Hyperfocal Distance

Hyperfocal Distance - call it a zone of focus - is the distance from the lens to the focal point, which from the focal point to the point of infinite distance (infinity) is sharp all. By using this technique we also get half of the hyperfocal distance point in the direction of the lens take sharp, in terms of photography is called acceptable sharpness.

From the picture above, if we peep from the viewfinder and put focus point at point A, then from the point A to infinity will be entered in the field of DOF (depth of field) . But we also get the sharpness that is half the distance from point A to the lens also sharp. Or in other words, from the point B to infinity will be sharp.

At the time of celluloid camera lens we get "zone of focus" by reading the enclosed space of the aperture used. See the pictures below:
 

If you want to make a landscape photograph with the lens and f16 aperture (smallest aperture), set focus about 6m, the closest foreground focus is about 2.9m. It means from the distance 2.9m to infinity will be sharp focused at f16 aperture.

The main goal of knowing the hyperfocal distance is to get the sharpness wide open from the focal point to the point of infinity in landscape photography. So the point is to find the right focus distance to get the focal plane broadest of foreground to background, because in landscape photography we often include foreground and background in the same photo frame in sharp condition evenly.

Thus, Hyperfocal Distance is a useful feature that is the function of the lens aperture (f stop), distance and focal length.

The use of a narrow aperture (e.g. f11, f16 or f22) is helping this process. This is due to the narrow aperture sharp space tends to expand. However, landscape photography is often even more demanding. Foreground that we use often is no more than 20-30 cm in front of the lens. Besides all the areas in the picture sharpness is very important for landscape photographers, they do not want any area that is not sharp. This requires precise autofocus point selection.

In these cases we use hyperfocal technique. This technique essentially select an object at a certain distance to be the focal point. By selecting an object with a certain distance we "maximize" sharp space available. This technique depends on the type of camera body (i.e. sensor size) that is used, aperture and focal length used.

In these cases we use hyperfocal technique . This technique essentially select an object at a certain distance to be the focal point. By selecting an object with a certain distance we "maximize" sharp space available. This technique depends on the type of body that is used, aperture and focal length used. To calculate you can use DOF Master Calculator . This software is available free of charge either online or on the iPhone and Windows Mobile. And you can make a table according to the device you want to take photography.
 

In the "DOF Master Calculator" you must first enter the "body type" that you use, "aperture" and "focal length". Once you enter this parameter is then seen in the red box no. 1 appears the number "hyperfocal distance". After that we enter the hyperfocal distance to the "subject distance" so "far limit" in the blue box no. 2 to "infinity". If it has not reached the "infinity" increase slightly to reach "infinity". The number "hyperfocal distance" is the distance obtained where we have to do focusing.

"Near limit" in the blue box no.2 is the shortest distance from the lens is still in the category of sharp. While "far limit" is the furthest distance that is still in the category of sharp. Or "zone of focus" were among the "near limit" and "far limit".

Reference to calculate hyperfocal distance can be found in en.wikipedia.org 

Tips:

• Hyperfocal technique is especially needed if we use the foreground within the "extreme" close to the lens. If the distance is far enough away from the lens (i.e. 3-4 meters) the technique is no longer relevant.

• Make a stop down to ensure sharpness. Suppose you use a Canon 50D body, 18mm focal length and aperture f11, resulting from the DOF Master Calculator 1.53m hyperfocal distance and near the limit of 0.76m. To assure sharpness, you set the aperture at f16 (1 step below), so the foreground with a distance 76cm in front of the lens certainly sharp.

8 Steps Before You Shoot

8 Steps Before You Shoot - Good photo is not obtained because of luck, but more to the decision-making. Lots of things to think about before making a photograph. For beginners, it's hard to think so many steps. But with a continuous exercise, I'm sure we'll be able to do it naturally. Here are 8 steps before you take pictures that you can use as a reference:

1. Find an interesting subject
 
Try to choose a subject of interest, such as busy roads, try to take portraits of people, a building, a car or an activity. Be careful not to put too many elements in the photo. Too much detail will make the people who see the picture became confused about what you want to convey.

2. The quality and direction of light
 
Knowing the quality and direction of light greatly affect the atmosphere of the photo. In general, there are three types of light:

• Hard light: Usually obtained from a relatively small light source / concentrated. For example: the sun, the camera flash, flashlight.
• Soft light: Usually obtained from a relatively large light source. For example, soft boxes, reflectors, ceiling surface.
• Diffused light: This light comes from a light source is relatively very large. For example, in the cloud or the sky covered with clouds.

