Landscape

A field of dry grass runs from the tripod legs to a line of hills about two kilometres away. Eighty centimetres in front of the lens leans an old fence post with a strand of wire, lit gold by a sun that will drop behind the ridge in twenty minutes. You want the post, the grass and the hills all sharp in one frame, and you want to find out how before the light goes.

Half an hour later the same spot asks a different question. The sky has turned deep blue, the first stars are out over the hills, and the viewfinder shows almost nothing. Autofocus hunts, every exposure runs for fifteen seconds or more, and a touch on the camera smears the whole frame.

This chapter is one recipe for both halves of that evening: a wide lens on a tripod, focused at a distance chosen by arithmetic rather than by eye, and a camera set so that nothing it does adds blur of its own.

Page numbers in parentheses point to Nikon's Z6III Reference Guide, edition 09, which matches firmware 2.00.

01.Where to Focus a Wide Lens

A lens is sharp at exactly one distance. Focus at 2 m and only things 2 m away land on the sensor as points. Something nearer or farther lands as a small disc of blur, and when that disc is small enough the eye cannot tell it from a point. The band of distances where the disc stays that small is the depth of field. How small counts as small enough is a convention called the circle of confusion, written $c$. This guide uses $c = 0.03$ mm on the full-frame sensor, a convention for a picture viewed whole and not a Nikon figure. Focus Shift Shooting derives the formulas below in full, so this section only puts them to work.

The Hyperfocal Distance

Focus a wide lens at infinity and the depth of field runs from some near distance out to the horizon. That near distance is the hyperfocal distance, written $H$. It depends on three things: the focal length $f$ of the lens, the f-number $N$ (the number after "f/", which grows as the opening in the lens shrinks), and $c$:

$$H \approx \frac{f^2}{N\,c}$$

Put in the Tamron at 16 mm and f/8:

$$H \approx \frac{(16\ \text{mm})^2}{8 \times 0.03\ \text{mm}} = \frac{256}{0.24}\ \text{mm} \approx 1067\ \text{mm} \approx 1.07\ \text{m}$$

Focused at infinity, the lens holds everything from 1.07 m outward, and the post at 0.8 m falls outside. Now focus at 1.07 m instead. The near edge of the sharp zone moves in to half of $H$, about 0.53 m, and the far edge stays at infinity. Focusing at $H$ rather than at infinity doubles the reach toward you and gives up nothing at the far end.

The cleanest way to see why uses dioptres, the reciprocal of a distance in metres: 1 m is 1 dioptre, 2 m is 0.5 dioptre, and infinity is 0. Measured in dioptres, the sharp zone has the same width wherever you focus, $2/H$, centred on the focus distance $s$:

$$\frac{1}{s_{\text{near}}} \approx \frac{1}{s} + \frac{1}{H}, \qquad \frac{1}{s_{\text{far}}} \approx \frac{1}{s} - \frac{1}{H}$$

Focus at infinity ($1/s = 0$) and half the zone falls past infinity, where there is nothing to photograph. Focus at $H$ and the zone runs from $2/H$ down to exactly 0, so none of it is wasted.

Focusing at Twice the Hyperfocal Distance

Focusing exactly at $H$ leaves the hills right at the edge of the zone, blurred by a full $c$. The blur on a subject at distance $u$, when the lens is focused at $s$, is close to

$$b \approx \frac{f^2}{N}\left|\frac{1}{u} - \frac{1}{s}\right|$$

Focus a little farther, at $2H = 2.13$ m, and the far blur halves. For the hills, $1/u$ is effectively 0:

$$b_{\infty} \approx \frac{256\ \text{mm}^2}{8 \times 2133\ \text{mm}} \approx 0.015\ \text{mm} = \frac{c}{2}$$

The near edge moves out only a little:

$$\frac{1}{s_{\text{near}}} \approx \frac{1}{2.133} + \frac{1}{1.067} \approx 0.469 + 0.938 \approx 1.41\ \text{dioptres}, \qquad s_{\text{near}} \approx 0.71\ \text{m}$$

The post at 0.8 m is still inside, with a blur of $32 \times (1/800 - 1/2133) \approx 0.025$ mm, under $c$. To see what 0.015 mm means on this camera, divide the sensor's 35.9 mm width (p. 997) by its 6048 pixels (p. 998): one pixel is about 5.94 µm across. Half of $c$ is about 2.5 pixels, and a full $c$ is about 5. The rule that follows is simple to carry: when the nearest thing that matters is at least two-thirds of $H$ away, focus at $2H$, and the horizon gets half the blur for almost no loss up close.

