Moving from Canon to X-t3--lens suggestions for Fuji

buckeyevet wrote:

There can an image quality price to be paid for stopping down, particularly at greater extremes, such as f/22. Diffraction can become an issue at small apertures and can further impact image quality.

Good to know!

That's a good reason to be cognizant of DOF at different apertures (and focal lengths) and to try to keep your aperture no smaller than needed to ensure that the areas that need to be sharp are in focus.

Honestly, I must admit I don't know how to do this. Thirty years of using SLR cameras, 4 beginner photography classes over the years and I've never learned this. I'm learning that I have a lot to learn still.

Don’t we all?  You might notice that some lenses actually have a DOF scale that shows you roughtly the distance range of what would be in focus at given apertures.  Some reading of basic photography guides can also give you a rough idea of how to calculate this.  Most of the knowledge comes with experience and you’ll start being able to roughly estimate the amount of your image that will be in focus.  For important pics, the advantage of digital is that you can snap a quick shot, pixel peep for critical focus when magnifying the image in-camera, and change settings as needed.  Some people frown on that… pay no attention.  Over time, you’ll get a feeling for this, plus the advantage of digital is the ability to preview an important shot to ensure that what you want in focus actually is.  As you get accustomed the impact of aperture and focal length on depth of field (the amount of your image in focus), then it will start becoming more second nature and something you’ll just estimate on the fly.

Just using f/22 to "be safe" sort of works, but your overall image quality may well suffer as a result and the impact might show up, particularly if you decide to print large.

Thank you for this. I obviously need to work on technique a lot more.

You’re welcome!  It’s well worth the time and effort spent over the long term.  Good luck… and have fun.  Don’t sweat the details for now… just learn as you go.