In article <19960215.161523.620@vnet.ibm.com>, dfallon@vnet.ibm.com says...
>In article <4fucvv$el1@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>,
> on 15 Feb 1996 04:31:59 GMT,
> Bob Neuman
>>That's absurd! I care very much about sharpness (some are tempted to
>>use the word "fanatic") and bother to test large numbers of lenses
>>to own the best.
>(cut ...)
>>Higher speeds can about guarantee the same thing with longer lenses
>>(that's why I like my normal-to-long lenses sharp wide-open).
>Wouldn't a true "sharpness fanatic" use a tripod and shoot stopped
>down ? I mean, maybe your brand X lens is sharper at f4 than the
>brand Y lens, but it's still going to be sharper at f11 ...(....)
Um, you seem to have cut out the point of my post: that fine,
sharp-as-if-it-had-been-on-a-tripod, full DOF photos can be taken
with super-wides hand-held, even in less than ideal lighting levels,
since they are so easy to hand-hold at very slow shutter speeds.
To repeat, I find it more to my liking to take 4 or 5 frames of
the same thing, if the shutter speed is marginal ("sharpness bracketing" and selecting the sharpest frames later - and skipping
the exposure bracketing), than bothering with a tripod. The comment
you did retain was to indicate that the concept (minus the DOF
advantages of super-wides) could be extended to longer lenses
(and, yes, there are lenses that are so good at the widest stops
that stopping them down brings only marginal image improvement along
with the increased DOF). Being a tireless tester of lenses, I am
quite aware of what constitutes sharpness in an image, and am unlikely to settle for less than the best, even for the sake of convenience.
My technique works for me to free me from the hassles of using a
tripod. (Practice in low-light commercial hand-held work probably
helped.) From the response to this innocuous and (I thought) obvious suggestion, it appears that "Tripodism" is a hitherto unrecognized religion...!;-) Woe be to those who challenge its precepts!!! ;-)
And, as a sop to the Tripodites, I will repeat what I have said
before: all things being equal, of course it would be nice to have a tripod under the camera (and it would be nice if it were not just a marginal flimsy one, but a really sturdy behemoth like a Majestic - anyone willing to carry and set it up for me????).
Hope This Helps