The Longer Lens

Zoom the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S to 24 mm and the numbers move against you, because $H$ grows with the square of the focal length. At f/8, $H = 576/0.24$ mm $= 2.4$ m, and focusing there reaches only 1.2 m. The post would carry a blur of $72 \times (1/800 - 1/2400) \approx 0.06$ mm, twice $c$. To bring the near edge in to 0.8 m while focused at $H$, $H$ must shrink to 1.6 m, and that needs

$$N = \frac{f^2}{c\,H} = \frac{576}{0.03 \times 1600} = 12$$

That $N = 12$ falls between f/11 and f/13 in the default third-stop steps (p. 624), so f/13 is the nearest setting that reaches the post. That aperture is past the range Nikon suggests in its focus shift pages, where it advises apertures wider than f/8 to f/11 because very small apertures can lack definition (p. 551).

There is a quieter lesson here. Step forward until the post is 0.53 m from the Tamron at 16 mm and it fills the same share of the frame as it did at 0.8 m and 24 mm, since the size of an object in the picture follows focal length divided by distance ($16/0.533 = 24/0.8 = 30$). At 16 mm, f/8 focused at $H$ covers that post and the horizon. At 24 mm, the same post needs $N = 12$, set as f/13. The wider lens and the closer stance buy a little more than a stop of aperture, at the price of smaller hills.

Why Not Stop Down to f/22

Light squeezing through a small opening spreads out. The smaller the opening, the wider the spread, and a point of light becomes a soft spot called the Airy disc. Its diameter is about $2.44\,\lambda N$, where $\lambda$ is the wavelength of the light. For green light, $\lambda \approx 0.55$ µm, so at f/8 the spot is $2.44 \times 0.55 \times 8 \approx 10.7$ µm across.

At f/22 the diffraction spot alone is as large as $c$, so every part of the frame starts at the edge of acceptable before any focus error is added. Between f/8 and f/11 it stays under three pixels. The camera's Diffraction compensation reduces the softening at small apertures (p. 478), and Picture Controls and Colour leaves it on. When f/11 cannot reach both the foreground and the horizon, the better answer is several frames at different focus distances, blended later, which is what Focus Shift Shooting automates.

Putting the Focus There

Arithmetic gives a distance, and by day autofocus puts the lens there, set up the way Choosing an Autofocus Setup recommends for landscape. Single AF focuses once and then stays put (p. 121). Single-point AF lets you place the point on something at the distance you want, such as a stone about 2 m away for the Tamron at 16 mm and f/8. Pinpoint AF uses a smaller area that suits static subjects, can be slower, and works only with Single AF (p. 123).

With Custom Setting a6 at AF-ON only (Out-of-focus release: Disable), the shutter-release button no longer focuses, and focus locks once the AF-ON button is released (p. 135). Focus once at $2H$ and every later frame uses that distance, brackets and self-timer exposures included. Custom Setting a2 at Focus stops the camera firing before it has focused (p. 632). One trap sits on p. 637: with Pinpoint AF in this same setup, the shutter releases whether or not the subject is sharp. Back-Button Focus explains the method in full, and the focus limiter stays OFF because a landscape needs the whole range (Focus Limiter, Saved Positions and Manual Focus).

In manual focus the display shows a focus distance indicator (p. 136). The camera measures distance from the focal plane mark on the body, which marks where the sensor sits, not from the front of the lens (p. 137). Whatever the indicator says, confirm focus by magnifying the view, which goes up to about 24 times in photo mode (p. 106).

02.Exposure on a Tripod

A tripod removes the usual reason for a high ISO, which is a shutter speed fast enough to hand-hold. ISO 100 is the lowest standard setting (p. 159), and with Auto ISO sensitivity control off the camera keeps the sensitivity where you put it (p. 467). ISO and Auto ISO makes the same choice for a camera on a tripod and covers the Lo settings below 100.

By day the mode dial goes to A, aperture-priority auto: you choose the f-number the focus arithmetic asked for, and the camera chooses the shutter speed. In A the sub-command dial sets the aperture (p. 141), and Exposure Modes recommends f/8 to f/11 for landscape. Each full stop of aperture halves the light, so closing from f/8 to f/11 doubles the time: if f/8 meters 1/15 s, f/11 needs 1/8 s. On a tripod the longer time costs nothing.

Matrix metering reads a wide area of the frame (p. 487). If a polarising or neutral density (ND) filter goes on the lens, Nikon recommends Center-weighted metering for any filter with a filter factor over $1\times$, meaning one that cuts the light (p. 487), and warns that matrix metering can misjudge such filters (p. 970). Metering and Long Exposure and Night cover filter work.

