Gary Russell wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
>
> >The 17-35mm f/2.8L did not possess the sort of photodo rating that I
> >expected it to.........................
>
> I guess the bottom line for me is that if the images the 17-35 L
> produces are published in National G with some
> amount of regularity, it's sure good enough for me.
Without implying anything 'for' or 'against' the 17-35L, I would remark that it
might be useful to keep in mind that the compositional requirements for
photojournalism are often different than those for photos we might want to
project or hang on our walls (whether we want to call them "art" photos or not).
The photos in a photojournalism context are often intended as record shots, and
also are often meant to be viewed as one in a series and/or to illustrate the
accompanying text. As impressive as National Geographic photos often are, I
suspect that on more careful consideration relatively few (compared to the total
number published) are photos we would want to hang on the wall. Secondly, the
reproduction of a photograph in ink on an offset press has significant technical
shortcomings, and photos intended for magazines do not need the same measure of
technical excellence as do those intended for photographic enlargement and
display (although such excellence may be needed to sell the photo in the first
place). The upshot is that any deficiencies in the optical performance of the
17-35L or any lens that would be readily apparent in a transparency or
11x14-inch enlargement may be indiscernible in an image printed on a page of
National Geographic or any other magazine. It is simply not possible to
accurately judge the performance of a lens from an image reproduced on an offset
press, even when you know for certain that what is on the page is the entire
image and not a crop.
fcc
*
****
*******
***********************************************************
* For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see:
* http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm
***********************************************************