Direction of light (front, rear, side, top, bottom) is also an important aspect to give a certain impression. Look carefully at the direction and quality of light.

3. The Composition
 
The first step in making a good composition is starting from choosing the background. Background clean / plain is a good first step. Then position the subject in layers. Arrange in such a way that the composition of the picture looks interesting.
If you are just starting photography, you can always learn the formula composition as a reference. Many of the rules of composition that can help you create an interesting composition as the rule of thirds, golden ratio, scale, etc.

4. Choose aperture
 
Aperture determines how much light into the camera body. Aperture also adjust the depth of focus (depth of field). The larger the aperture, the thinner the depth of focus and vice versa. We must determine whether the photos we take have a thin depth of field or thick.
 
In general, for portraits, we want a thin depth of field so that it looks more artistic portraits, so that wide aperture should we choose. But if we shoot landscape, we usually want all the elements in the images look clear and focused, then aperture that we should choose small.

5. Choose shutter speed
We must determine whether we want to freeze the subject of the picture, or record the movement of the subject. If we want to freeze the subject, we need to set the shutter speed carefully.

To prevent blur due to hand / camera shake, we also have to follow the rules of the lens focal size. Then we observe how fast your subject moves. Your subject moving at high speed requires a very fast shutter speed. Read posting How to Avoid Blurred Photos

6. Choose lens with optimum focal length
 
Not all lenses produce the same results. There is a wide lens, standard lens and a telephoto lens. Each focal lens has its own characteristics. Wide lens gives the impression dimensions, distortion, and thick depth of field. On the other hand, telephoto lenses make photos into two-dimensional (compression effect), make a thin depth of field and enlarge the far subject.
Try taking photos with different lenses and different focal lens to better understand the effects caused by each lens.

7. Determine the optimal exposure
 
The camera is usually automatically determine the optimal exposure. But sometimes the camera settings made are not to our liking. For example, if we want to make the photo low key (dark-toned photo) or high key (bright-toned photo), we must adjust itself so that the optimal camera settings.
 

Determine the camera exposure settings depending on what you visualize the end result with manual mode or use the exposure compensation function, when using automatic or semi-automatic settings (P, S, A)

8. Timing
 
Decide also whether the time of shooting is important or not. For photos still life (the subject is not moving), the timing might not be too important. But for candid photos, especially sports, timing is very important. If so, practice can take photos with the correct timing. Exercise anticipation, patience and controlled camera / photographic equipment so you can take photos with the optimal timing.

DSLR Lens Buying Guide - Part 1

DSLR lens buying guide part 1 - is the answer the question "Which lens should I buy?" after we know the types of DSLR lenses. This post will discuss some of the factors into consideration when buying a DSLR Lenses. Each of the features below will be different in each lens.
 

Lens Speed

Lens Speed or how fast a lens is actually closely related to the maximum aperture is owned by the lens. Aperture is the size of the lens opening when the shutter button is pressed (or how much light enters the camera). Aperture is denoted by F (f-stop).

The smaller number makes wider aperture, and there will be more light coming in at one time. This means the shutter speed becomes faster. Lens speed should you know due to:

• Lens "fast" with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 allows you to shoot in relatively dark place better than the lens has a maximum aperture of f / 4 or f/5.6, but that does not mean a slower lens is not good.

• The "fast" lens allows you to retrieve the moving object without getting motion blur.

• Lens "fast" allows you to get the depth of field of thinner / narrower. This means that when you focus on a subject in the foreground the background will be blurry or out of focus. Having a lens 'fast' of course means it is possible to get focusing a little more 'tricky', given the depth of field is used very thin / narrow. For example, when photographing portrait of a face with f/1.4 aperture and focus on the eyes, then most likely you will find the nose a little out of focus.

• The 'fast' lens is usually more expensive than a slower lens.

• The faster lenses would be helpful in terms of flash photography in recording or taking ambient light.

As a reference:

• Lens speed aperture lens with f / 4 is usually good for general purpose photography with good lighting conditions
• f/5.6 requires good lighting or features image stabilization (IS / VR)
• If you shoot indoor without flash, then at least use a lens with f/2.8, and
• If you are shooting indoor sports then at least use f/2.0 or 'faster'.

