Some 350D questions about dof, quality etc.

[S.Bingham]

Hi there,

I am fairly new to digital SLR photography and recently purchased a Canon EOS 350D. I am happy with the cameras functions but find that i am not getting very good depth of field in my landscapes. I am often left with the exposure and light i want, but my image looks out of focus and blurry. I am using a tripod and a low aperature like i have learnt is the way to further dof?

I am simply after the technique used for firing a landscape shot with the 350D achieving maximum quality and view distance.
Lets take a normal blue skyed day in some mountains, we want to shoot a shot that looks a bit like what we are looking at but with the view distance to go as far as possible and be as clean and crisp as possible aswell. What settings should i use? Should i use the lowest aperature i can?

I would also like to know how to use the dof preview button? I dont really understand what it does or is there for? When pressed it seems the screen just goes a little darker? Could someone explain?

Lastly i would like to know what people do to aquire that really crisp effect on your photos? What dpi and resolution do you keep your images at? It seems to me that the smaller the res the better the picture looks? Should i keep all my images small in size? It just seems most of my images are not coming out clean enough for my liking, they seem unfocesed and blurred.

I apologize if this is a repeat of questions that have been asked a million times. I appreciate any answers, techniques and help i can get.

Thanks and regards
S.Bingham

[Jon]

For maximum depth of field (I infer that's what you want), you need a small aperture, which isn't to be confused with a low aperture number. Set the camera at around f/16 or so, and you should see a pretty good depth of field. But posting examples of the problem pics will make it easier for us to spot where the problem is. EXIF info, too, please.

[rent]

what kind of lens are you using?

assuming you are using a wide to normal focal length lens. then set your aperture to f22, focus at about 10ft. most of your scene should be sharply in focus.

this is just to get you started. for more technical info, google or search here for hyperfocus or hyperfocal distance.

on the topic of the DOF preview button, it temporarily stops down the lens (reduce the aperture size to the f-value you set) so you can preview the DOF effect. yes it does make the viewfinder very dark especially when you are using something like f16 or f22 (less light coming thru). but try this to get an idea of what it's doing: go outside in bright day light, looks thru your lens and focus on a nearby object. notice how the background is blurry? set your aperture to f16, press the DOF preview button, while the viewfinder goes darker, the background should become less blurry.

-alex