IMO in this kind of discussion it just might be useful to play the role
of devil's advocate.
Most of my shooting not for my own pleasure is for Galia's class. When
it started I was obsessed with technical quality - sharpness, etc. As
time goes by, I am starting to understand that slightly (notice, not
badly, just slightly) soft or slightly blurred shot with interesting
moment caught on camera is much more fun than sharp but uninteresting
photograph. So, I don't dwell too much into optimizing everything - I
just shoot trying to catch a moment.
Wearing my regular hat, I should say that I'd line up with Bruce Walker
- each specific lens has its own character.
E.g. my FA 50/1.4 is probably sharper than average wide open because
according to its previous owner it was a hard decision to sell it to me
over DA* 55/1.4 and it is kind of known that DA* 55/1.4 is rather
sharp wide open.
Another example is A 50/1.2 which I shoot wide open a lot just for the
heck of it. I've noticed (yet to figure out this in a way rigorous
enough to spot it before the shot) that sometimes it produces
surprisingly sharp results although mostly it glows ever so slightly.
Other than that, all my prime lenses are sharp enough for me from f/2.8
and zoom lenses are sharp enough from f/3.5-f/4.0 which is indeed a stop
or so from the wide open (except A 50/1.2 but I wouldn't shoot it just
for sharpness anyway).
On 6/5/2012 01:22, Larry Colen wrote:
My hunch is that as long as I'm not > too close to wide open, or
pushing diffraction limits, optimizing aperture for sharpness is not
the most productive place to spend my time and energy. That I'm
generally best optimizing the aperture for the picture, and not
trying to optimize the aperture for MTF.
Well, yes. But given that you like bracketing, Larry, I suggest the
following simple experiment. Set up a semi-serious shoot - I mean the
one where you won't be shooting brick walls (I'd hate to suggest to
shoot brick walls to anyone, especially for my friends) and configure
your K-5 for 5 shots bracket. I reckon it should be possible to fix
shutter speed and let the camera vary the aperture. I would even suggest
to do it twice - off the tripod and hand-held. The studying of results
may be worth your while.
Boris
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