Focal Length

Focal length is length of the lens. This measurement is the distance between the middle of the optical lens to the focal point on the camera sensor. What you should know is that the focal length of a lens inform you when photographing subjects how much will be enlarged. Focal Length also inform the angle of view.

Focus Distance
This is the measurement between the end of the lens with the closest point of object. This is useful when shooting in macro or close-up photography, because this type of photography requires a very close distance of the object to end of the lens.

Image Stabilization

This feature is useful for minimizing vibration or shaking the camera (Camera Shake). Most DSLR lenses is now equipped with image stabilization (the Canon lens known as IS, and the Nikon lens is known as VR).

Camera Shake is a movement that occurs when the shutter is opened. This incident had a greater impact on the photos when we use slow speed, no tripod, and when use a lens with a longer focal length.

Image Stabilization helps photographers reduce camera shake at low light levels, but it does not freeze the moving subject. Basically IS allows us to take photos at lower shutter speed which the camera aperture open a little longer.

IS features mean additional cost on a lens, so you need a consideration of whether the activity of shooting with lenses that require this feature or not. Example: Do you frequently shoot in low light conditions using a long focal length without a tripod?

Budget

Considerations in buying lenses when going to upgrade is the cost. Most people agree that "we get what we pay", and we prefer to upgrade the lens than replace the camera body (depending on conditions). A little wary of the 'kit lens', in many circumstances these lenses are good, but we think it would be better if we buy only the camera body and then choose a better lens than the kit.

Brand

There are so many opinions say that to produce great photos should use a lens with the same brand with the camera compared to using cheaper third party lenses. In our opinion, for the first time try to find the same brand lens with the camera body, if you can not find try to find the lens of a third party. The fact is that every lens manufacturer has produced good and less good lenses that have been circulating in the market. Do your research before buying a lens through websites and forums that provide a review and comparison.

To be continued...here

Some Causes of Blur Photos

Some Causes Blur Photos - This post is a continuation of the post Tips for Sharp Picture. In this post I will emphasize the causes blurry photo.

Here are some of the causes:

Sensor size - Camera sensor size varies, the larger, more easily create a blurry background. Camera phones or compact cameras have a sensor size is relatively small compared with the digital SLR camera. In the digital SLR camera, subdivided some kind of sensor size.
The smallest to the largest are: Four thirds (ratio of 4 by 3), there is a crop sensor 1.6 (Canon), 1.5 (Nikon, Pentax, Sony), there is also a full frame (Nikon, Sony) and medium format (phase One, Leica S2, Pentax 645D).

Aperture - By using a large aperture lens (f/2.8 or larger such as f/1.4), then the background becomes more blurred.

No focus - This may be a result of the focus on the wrong part of the object, too close to the object so that the focus can not be obtained, the error selecting aperture that produces a very narrow depth of photo (smaller f number, e.g. f/2) or take photos too quickly without check first in the viewfinder.

The ratio of the distance between the subject of the picture with the camera and the distance between the subject with the background - The closer the camera is to the subject of the picture and the farther your subject with the background, the picture becomes more blurred.
Example: When the camera is on your subject distance of 10cm, and the distance of the subject of the image to the background of 20m, it can certainly be very blurred background. This is because the distance ratio of camera to subject and subject to background is very large.
Conversely if the distance of the camera to the subject of the picture 20m, and the distance to the subject of the photo background 10cm, it can certainly be a very clear background / sharp.

Lens focal length - The larger the lens focal length is used, then the background becomes more blurred. Example: Background photo taken with a 55mm lens focal length more blurred than when taken with a 18mm lens focal length.

Moving objects - is another form of photo blur due to take a moving object by using a slow shutter speed.

Camera shake - shake the camera is usually derived from the movement of the photographers themselves while taking pictures to produce photo blur.

Noise - The photos were found spots of the image pixels, usually derived from errors in setting the ISO, the more ISO noise level is also growing.

And here are additional tips to get sharp photos:

1. Hold the camera correctly when shooting
The best way to overcome camera shake when shooting is to use a tripod but it is not practical to carry because of its size that takes place. The practical way is to hold the camera properly.

2. Use the camera and lens that have Image Stabilization feature
Many cameras and lenses currently equipped with Image Stabilization (IS), which helps reduce the effects of camera shake when shooting so that the resulting images could be sharper. But keep in mind that IS only helps stabilize the camera movement is not stabilizing the movement of objects.

3. Use a good lens
If you have a higher budget then buy a better lens to get a sharper image quality than always using a standard lens. For Canon lenses, better quality for L-series lenses (professional series lenses).

