Sony :) But no problem at all: aperture, hyper focal distance and focus stacking work fantastically for me. So, no need actually. Nice greetings, Christian

[@thomaseriksson6256]

@@christian.irmler Thank you. I use 24mmF3.5 PC, 45mmF2.8 PC and 85mmF2.8 PC. I'm saving for a 2nd hand 19mmF?? PC lens. Just got my first Norm Zoom and I will get a 70-200mmF2.8 VR Zoom next year. I will use the Zooms for woodland on the D850 when I can get one 2nd hand. I have old Zeiss and Nikon prime lenses that may not be able to resolve too the degree that is required for the 45Mpixs sensor.

[@torsrive8920]

What mobile app you used for that calcutlation?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Tors, I'm so sorry that I forgot to mention it in the video :) The app is called "Photopills". It costs a tiny bit, but it is worth as it includes also a lot of other useful functions for landscape photographers. And that said: I'm not sponsored by them :) Thanks a lot for watching and have a great Sunday, Christian

[@Monsieur-Estrada]

What’s the name of the app for depth of field calculations? Thanks

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Rafa, I'm so sorry that I forgot to write it anywhere on the screen :) The app is called "Photopills". It costs a few bugs though, but it is really useful as it covers a lot of things for outdoor photographers. And that said, I'm not sponsored by them :) Enjoy your weekend, my friend, and nice greetings, Christian

[@Monsieur-Estrada]

@@christian.irmler excellent thanks and congrats for your video I love it!

[@brianminkc]

I rarely shoot anything above F11, I focus about 2/3 of the way down range.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Brian, thank you for your comment, my friend! I did the same thing some years ago, focussing to 2/3 of the distance, but to be honest: I ruined a lot of photos by doing that :) Basically, there is nothing wrong with that. Many photographers focus like that. But I found out that I get better results and no fails anymore by using another focussing method. If you are interested, I made already a video about that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmiTc2yYesecZ8k Nice greetings, Christian

[@okaro6595]

Focus at the main subject and use depth of field for the secondary ones. Now 2/3 of infinity is still infinity so you may not do much wrong in that.

[@smamind]

Great Video. Please can you share the name of the app you are using on the phone.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Satish, I'm so sorry that I forgot to write it on the screen :) The app is called "Photopills". It costs a few bugs though, but it is definitely worth as it can do much more than just what I showed in the video. And that said: I'm not sponsored by them. Thanks a lot for watching, my friend. See you, Christian

[@smamind]

@@christian.irmler Thank you!!!

[@JohnSmith-kn5wt]

There's a reason why we don't have music in classrooms. And this concept should be practiced.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi John, yes, absolutely. There should be no music in classrooms. Thanks a lot for watching and nice greetings, Christian

[@kevindavis3456]

What was name of app you used? Sorry I’m hard at hearing.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Kevin, it is my fault, I forgot to write it on the screen. Sorry therefore 😬 The name of the app is "Photopills". It costs a tiny bit, but it is absolutely worth, as there are so many useful functions inside we can use as landscape photographers. And that said, I'm not sponsored by them and bought my app with my own money. I hope this helps, my friend 😉 See you in the next one, Christian

[@58Tommy]

What app are you using?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Tommy, that's "Photopills". It costs a little bit, but it contains so much we need for landscape photography. I hope that helps 😉 Enjoy your Sunday evening, Christian

[@phil_aesthetics]

What is the name of the app used to calculate dof?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Phil, it is my fault. I forgot to blend in the name of the app in the video. Sorry therefore :) The name of the app is "Photopills". It costs a tiny bit, but it is totally worth, as it helps also for different other things we need in landscape photography. And that said, I'm not sponsored by them. I hope this helps, my friend. Nice greetings from the mountains, Christian

[@phil_aesthetics]

@@christian.irmler thank you! I will download and cheers from Canada

[@tanguylienart13]

Hi, I could not understand the name of the app you use for aperture? The image goes a bit fast to capture the information 😁

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Tanguy, I'm so sorry, my friend. I don't know why I haven't written the name of the app anywhere on the screen :) The name of the app is: "Photopills". It costs a few bugs, but it is absolutely worth, because it can do so much more than just what I showed in the video. I'm not sponsored from Photopills, by the way. Thanks a lot for watching, see you in my next video ;) Nice greetings, Christian

[@tanguylienart13]

@@christian.irmler super thanks a lot!

