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Oct 17, 2017 08:17:24   #
GLKTN Loc: TN
 
I took skyline photos of Nashville around noon. ISO200 f16 @1/250 - 1/350. Nikon d750 at 28 mm. Sunny wb. I auto focused on a building and also tried manual focus. Lesn was nikon 24-120 mm. When I zoom in in post the buldings are not real sharp. Is heat causing a problem? Not sure where to focus. It was a long shot from Love Circle for anyone who may know the location. Pretty long shots.

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Oct 17, 2017 08:20:38   #
dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia
 
GLKTN wrote:
I took skyline photos of Nashville around noon. ISO200 f16 @1/250 - 1/350. Nikon d750 at 28 mm. Sunny wb. I auto focused on a building and also tried manual focus. Lesn was nikon 24-120 mm. When I zoom in in post the buldings are not real sharp. Is heat causing a problem? Not sure where to focus. It was a long shot from Love Circle for anyone who may know the location. Pretty long shots.


Temperature? Long as in 1/4 mile, 1 mile, 3 miles? A copy of the photo? In manual did you use live view to focus?

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Oct 17, 2017 08:25:12   #
CO
 
Lenses are usually their sharpest when stopped down 2 to 3 stops from maximum. LensTip.com does extensive lens testing. They tested the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 lens. Here is the chart from their image resolution testing at lens center. You can see at f/16 the resolution is down to about 32 line pairs per millimeter. That lens is its best at f/5.6 where it reaches about 44 line pairs per millimeter.

As was mentioned already, the distance can be a factor also.



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Oct 17, 2017 08:27:32   #
anotherview Loc: California
 
Did you set the hyperfocal distance?

As a rule of thumb, you can set the hyperfocal distance by focusing on a point about one-third of the way into the scene.

If properly done, using the hyperfocal distance renders everything in the frame sharp from very near to infinity.
GLKTN wrote:
I took skyline photos of Nashville around noon. ISO200 f16 @1/250 - 1/350. Nikon d750 at 28 mm. Sunny wb. I auto focused on a building and also tried manual focus. Lesn was nikon 24-120 mm. When I zoom in in post the buldings are not real sharp. Is heat causing a problem? Not sure where to focus. It was a long shot from Love Circle for anyone who may know the location. Pretty long shots.

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Oct 17, 2017 08:29:59   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
GLKTN wrote:
I took skyline photos of Nashville around noon. ISO200 f16 @1/250 - 1/350. Nikon d750 at 28 mm. Sunny wb. I auto focused on a building and also tried manual focus. Lesn was nikon 24-120 mm. When I zoom in in post the buldings are not real sharp. Is heat causing a problem? Not sure where to focus. It was a long shot from Love Circle for anyone who may know the location. Pretty long shots.


Hi, I have and use that lens extensively; I just did many long shots with it in Venice, Italy. First off, you might consider not shooting at "high noon" unless perhaps you want a hard edge black and white image; high noon is good for that kind of shot. Otherwise, many landscapes, rural and urban, come out with a much better look for the image during the early morning hours or at some point later in the day, perhaps after 3pm or 4pm...you don't need to shoot them at sunrise and sunset unless that is a central part of your shot. As to focusing, did you move your focus point to around 1/3 or so, into the bottom of the frame of the camera? This often works out fairly well for long-range urban or rural landscapes. If you shot with the focus point in the center that could create a focus issue in the image. Heat generally causes shimmer, not a lack of focus so much although the shot looks unfocused (I have that type of shot from photographing airplanes in 100 degree heat). If the buildings in the front are fairly sharp and the buildings in the back a tad soft that should not ruin the image, so it depends on what you mean by "are not real sharp." At some point, your lens will not focus tack sharp if the distance is long. That is a technicality I'll leave to others who respond.

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Oct 17, 2017 09:37:40   #
GLKTN Loc: TN
 
GLKTN wrote:
I took skyline photos of Nashville around noon. ISO200 f16 @1/250 - 1/350. Nikon d750 at 28 mm. Sunny wb. I auto focused on a building and also tried manual focus. Lesn was nikon 24-120 mm. When I zoom in in post the buldings are not real sharp. Is heat causing a problem? Not sure where to focus. It was a long shot from Love Circle for anyone who may know the location. Pretty long shots.


Here is a shot. ISO 200, f13 @ 1/250, sunlight WB, matrix metering.



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Oct 17, 2017 09:45:27   #
GLKTN Loc: TN
 
No on live view or hyperfocus. I am new to photography, new camera in late May. I was scouting location for morning or evening sunrise/set shots.

