On Tue, 20 Oct 1998 01:33:44 GMT, F.G.VISSER@STUDENT.UTWENTE.NL (Frank) wrote:

>I have a case about landscape focussing.
>
>Given:
>The hyperfocal distance for a 35mm lens at f4.0 is about 10meters,
>using a 0.03mm circle of confusion [=coc] for computation.
>
>(that means that when focussed at infinity, everything from about
>10meters on will be 'sharp' with 35mm and f4.0)
>
>To get as big a sharp range as possible, some say to focus at the
>hyperfocal distance. So, when focussing at about 10meters (=hyperfocal
>distance) everything from about 5meters until infinity should be
>'sharp' within the 0.03mm coc rule
>
>But it seems to me that the circle of confusion should be seen
>relative to the size of the objects on the negative. As the objects
>far away are much smaller on the negative than those close by, it
>seems much more natural to focus at infinity to get as much sharpness
>as possible. The circle of confusion matters less at the large objects
>closeby it seems to me. So the largest REAL, practical sharp range is
>not when focussing at the hyperfocal distance, but at infinity.
>
>Please, any comments and experiences with this situation are welcome.

I think you are correct in your assessment of the situation
(to me, equally [technically] unsharp images at infinity and close
focus make the smaller-scaled infinity image look less sharp).
A way around this is to "fudge" the focus somewhat closer to
infinity than the hyperfocal distance, and stop down an additional
stop (I also prefer to stop down an additional stop from the
DOF scale recommendation - that standard doesn't give me sufficient
"crispness" for my taste...).