sharpness of lens better at full wide?

M

monster

Well-known member
I have 2 shots of 2 different models sitting in the same chair/same lighting/room/etc.

With one model I am about 6 feet away on a tripod and zoomed in on her face. I was in focus and the background was clearly out of focus.

With the second model I am at full wide and handheld but only about 1 foot away from her face.

The footage while at full wide is much sharper.


So could this be becuse the lens is just sharper at wider settings? (DVX100A)
 
The wider you go, the greater depth-of-field you will have. That holds true of any camera. Whether the lens itself has better resolution at wider settings, I don't know. But more will be in focus, yea or nay. :)
 
Quite a few years back, before the age of digital photography, it was widely agreed that SLR lenses had better resolution if you stopped them down to f/5.6 or 8. I would think this is still true today, because the laws of optics haven't changed--but I'm no authority on the subject !
 
GenJerDan said:
The wider you go, the greater depth-of-field you will have. That holds true of any camera. Whether the lens itself has better resolution at wider settings, I don't know. But more will be in focus, yea or nay. :)
Click to expand...


I am not tallking about depth of field. I am talking about her face. Her face was in focus but not as sharp as the other shot where the lens was a full wide.
 
For most lens stopping down from full open will usually be sharper. It is possible that for a specific lens this isn't the case, but this would be unusual. In your examples, is it possible that one shot was simply better focused than the other?
 
I find the lens to be softer at wide open. Maybe it was just out of focus? I think f4 should be sharpest, just because "a stop or two past wide open" is generally considered the sweet spot of a lens.
 
Monglane said:
Quite a few years back, before the age of digital photography, it was widely agreed that SLR lenses had better resolution if you stopped them down to f/5.6 or 8. I would think this is still true today, because the laws of optics haven't changed--but I'm no authority on the subject !
Click to expand...
The DVX lens is sharpest at around f/4.8 to f/11. It loses a little the more you open it up, but even at wide open it still retains 90% of its maximum potential sharpness. Stopping down to F/16 or below (there are two increments below f/16) can really, REALLY cause a loss of sharpness.
 
monster said:
I am not tallking about depth of field. I am talking about her face. Her face was in focus but not as sharp as the other shot where the lens was a full wide.
Click to expand...

Depends. DOF doesn't just refer to subject/background. It also means the tip of the model's nose vs the bridge of the model's nose.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top