[@thomasgoetze]

“What could Mark do better in the future?” Buy a lens with f22, of course. 😎

[@christian.irmler]

That's also an option, for sure ;) Thanks for your contribution and nice greetings, Christian

[@don7117]

I really enjoy your videos. And your work. Too bad you don't get a commission for PhotoPills sales. Just purchased based on your demo.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Don, thank you so much for your kind words! Oh yes, they should indeed sponsor me 😊 But I'm more than happy that the video was useful for you, which is the most important thing. Nice greetings, Christian

[@virtualworldsbyloff]

Any apperture is justified when there is a justification, if you shoot landscape with a 50mm and your first motive is very close you may need F22 to get everything in focus

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @metaversebyloff, yes definitely, every aperture makes sense for a specific use case. But in my experience, in most of the cases there comes anyway the point where focus stacking starts to make more sense than accepting high diffraction. But also f22 has a right to exist, of course. Could lead to amazing sunstars if that is wished :) Thanks a lot for your contribution, my friend. Enjoy your Sunday, Christian

[@rogerbarnett8412]

@@christian.irmler Yep. Love sunstars. Put the sun in the image often. Even pro glass may show some flare. Deal with it. Clone it out, if needed. I have even shot at f/40 ish with my two super tele's...

[@tommyg83333333]

Good information but I feel the video is about 17 minutes too long considering the info given. In summary "every lens has a sharpness sweet spot, test your lens for that sweetspot. The more you want in focus in your focus plane/point of interest, increase the fstop but try not to exceed the lens sharpness sweet spot (usually around f8-11) The less you want in focus around your focus plane/point of interest, lower you fstop."

[@christian.irmler]

Hi TG83, thanks a lot for your honest comment, my friend! You broke down the essentials of the video topic though, but I think I gave a lot more side tips in this one. In my experience it is also important not just to push out 5 tips in 3 minutes or so, but better to go more into detail, so that my viewers really understand why it is important what I suggest and how to execute all the knowledge out in the field. I will tell a bit more about learning methods in my next video, by the way - also as a side information. There are coming some amazing changes in future by technology :) Anyway, thank you for your comment. I take it serious and will think about video length in my next videos. Fantastic to have you here, my friend :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@doctorrobin3040]

Your definition of Depth of Field is wrong. There is only ever one plane in a photograph that is actually in focus. DofF describes what is acceptably sharp behind and in front of the plane of focus. This is basic when using large format cameras where we often use f32, f64.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Robin, yes, that's definitely true. But with the way I focus on vista images, for instance, I have to say that I can't tell a difference when I compare a point in an image with that same point in a version of the image where I would focus exactly to that point, unless I would do extreme pixel peeping, zoomed in 200% or so. But it definitely depends on where you focus, of course. So, the "acceptable sharpness" in my images is indeed definitely always "pin sharp" :) Thanks a lot for watching and have a great Sunday, Christian

[@level80888]

8:42 no, you dont need f16. You need tripod, stacked AF, and your favourite f9.

[@christian.irmler]

We need that and a lot of fun and duration when there are moving elements in our scene 😉 I'm just kidding, thank you for your thoughts, @demingdsw 🙂 It always depends. If possible I want to get my image with just one single exposure. Sometimes that is f/9, sometimes it is f/16. Important is, of course, to consider how good the used lens is at the chosen aperture. Some lenses show already a high diffraction at f/16, which makes it unusable. I even use f/18 sometimes on some of my lenses, when I know the particular lens still leads to reasonable quality and I need a high DoF. If necessary, I do focus stacking, of course. But that's not always possible in landscape photography. Especially when we are out in moody conditions, when the weather is rough 🙂 Thanks a lot for watching, my friend! Nice greetings, Christian

[@rellaxum]

Is a digital image ,a 2d image ...or the film image is giving you a kind of 2d to 3d ? Cuz a film photo has a different color shape of the depth of field ...and digital is kind of a 2d Flat ...🤔😜...I mean the objects in the photo film they pop up like a stone shape is way better shaped in the film photo ...in digital is ...flat ...( I refer to big photo print scale of film vs digital )

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @rellaxum, thank you for sharing your thoughts, which are quite interesting, I have to say! But I don't see any disadvantages for colours and contrasts in digital over film photography. In film photography we were able to manipulate contrasts and colours through various development techniques, such as different development times, different developers, and different development methods. In digital photography we can do even more: we can change colours in their tones, luminance, and saturation, and we can change also contrasts in post processing. For contrasts we can do even local adjustments, which gives us much more control over how the final image will get. Some years ago, I had maybe said, when using a good film, there could be some advantages in dynamic range over digital photography. But the dynamic range of modern cameras has got compareable, meanwhile. But anyway, interesting thoughts. Thank you and nice greetings, Christian

[@montazownianr1]

GOOD WEED-IO

[@christian.irmler]

Thanks a lot, @montazownianr1 :)

[@freckitt2305]

If you really want to use the f-stop that gives you the sharpest image, find out what the hyperfocal distance is for the lens you are using, as a start-of point. if you don't know the meaning of the term, go back to school and find out why you weren't informed about it.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @freckitt2305, thank you for your thoughts! But to be honest, hyper focal distance is usually not my first choice, as it doesn't lead to the best possible sharpness, it only leads to the best possible spread of acceptable sharpness. Especially with high resolution cameras of today the difference is huge and clear to see. But of course, there are situations where hyper focal distance is necessary, especially when shooting freehand or shooting analogue. I mentioned more about the different focus methods, which I prefer, which not and why and even which focussing method leads to the best possible sharpness, in my focus video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmiTc2yYesecZ8k Thanks a lot for watching and nice greetings, Christian

[@sdfghjkertyuiofghjk]

it isz... bixel beeping!