4. Clean the camera equipment regularly
Each finished using the camera moreover used outdoors, do not forget to clean appliances such as camera lenses and camera sensor from stains, dust and dirt as it will affect the images (cause spotting on the photo).

The conclusion of this post is how to make the background out of focus photo becomes very blurry or bokeh?

The answer is:

• Use wide aperture lens
• Use longer focal length
• Note the distance ration between camera, subject and background
• Use camera with big sensor size.

Types of Camera Lenses

As of today, there are many types of camera lenses on the market to meet the needs of photographers, both functional and just a hobby. On the job, a photographer sometimes use more than one lens, for example, a wide-angle lens to take landscape photographs, and a standard lens to photograph detailed houses.

My observation has been circulating in the market 6 types of lenses, namely:

1. Standard zoom lens is a lens with a vario lenses which focal distance can be changed and maximum aperture changes with focus distance. This lens is suitable for a variety of personal documentation purposes. Kit lens 18-55 mm, 18-70 mm, 28-80 mm are including these lens types. Because of crude quality, many people are looking for better quality. For example: for a wider zoom range to choose from 18-105 mm, 28-135 mm, 28-200 mm, and so on. For more sharpness normally used Tamron 17-50 mm or Carl Zeiss 16-80 mm.

2. Prime lens have a fixed focal distance so that have the best quality and sharpness, but the photographers should take a lot of foot-steps to adjust the composition and proportions of the photos. Lenses of this type include 50 mm f/1.8. Alternatively, for example, 50 mm f/1.4, 50 mm f/1.2, 85 mm f/3.5, 135 mm f / 4, and so on.

3. Wide lens is a lens with a shorter focal length to obtain the space of view (FOV - Field Of View) wider. Lenses that are of this type, including the 10-22 mm, 11-18, etc. Another development is the fish-eye lens, such as Samyang 8 mm.

4. Fast lens is a lens with a wide aperture. The lens has a number of aperture f/2.8, f / 2, f/1.8 or smaller. The advantage, with a wide aperture, the shutter speed can be obtained higher. That's why it earned the nickname fast lens. The side effects of a wide aperture is lens blur or bokeh due to narrow DoF (Depth of Field).

5. Macro lens is a lens that has a special construction that allows for photographs of objects from a short distance (50 cm or less). True macro lens has a 1:1 magnification capability, while the specifications that widely used are 100 mm f/2.8 Macro, 50 mm f/2.8 macro, and so on. However, 3rd party lens manufacturers such as Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina develop vario lens with 1:4 macro capability, 1:5 or 1:7, such as the Tamron 18-200 Di II LD Aspherical Macro which has a minimum object distance of 45 cm with a magnification of 1:4.

6. Super telephoto lens is a lens with a focal length above 180 mm, for example 100-400 mm, 170-500 mm, and so on. The lens type is suitable for shooting sports, wildlife, bird watching, and other objects that do not allow photographers approach the object directly.

Apart from the focus distance and aperture, note also the additional features on the lens that will provide convenience (with prices to match), including:

• Motor high quality lens that is more responsive, thus ensuring sharpness of moving objects. Lenses of this type usually has a special code that is different from any manufacturer, such as SSM (Super Sonic Motor), HSM (High Speed Motor), DX, SAM, etc.

• Image stabilizer is a feature that allows you to absorb shocks in a photo shoot with a low speed. This feature also has a different code, such as IS (Image Stabilizer) in the canon, VR (Vibration Reduction) in Nikon, SSS (Super Steady Shoot) on Sony, etc.

• Coating (optical lens coating chemicals) is an important factor because the response of a digital sensor to light different from the reaction to the film. Problems with the coating can cause flare, chromatic aberration (CA), ghosting, etc.. Digital lenses typically have several layers that are marked MC (multi-coated) which in general has a better performance than the old lenses are still single coating.

• Aspheric lens is a construction containing aspheric lens elements and serves to reduce the refraction spherical aberration caused by the shape of a convex lens.

• Low Dispersion is a minimal dispersion (spread) of light of optical element, so that the intensity of light reaching the sensor becomes higher and obtain more details.