A sky at sunset can be several stops brighter than the land under it. AE bracketing takes a set of frames at different exposures, and a 3F set at an increment of 1.0, as Exposure Modes suggests, gives three frames one stop apart (p. 500). In A the camera varies the shutter speed and leaves the aperture alone (p. 504), so depth of field matches across the set: with f/8 metering 1/15 s, the three frames are 1/30, 1/15 and 1/8 s. In self-timer mode one press fires the whole set (p. 504), which is why the recipe switches to the self-timer for brackets. The same page holds a warning: with Auto ISO on, the camera may change ISO once the exposure system reaches its limits, one more reason to leave Auto ISO off.

Files are RAW at Lossless compression, the largest raw option (p. 466), so white balance and the Picture Control can be changed freely afterward (pp. 117-118). The Picture Control is Flat, which Picture Controls and Colour chooses for raw landscapes because it keeps detail across the range. White balance is Direct sunlight, about 5200 K (p. 164), which White Balance uses for golden light so that a warm sunset stays warm instead of being corrected toward grey. The second card is set to Backup, which records every picture to both cards (p. 457), as Card Slots and File Handling recommends.

03.Keeping the Camera Still

An L-bracket, a plate fixed under the camera and up one side, lets the camera clamp to the ball head level or on its side for a vertical frame, so the head never tips over and the weight stays above the legs. Viewfinder and Monitor Displays adds the level and grid a tripod picture needs.

A finger on the shutter-release button pushes the camera, and the tripod takes a moment to settle. Three settings keep that push out of the picture. The first is the self-timer at 2 s: Custom Setting c2 offers 2, 5, 10 and 20 s (p. 1000), with 10 s as the default (p. 624), and two seconds is enough for the legs to settle. It is what Long Exposure and Night uses.

The second is d5 Exposure delay mode, which waits about 0.2 to 3 s after the press before the shutter opens (p. 667), so you can stay in Single frame, the release mode Release Modes, Frame Rates and the Buffer gives landscape. Silent Shooting, Timers and Time-Lapse suggests 1 s or more on a tripod if your menu offers it. The third is d6 Shutter type at Auto, which uses the electronic front-curtain shutter at slow speeds (p. 668): the exposure starts electronically, so no curtain moving at the start shakes the camera. Shutter Types, Rolling Shutter and Flicker explains the choice.

Remote Releases

A remote fires the camera without touching it. Nikon documents a remote cord for the accessory terminal (p. 970) and WR radio remotes (p. 851) as well as its Bluetooth ML-L7, paired from the network menu (pp. 881-882). The camera pairs with only one ML-L7 at a time and answers the last one paired, and it cannot connect to a remote while it is connected to another device over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (p. 978), so a phone session can block it. With an ML-L7, Nikon says, a Bulb exposure behaves like Time (p. 148), where one press opens the shutter and a second press closes it (p. 147). The manual says nothing about third-party remotes sold as ML-L7 replacements, so treat one as untested until you have watched it fire the camera several times, and do not assume it copies the ML-L7 in Bulb. Until then, use what Long Exposure and Night uses: d7's timed speeds out to 900 s in M, started by the 2 s self-timer, with no remote at all.

Vibration Reduction on a Tripod

Vibration reduction (VR) counters the small shakes of a hand-held camera. On a tripod Nikon recommends Normal or Sport, and adds that Off may be the better choice with some tripods depending on conditions (p. 498). Vibration Reduction draws the practical rule this recipe follows: leave it at Normal, then make the same long exposure with VR off on your own tripod and keep whichever is sharper when magnified.

Long Exposure Noise Reduction

A long exposure lets warm pixels build up into false bright dots. Long exposure NR reduces that noise in exposures slower than 1 s, at the cost of roughly doubling the time each frame takes to record (p. 475). If the processing lasts as long as the exposure, as a dark frame would, a 32 s frame ties the camera up for about 64 s (p. 475). Switching the camera off before the processing ends saves the picture without the noise reduction (p. 475). Leave it on for single frames. For a run of frames meant to become star trails, Long Exposure and Night turns it off, because the processing gap between frames would break each trail.

Silent mode switches Long exposure NR off (p. 846). A camera left in Silent mode after a quiet indoor event shoots the night landscape with no noise reduction, so the recipe sets Silent mode OFF and keeps it on a button where it can be checked.

