More from Brother Aaron (in response to Shel): ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Aaron Reynolds <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Nov 21, 2005 11:20 PM Subject: Re: Possibility of Medium Format enablement To: frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Oh, now you've sucked me in. I looked at the site and I have to respond to Shel -- > OK, I can see that as a ~possibility~ in situations where critical > focusing > isn't required and the subject is far enough away that you can take > advantage of the hyperfocal distance or DOF, and the lens is stopped > down > substantially, depending on just how critical you'd want or need the > shot > to be. I agree that all bets are off with lenses past a certain focal > length (depending on camera body/format). I'll give this one to you > based > on the number of qualifiers in the discussion, although I still can't > see > any reason for doing such a thing other than to say you did it. > > For example, your own tests a few years ago showed that MLU played a > role > in generating sharper pics, with a tpod mounted camera, only between > certain shutter speeds, which were quite low - like 1/2 sec to 1/30 > sec or > something similar. If you're shooting at a faster shutter speed it > would > seem that the need for MLU is minimized or of no importance. Trying to > hand hold many cameras (in this case we were talking about MF) at > slower > speeds introduces movement and degrades sharpness. So, what's to be > gained > by using MLU while hand holding a camera? Shel, my own use of it is always at 1/30 and close to wide open, when it makes a difference. My framing and focus do not change any more than they change when I depress the shutter button -- I am not taking my eye away from the camera or moving the camera, I am pressing one button followed by another in one smooth motion. You can see in that sample I linked to before that the plane of focus is razor thin -- while the subject's face and hands are sharp, nothing else is. I have been very successful with this technique and generally have no images that I reject due to "shake" that didn't involve me sneezing or losing my footing or something like that. I can see it being a problem if you're trying to shoot something that's moving, but then shooting it at 1/30 would be tough anyways. I don't see any use at all for MLU at 1/125 or above. Now to answer the obvious question: why am I not using a tripod for shots like these? 1) guerilla shooting -- run and gun and run. These shots (for a project I'm working on that's a short novel illustrated with photographs) are mostly in public places late at night. 2) I don't have a tripod of sufficient solidity (or a head to match) for Mr. 67. Using an underweight tripod actually leads to more sharpness issues because that giant shutter can ring hollow aluminum legs like bells, where my body can absorb most or all of that shutter-shock. Drove me nuts for a while that whenever I used a tripod my results were worse. -Aaron -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
