Quote:
Originally Posted by Nn2036
I am going to Amboseli, Kenya and hope to take pictures that show elephants, giraffes, human with background of Mt Kilimanjaro. I want Mt Kilimanjaro to look big but also clear and focus
What lens should I use? Telephoto?
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Specifically, you won't be able to use a telephoto lens to get Kilimanjaro sharp with animals in the foreground. You'll need a wide angle or mid-range lens to do that. That means you'll have to be very close to your animal subjects if you want them large in the frame, or settle for them being smaller in the frame.
There's a concept in photography called, depth of field (DOF). Three things that contribute to it are distance to subject, focal length (wide angle vs telephoto), and aperture. Long lenses dramatically reduce DOF, as does being close to your subject. You can use a DOF calculator to play around with values to get an idea of what will work.
Online Depth of Field Calculator
For sake of completeness, I will mention there's one way you can increase the DOF infinitely with any lens using a technique called focus stacking. With this technique, you should shoot on a tripod. Take one picture with your focus on the animals, and without moving the camera, take another picture focused on the mountain. Combine the sharpest areas from both images in Photoshop to make one entirely sharp image. Depending on your scene, you may actually have to take a series of photos at different focal distances to get everything sharp with the equipment you selected.
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