How To Maximize Your Pocket Camera

How To Maximize Pocket Camera - is useful article to pocket camera users. If you want to change shutter speed and aperture setting to your pocket camera, how to do that? There are only two answers to do that:

1. Upgrade your camera
This is the most ideal answer, i.e buying a digital SLR camera, or at least an advance pocket camera called as prosumer camera. The two kind of cameras give you free manually setting of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance, moreover DSLR camera could be changed its lens according to your requirement. If you have much money this answer is suitable for you. If you have no much money or you don't want to buy DSLR camera at the present time, you should try the next answer.

2. Maximize your pocket camera
Pocket camera is designed for daily photograph. It can give you information about photographic situation and kind of picture you need. Each mode of photography apply special setting to the camera.

Several pocket camera settings to maximize your pocket camera: 

• Adjust White Balance with available light. Improper white balance will produce tonal colors that do not match and sometimes bizarre. 

• Use the appropriate Scene mode. In each pocket cameras usually reserved several scenes to meet your shooting according to lighting situations and motion of an object being photographed.

• Use the Macro mode on an object that is close, without this mode, the object a short distance (less than 50 cm) will blur.

• Make sure the object gets enough light. The role of light is very important because you use low ISO. So get a light as bright as possible, if necessary use a flash or studio mini box.

• If you want to get shallow depth of field (blur background), apply 'spot focus metering' and 'Portrait mode'. The camera will set wide aperture.

• If you want to get deep depth of field (all focused), apply 'Landscape mode', and set 'multi focus metering' the camera will automatically set narrow aperture.

• If you want fast shutter speed, apply 'Sports mode'. The camera assumed that you want to freeze object movement. Its also applied to photograph children activity.

• If you want slow shutter speed, apply 'night mode'. Camera will automatically turn on flash and set high ISO that can make noise to the picture. Turn off flash and set ISO to 100 or 200. You should use tripod or other camera fixation to get sharp and clear pictures, and apply timer to reduce shake effect.

Resume of above settings shows in table below:

And additional tips is to avoid using digital zoom as it will add noise to your photos.

Night Shot Tips

Night Shot Tips is continuation of Low Light Photography tips posting. This posting is talking about setting your camera before you photograph your night moments. Night give us volunteer lighting comes from spot light, vehicle beam, or many others. It could be an artistic picture if we know how to catch the nice moments.

Some camera equipped with 'Night Mode', however sometimes it doesn't give satisfaction. The causes are:

• 'Night Mode' sets higher ISO, so it makes higher noise.
• Wide aperture will make shallow DoF that blooming circular light.
• Shutter speed too fast, so moving light recorded in short time.

So it's required manual settings appropriate to the condition your photo object. The  way setting are:

• Set ISO at 100 or 200 to reduce noise.
• Set aperture at f/8 or higher to get deeper Depth of Field (DoF) and perform star effect of lamp light.
• The shutter speed is set according to the shooting early, typically ranging from 2 seconds or slower according to you need.

 

Another setting is applying 'P Mode', take one picture, see camera setting of the picture. Shift to 'M Mode' set shutter speed with calculating: 1 stop aperture wider is compensated by 1 stop shutter slower.

Additional tips:

• Try to take photograph at 15 to 20 minutes before sunset or 15 to 20 minutes after sunrise.
• You should equip with tripod or hold the camera on the fixed place.
• Apply timer or shutter release (wired or wireless) to avoid shaking camera while shooting.
• When human will be performed in the foreground, apply slow-sync flash.

Aperture and Depth of Field

Aperture is defined as the opening shutter lens while taking the picture. It is one of three photographic triangle in the Exposure Concept.

When we press the shutter button, the shutter in-front of camera sensor will open. The aperture setting decides how wide the shutter will opened. The light will enter to the camera sensor much more as the increasing of shutter opening.
 
Aperture or opening is stated in f-stop unit. If we read aperture 5.6, in photography could be stated as f/5.6. The statement is: f-stop become small makes aperture or opening becomes wide, it means more lights contact with camera sensor. See the illustration below:

It means wide opening is given by small number of f-stop or aperture and vice versa.

Depth of Field
 
Depth of Filed – DoF, is the measurement how far the field in focus area of the photograph. Wide Depth of Field (DoF) means the objects near to the camera to the farthermost will be sharp focused in the photograph. Shallow Depth of Field means only definite object will be focused and the rest will be out of focus or blur.

Deep Depth of Field will be got by setting the aperture to the biggest number or the narrowest opening, while Shallow Depth of Field will be got by setting the smallest number of aperture or the widest opening.

The Depth of Field Concept is useful in portrait photography and macro photography, however, all kind of photography will need this concept.