friedmud said:...Choosing a single AF point didn't work so well on my XSi ;-)
On the 7D it is definitely more of a possibility... but when I'm taking that much time and care to get the shot I want... I want it to be _perfect_ (hence the reason for my "Earthshattering" post from last week ;-)
Where at in Idaho? I'm living near Idaho Falls right now myself. Haven't been here too long... but I'm loving it. It truly is a nature photographer's dream!
jrista said:@RC: Automatic focus isn't particularly useful in landscapes. For the most part (and there are some exceptions), you want a deep DOF, so the entire scene is in focus. There really isn't anything specific to focus on, so AF usually just gets in the way.
More specifically, when photographing a landscape, focus is more about the art of compromise as much as anything. You really can't get *everything* in focus, so you have to fine-tune focus for the selected DOF to get as much of the entire field of view as sharp as possible, without losing too much on the front or back. The only way to do that is with manual focus. Better yet, the ideal way to do that is with dedicated manual focus lenses with a nice, long focus throw, so fine adjustments are easy. (AF lenses tend to have very short focus throw, as it helps them focus less precisely faster.)
In the heydays of large format, you had a REAL NICE, HUGE ground glass screen to compose and focus your shot with. It was 4"x5", maybe 8"x10", clear and easy to see focus. The direct equivalent today would be like having a small TV attached to your DSLR, however Live View serves this purpose extremely well. Its many times larger than the largest viewfinders, clearer, brighter in most cases (OLED screens are even bright in direct sunlight), and usually more capable. With most Live View features on DSLR's today, you can zoom in and focus to a pixel-perfect level at various locations of a landscape scene, and never have to worry that some part of your photo may be out of focus, or that it was focused clearly on the wrong thing.
jrista said:The direct equivalent today would be like having a small TV attached to your DSLR, however Live View serves this purpose extremely well.
briansquibb said:jrista said:The direct equivalent today would be like having a small TV attached to your DSLR, however Live View serves this purpose extremely well.
The serious landscapers I have met carry around a 17inch laptop and tether it to the body. That is why there are so many backpacks with laptop compartments .....
friedmud said:briansquibb said:jrista said:The direct equivalent today would be like having a small TV attached to your DSLR, however Live View serves this purpose extremely well.
The serious landscapers I have met carry around a 17inch laptop and tether it to the body. That is why there are so many backpacks with laptop compartments .....
Can you use LiveView with an iPad?
An ipad with the camera connection kit works pretty well as well... I carry one with me to review photos in the field.
friedmud said:Short Answer: Yes!
friedmud said:I tried tons of aperutres and f/8 gave the best results (I gave one comparison in the OP). In the case of Shot1 I simply just focused too closely to be able to get everything "in focus" without losing a ton of detail overrall. With my old camera it was more forgiving in that regard... because of that I grew quite sloppy in my hyperfocusing technique... guess I'll have to be more careful in the future!
As for the tetons at sunset / sunrise: they are spectacular!
torger said:If you like working with primes and tilt-shift full-frame is a better choice. If you like working with zooms, the practical quality out of the 7D is quite close the 5Dmk2.
briansquibb said:torger said:If you like working with primes and tilt-shift full-frame is a better choice. If you like working with zooms, the practical quality out of the 7D is quite close the 5Dmk2.
It is fine with primes - but not tiltshift
+1 - especially in good light
torger said:briansquibb said:torger said:If you like working with primes and tilt-shift full-frame is a better choice. If you like working with zooms, the practical quality out of the 7D is quite close the 5Dmk2.
It is fine with primes - but not tiltshift
+1 - especially in good light
Yes you're right, it is good on many of the available primes. What I meant is that on the wide end there's not really any good primes. Those 14mm and 17mm full-frame primes don't perform that great on the small-pixel APS-C compared to longer primes, then it is better with the wide-angle 10-22mm APS-C-specific zoom lens. Full-frame primes are sharp down to 24mm, but less than 24mm they lose some sharpness, meaning that they don't perform well on small-pixel APS-C. Since APS-C needs shorter focal lengths to get the wide angle views, the full-frame wide angle primes are not great to use, and there are no wide angle APS-C-specific primes made (APS-C-specific can be made a bit sharper due to the smaller image circle).
However, the 50, 85, 100mm etc primes perform very well on APS-C, but may be a bit long for landscape shots. I've done quite many 50mm landscape shots on the 7D though.
pj1974 said:I've said for many years that people often overstate that the 'best of the best of current day photographic equipment' is needed for good photos. Landscape photography is one of the photographic genres that have less of a demand on equipment essentially than some other genres (eg sports).
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I found your tips very useful!friedmud said:Short Answer: Yes!
Long Answer: Read On
A few days ago I was "Earthshatteringly Disappointed" with my new 7D. However, upon learning that I couldn't return it, I decided to give it a fair shake to see if it would be worth keeping or dumping for a loss.
I took it out to Jackson, Wyoming...