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Oct 17, 2017 09:50:10   #
GLKTN Loc: TN
 
In early or late 20 minute window of sunrise/sunset, Bryan Peterson says, "Morning meter sky to the West, evening, Meter sky to the East. This direction is NNE to the skyline. Would I just meter over the skyline to the north no matter morning or evening?

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Oct 17, 2017 09:56:59   #
dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia
 
1/250. Hmmm. Did you use a remote release or did you push the shutter button with your finger? At that distance is does not take a lot to introduce shake to the far away buildings. Were you on a tripod or handheld? Did the lens have stabilization on or off?

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Oct 17, 2017 09:59:05   #
GLKTN Loc: TN
 
dsmeltz wrote:
1/250. Hmmm. Did you use a remote release or did you push the shutter button with your finger? At that distance is does not take a lot to introduce shake to the far away buildings. Were you on a tripod or handheld? Did the lens have stabilization on or off?


Hand held, IS on.

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Oct 17, 2017 10:01:48   #
d3200prime
 
Please learn about hyperfocal distance in relation to your issue. This will help with landscape shots but if you are looking for tack sharp in all areas of your shot you are out of luck. Hyperfocal distance only guarantees the best focus, generally, from a certain distance in front to infinity. Your sharpest point will be somewhere between the front and infinity depending on how far out you set your hyperfocus point in your shot. Set up on a shot and shoot with your front focal point set at different distances and check the results and you will see what I am talking about. Good shooting to you.

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Oct 17, 2017 10:15:10   #
tdekany Loc: Oregon
 
I’m only on my iPhone, realize that you are new, but if you are a fan of tack sharp, I would suggest that you look into “focus stacking” and of course purchasing the proper tripod. You can get the results you want that way for sure, because you are using the lent at its sharpest aperture (you need to find that out as well, which is easy). On another point, if there is a way to move to a different location, where you don’t have those trees in the foreground would be better in my opinion.

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Oct 17, 2017 10:19:02   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
GLKTN wrote:
In early or late 20 minute window of sunrise/sunset, Bryan Peterson says, "Morning meter sky to the West, evening, Meter sky to the East. This direction is NNE to the skyline. Would I just meter over the skyline to the north no matter morning or evening?


Well, since I have not read the Peterson book you are referring to I cannot really say anything on it or what he is referring to. He does put out some good information so if you are following him you can stay with what he says until you are comfortable making your own decisions. I don't meter as he does but it's probably a good start for many. I meter each individual shot as I see fit, sometimes making the correct decision and other times maybe off a bit. I meter for the brightest part of the scene and most often quickly check my histogram to see if I'm "in the ballpark," which means no blinkies first and bright enough overall second. I correct as needed using minus exposure most often. I do use back button autofocus and do move my focus/exposure point as needed, so setting focus at one point and metering at another point. I think people meter using different techniques based on what has worked for them. If you are using the shutter button you are metering and autofocusing as one so perhaps this is how Peterson works. Maybe I'll try what he says!

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Oct 17, 2017 10:21:53   #
dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia
 
via the lens wrote:
Well, since I have not read the Peterson book you are referring to I cannot really say anything on it or what he is referring to. He does put out some good information so if you are following him you can stay with what he says until you are comfortable making your own decisions. I don't meter as he does but it's probably a good start for many. I meter each individual shot as I see fit, sometimes making the correct decision and other times maybe off a bit. I meter for the brightest part of the scene and most often quickly check my histogram to see if I'm "in the ballpark," which means no blinkies first and bright enough overall second. I correct as needed using minus exposure most often. I do use back button autofocus and do move my focus/exposure point as needed, so setting focus at one point and metering at another point. I think people meter using different techniques based on what has worked for them. If you are using the shutter button you are metering and autofocusing as one so perhaps this is how Peterson works. Maybe I'll try what he says!
Well, since I have not read the Peterson book you ... (show quote)



"Understanding Exposure" Bryan Peterson. It is sort of the bible on exposure and one of the most recommended books on this site. I see it referenced at least two or three times a week.

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Oct 17, 2017 10:28:29   #
via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP
 
dsmeltz wrote:
"Understanding Exposure" Bryan Peterson. It is sort of the bible on exposure and one of the most recommended books on this site. I see it referenced at least two or three times a week.


I have one of his books but don't recall which one. I know that people do like his material and it is probably a very good start to being a good photographer to do what he says until the person is comfortable doing more on their own in their own way with good results. So many ways to learn...

Thanks.

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