04.After Dark

Autofocus needs contrast, and a night sky offers little of it. Switch to Manual focus, where the camera fires even when nothing is sharp yet (p. 121), so it never refuses a frame. Magnify the view as far as it goes. For a skyline or a hill against the afterglow, Custom Setting a12 Focus peaking outlines sharp edges in colour (p. 645). A higher peaking sensitivity marks more depth as in focus (p. 645), so a lower setting is the stricter judge. Peaking may not appear at all when the camera finds no outlines (p. 137), which can happen with a single star, so for stars magnify a bright one and turn the focus ring until it shrinks to the smallest point it can make.

The in-focus indicator can light when the subject is not actually in focus (p. 137), so trust the magnified picture over the indicator. Custom Setting d19 Half-press to cancel zoom (MF) lets a half-press drop the magnified view once focus is set (p. 685). Custom Setting d11 Starlight view (photo Lv) brightens the display in photo mode for composing and focusing in the dark, though the brighter view moves a little jerkily and shows no histogram (pp. 122, 675).

Once the stars are sharp, Save focus position in the setup menu keeps the focus where it is when the camera is switched off (p. 828). Nikon warns on the same page that if the temperature or the zoom position changes while the camera is off, focus may come back at a different position, so after switching on, check a magnified star before the next frame.

At night the mode dial goes to M. The standard range stops at 30 s (p. 1000), and Custom Setting d7 Extended shutter speeds (M) adds speeds out to 900 s in M (p. 669). Bulb and Time are there too, in M only (pp. 146-147). The settings marked 15 s and 30 s actually run 16 s and 32 s (p. 145). Long Exposure and Night works out the starting exposure for stars with the Tamron at 16 mm: f/2.8, the 15 s setting, ISO 6400, Long exposure NR on, and a fixed colour temperature near 4000 K. To set that colour temperature, hold the Fn1 button, turn the main command dial to Choose color temperature, then turn the sub-command dial to the kelvin value (p. 172). A lower kelvin value makes the picture bluer and a higher one redder (p. 167). Nikon also asks for a fully charged battery for long exposures (p. 148), and the night chapter has a section on batteries in the cold.

05.The Recipe

The card collects the chapter's settings in the order the sections taught them, each with its reason in a line. The night group holds only what changes after dark, and the star exposure itself comes from Long Exposure and Night.

Field recipe · Landscape

Landscape with the Tamron 16-30mm and the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S

Exposure

Setting	Set it to	Why
Mode dial	A by day, M at night	A keeps the aperture you chose. Long timed speeds need M
Aperture	f/8 to f/11	Deep focus without much diffraction softening
ISO sensitivityPhoto shooting menu > ISO sensitivity settings > ISO sensitivity	100	The lowest standard setting leaves the most room for bright skies
Auto ISO sensitivity controlPhoto shooting menu > ISO sensitivity settings > Auto ISO sensitivity control	OFF	ISO stays put, so a long exposure stays long
MeteringPhoto shooting menu > Metering	Matrix metering	Center-weighted metering once a polariser or ND goes on
Auto bracketing setPhoto shooting menu > Auto bracketing > Auto bracketing set	AE bracketing	3F at 1.0 for a sky brighter than the land

Focus

Setting	Set it to	Why
Focus modePhoto shooting menu > Focus mode	Single AF	A still scene. Focus once, then it stays
AF-area modePhoto shooting menu > AF-area mode	Single-point AF	You put the point at 2H. Pinpoint AF for a small target
AF activationCustom settings menu > a Focus > a6 AF activation	AF-ON only (Out-of-focus release: Disable)	Focus holds after AF-ON, so every bracket frame shares it
AF-S priority selectionCustom settings menu > a Focus > a2 AF-S priority selection	Focus	No frame fires unfocused, except with Pinpoint AF
Focus limiterCustom settings menu > a Focus > a15 Focus limiter setting > Focus limiter	OFF	The whole range, from the near post to the horizon

Drive, Shutter and VR

Setting	Set it to	Why
Release modePhoto shooting menu > Release mode	Single frame	Each frame chosen. Self-timer when a bracket should fire whole
Self-timer delayCustom settings menu > c Timers/AE lock > c2 Self-timer > Self-timer delay	2 s	Your hand is off the tripod before the shutter opens
Exposure delay modeCustom settings menu > d Shooting/display > d5 Exposure delay mode	1 s	Lets the tripod settle after the press
Shutter typeCustom settings menu > d Shooting/display > d6 Shutter type	Auto	Electronic front curtain at slow speeds cuts shutter blur
Vibration reductionPhoto shooting menu > Vibration reduction	Normal	Nikon's tripod advice. Test Off and keep the sharper frame
Long exposure NRPhoto shooting menu > Long exposure NR	ON	Clears hot pixels past 1 s. Off for star-trail sequences
Silent modeSetup menu > Silent mode	OFF	Silent mode switches Long exposure NR off

