We were in Florida recently. Spent loads of time at the beach. My wife was wearing her two-piece suits and was looking very nice IMO. I was taking pictures with her ZX-10 and Tamron AF 28-300 on Fuji Superia 400.
I am now convinced of how nice a lens this, for a zoom. But the pictures were incredibly sharp. They showed imperfections that I could not see through the viewfinder. I didn't show them too her for the same reason you mention, and because I want her to keep wearing the swimsuits. :-) But, I also picked up a $25 Fuji P&S. The pictures with that camera and same film, are entirely flattering. Enough so, that I got some of those silly word bubble stickers and pasted them on the photos saying things like "Yes, I'm sexy and I have brains too", before I showed them to her. She liked those pictures. Did I mention I was putting them up on a website? Just kidding. A Tiffen Soft F/X filter would be a good choice. It should sufficiently soften things up. Tom C. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerome Daryl Coombs-Reyes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 12:58 PM Subject: 50mm lens TOO sharp? > This is my first posting to PDML after reading damn near every posting for > the past 2 months I figured it was finally time to subscribe. So before I > ask my question I just want to say thanks to the many who have > (unconsciously) given me some great advise via their informative postings. > > Anyhow here's my current concern. Before last week, I had only used my > 50mm f1.7 to take scenic nature shots, and the results have been > incredibly sharp and hence pleasing. Last Friday, however, I used this > lens to take some pictures of people at a Christmas party (it's the > smallest lens I have, and I wanted to be someone inconspicuous). In this > case, I honestly have to say that my wife's point-and-shoot pictures came > out better than mine! (well, sort of) Why? Well, I learned firsthand how a > lens could be considered TOO sharp! While I appreciated a fast lens in > such a dark restaurant, the sharpness of the lens hid NOTHING! Every > blemish, pimple, wrinkle, you name it showed up in every picture. My wife > is so self-conscious as it is, that I didn't even bother showing her the > pictures of herself (I didn't want to hear about the pimple on her > forehead all week). Her "blurred" p&s pictures made everyone look > glamorous while my shots highlighted the blemishes that makeup could not > hide. Well, you live and learn. Now I know. > > It's just pretty funny / ironic to me that I traded in a not-so-sharp lens > (35-80mm) to get a much sharper one, and then have to buy filters and such > to tone it down and make the images softer (like the original lens). Well, > I'll surely be photographing some people over the holidays. Hence, when > I'm in NY next week, my plan is buy a Tiffen Soft/FX3 filter (or something > along those lines) from B&H. Here's a silly question: Does anyone you > have any opinions/ comments / suggestions/ experiences along these lines > that may help me remedy this "sharpness problem"? Thanks a million. > .jerome. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
