How to shoot sharp “landscapes” with a point and shoot camera?

Question

So, I have been told in a thread here previously that the minimum aperture (F8) on my point and shoot camera can cause diffraction and result in losing details of the subject if too many things are in focus. Fine.

Now, if I have to shoot a far away landscape scene and I choose an aperture of (F5), it won't result in a sharp picture, and I can't use F8! :(

See this:

Now is it possible that I use the aperture as low as possible and increase the shutter speed and thus get the same results as I would be getting from aperture F8 (with a low shutter speed)?

What can be the possible combinations?
I mean with F3, speed 1/500?
Of course one way is to go on trying each and every possible combination, but if I get some starting points, I think it'll make my life easier.

Answer

On your sample photo, fog or smoke in the air seems to be the reason why further landscape is not sharp. Nothing in your camera can help against that. Try coming back at another time to see if the air is more clear. Above a city with polluted air, this might never happen.

A wider aperture with faster shutter time will result in equivalent exposure, but depth of field will be smaller, because it is determined only by the large aperture. Opening up all the way is bad for sharpness because most lenses are getting sharper when aperture is smaller than maximum by a stop or two (unless you hit diffraction limit).

To get maximum depth of field, you should focus to something far away to ensure that you are covering hyperfocal distance. You might also still decide to use f/8, because you might prefer even overall sharpness to better sharpness at smaller range. In technical side of photography, compromises have to be made quite often.

Another thing you could try is sharpening in post processing (e.g. using Unsharp mask).

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