Image and Files

Setting	Set it to	Why
Image qualityPhoto shooting menu > Image quality settings > Image quality	RAW	White balance and tone stay open to change later
RAW recordingPhoto shooting menu > RAW recording	Lossless compression	The largest and most complete raw file
Set Picture ControlPhoto shooting menu > Set Picture Control	Flat	A low-contrast preview that shows highlight room
White balancePhoto shooting menu > White balance	Direct sunlight	Fixed at about 5200 K, so golden light stays golden
Diffraction compensationPhoto shooting menu > Diffraction compensation	ON	Reduces softening at small apertures
Secondary slot functionPhoto shooting menu > Secondary slot function	Backup	Every frame written to both cards

Night

Setting	Set it to	Why
Focus modePhoto shooting menu > Focus mode	Manual focus	Autofocus struggles on stars, and MF never blocks the release
Focus peaking displayCustom settings menu > a Focus > a12 Focus peaking > Focus peaking display	ON	Outlines a lit skyline. Points of starlight may not show
Half-press to cancel zoom (MF)Custom settings menu > d Shooting/display > d19 Half-press to cancel zoom (MF)	ON	A half-press drops the magnified view after focusing
Starlight view (photo Lv)Custom settings menu > d Shooting/display > d11 Starlight view (photo Lv)	ON	A brighter display to compose in the dark
Save focus positionSetup menu > Save focus position	ON	Focus survives a switch-off. Recheck as the night cools
Extended shutter speeds (M)Custom settings menu > d Shooting/display > d7 Extended shutter speeds (M)	ON	Timed speeds out to 900 s in M
White balancePhoto shooting menu > White balance	Choose color temperature, about 4000 K	A fixed value so every frame of the night matches

The buttons are the base map from Custom Controls with nothing changed, which is the point of it: a landscape needs nothing that map does not already reach. Fn1, Fn2, AF-ON and the release mode button keep their factory roles (p. 625), and two buttons carry the night controls, the video record button for Starlight view and the illuminator button for Silent mode (pp. 710-711). The roles a control can take vary with the control (p. 704), so those two are assignments to make where your camera offers them.

Button map · Custom setting f2

Landscape

Custom settings menu > f Controls > f2 Custom controls (shooting)

Point at a highlighted control, or a name in the table, to match the two.

Control	Set to	Factory default	Why
Fn1 button	White balance	White balance	Hold and turn the dials for Direct sunlight or a kelvin value
Fn2 button	Focus mode/AF-area mode	Focus mode/AF-area mode	Single AF by day, Manual focus after dark, without a menu
AF-ON button	AF-ON	AF-ON	Focus once at 2H, and it holds through the whole bracket
Release mode/protect button	Release mode	Release mode	Single frame to Self-timer when a bracket goes on
Video record button	Starlight view (photo Lv)	Live view info display off	Brightens the view to compose at night, where offered
Illuminator button	Silent mode	LCD illumination	Where offered. Check it is off before a long exposure

06.Beginner Mistakes

• Focusing a wide lens at infinity. At 16 mm and f/8 that wastes half the depth of field past the horizon. Focus at $H$, or at $2H$ when the foreground allows.
• Stopping down to f/22 to get everything sharp. The diffraction spot alone then reaches $c$, and the whole frame softens. Stay between f/8 and f/11, and use focus shift when that is not enough.
• Letting the shutter-release button refocus. With a6 at Shutter/AF-ON, each half-press can move the focus you placed with care. Set AF-ON only.
• Leaving Silent mode on. It switches Long exposure NR off without a warning in the picture.
• Switching off during noise reduction. The frame is saved without it.
• Trusting the in-focus indicator at night. Magnify a star and judge the point yourself.
• Assuming a third-party remote works. Fire it a few times at home before the evening depends on it.

07.Related Chapters

• Focus Shift Shooting: the depth of field derivation, and blending frames when f/11 is not enough.
• Long Exposure and Night: star exposures, dark frames, star trails and filters.
• Choosing an Autofocus Setup: the landscape focus setup this recipe copies.
• Back-Button Focus: why focus holds after AF-ON is released.
• Vibration Reduction: testing VR on your own tripod.
• Exposure Modes: aperture priority and bracketing.
• Silent Shooting, Timers and Time-Lapse: the self-timer and exposure delay mode.
• Custom Controls: the base button map used here.
• Multiple Exposure, HDR Overlay and Pixel Shift: pixel shift, which Nikon aims at landscapes on a tripod (p. 553).