[@christian.irmler]

Not necessarily. If you want to photograph in the dark in woodland, for instance, you can go down lower with the ISO if you can open the aperture more. And that can be a quite big difference in image quality. It's really a big advantage to use the "right" aperature over always something like f/16. Enjoy your Sunday evening, Christian

[@bolleolympus]

I use f22-to 45. But I do not use babycameras!

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Bolle, thank you for your insights, my friend! The aperture is definitely a relative size to the sensor size. Babycameras... 😆 Nice greetings, Christian

[@mund2872]

"What is the best possible aperture for landscape photography, is revealed in this video." So misleading. The best aperture is the one that conveys your vision. If you stop using what works for you in your creative process only because you are told to, your vision becomes somebody else's vision. I do agree that to maximize image quality is best to stay within the "sweet spot," of the lens aperture, but creativity is a different story.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi mund2, absolutely - the creative process is that what really counts. But when we are happy with our composition, when we want to get everything sharp in our images, which is for most cases in landscape photography, it is all about trying to get the image technical clean, as well. I saw photographers having the aperture closed too much and the iso increased at same time, because the exposure time was too long. It is good to know how far it is possible to go on the aperture :) Thanks a lot for your comment and nice greetings, Christian

[@aventurafotografica5648]

18 minutes and no talk about hyperfocal distance? You can get a sharp image knowing the hyperfocal distance from f 2.8 until f whatever. One reason to go further away the gear and learn real photography

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @aventurafotografica5648, thank you for mentioning hyper focal distance here in the comments. To be honest, hyper focal distance is usually not my first choice, as it doesn't lead to the best possible sharpness, only the best possible even sharpness. Especially in high resolution cameras of today the difference is quite huge. But of course, there are situations where hyper focal distance focussing is necessary, especially when shooting freehand or shooting analogue. In that case you can test the depth of field in the same way I have shown in the video: just use Photopills to get sure to get everything into your depth of field you need. Just use the hyper focal table of Photopills therefore. I mentioned more about the different focus methods, which I prefer, which not and why, in my focus video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmiTc2yYesecZ8k I hope this helps. And yes, I absolutely agree: we should not focus all too much on gear. Photography is art, not a science :) Thank you for watching and nice greetings, Christian

[@wayneshum]

Try get closer to your subject physically as posibble by moving your feets

[@ds97853]

What the fuck is a weedio?

[@christian.irmler]

Hi @ds97853, I'm so, so sorry for my bad pronunciation. I know that I make many mistakes here, but honestly, I wasn't clear about that I even pronunciate the word "video" that wrong. Sorry therefore. But you know, I'm not a native speaker, I'm a "creative speaker" 😊 When a word doesn't exist, I simply invent it by myself 😊 Thanks a lot for watching, my friend. Nice greetings, Christian

[@dominiclester3232]

Nice, but if you talk a little slower, you will be much clearer, thanks.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Dominic, thanks a lot for the constructive critique. I will consider that in my upcoming videos - as good as it is possible :) Nice greetings, Christian

[@colintraveller]

At least provide examples .... as all you've done is talk the talk On another note , I capture what i like no matter etc etc ..

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Colin, thank you for your honest feedback. It is always important for me to see how I can improve my videos, so I'm grateful for your comment. The only thing: I had a look at the video again: I showed a lot of examples, actually, as I always tend to do in my videos. So, I guess you mean additional examples for a specific part? Please tell me which additional examples you had liked to see in which part of the video. Again, I'm striving for improving my videos all the time, for making them more interesting and enjoyable. Would be great to get more details from you, so that I'm able to consider that in my upcoming videos. And of course: you should just photograph what you like, nothing else! There is also no right or wrong in art or in the way of how to decide on a subject or scene to photograph. This is what I say quite often in my videos. So, I'm not sure how you have meant that? Maybe you could also explain that in a bit more detail? Thanks a lot and nice greetings, Christian

[@rothschildianum]

Chris, your videos are just toooooo long.

[@christian.irmler]

Hi Selmer, thank you for your honest opinion, my friend! Honestly, it is quite difficult to find the right balance between putting enough tips into a video and making it shorter. It would even be easier for me, less effort to create shorter videos, but I always try to make my videos as useful as possible, which ends up in a video around 15 minutes and sometimes longer. But I understand your concern and will definitely think about your thoughts in future, for sure. Thanks a lot and nice greetings, Christian

[@rothschildianum]

@@christian.irmler My honest opinion is that you say too many filler sentences. I like to watch a to the point video. But, I do know many people are just not able to say in a direct way, they feel uncomfortable to say something in a direct way. The danger is that you will lose people with short intention span like me and also too hard for people to get the digest.