In article <4h2389$4go@isis.fiu.edu>, larkinsg@solix.fiu.edu says...

>John and David are really swatting mosquitos with sledgehammers --
>the real answer depends mostly on the film -- in general any decent
>35mm lens at its *optimum* aperture will out-perform most ISO 100
>Slide (color) film and all ISO 200 and higher films....
>That said, both John and David did, indeed, hit the mosquito with
>their hammers!
>Good Job guys,

Hmmmmmmmm............... Thanks for the praise, it is nice to hear
(even if I'm not one of the praisee's...;-) Too bad to add the
following, but - - - while film choice can reduce the ultimate sharpness one gets with a particular lens, the relative sharpness relationships between the apertures remain, though perhaps they are somewhat compressed with less sharp film. In other words, if a particular lens is sharper at f8 than at f4 (due to abberations)
and at f16 (due to diffraction) using Technical Pan or Velvia, it
will still be sharper at f8 than at f4 and f16 using any film, even Tri-X at 800 in Acufine or Ektachrome 400. Or, another way of saying it is: with a given lens and aperture, the image on the sharper film will be sharper; and with a given film (regardless of speed), the sharper lens or aperture will be sharper than the less sharp lens or aperture. But, then, you knew that!
Hope This Helps