anand@utastro.UUCP (Anand Sivaramakrishnan) (05/23/84)
I finally got frustrated by the inherent lack of sharpness of the 35mm format, and went to 6x6 and 4'x5' negatives.... but if you want to get the sharpest negatives out of your 35, here's my checklist (probably incomplete) for 35 photography * Is the focal length OK? Wide angle lenses are NOT as sharp as 35-135 mm lenses I do not use zoom lenses. * Is the lens clean? And the filter? Remove unneeded filters, they just help to blur things. * Are you working at the best aperture? (f/5.6 or 8 are the best apertures for 50mm, probably f/11 or 16 for 135, etc.. scales as focal length) * Are you using a lens hood??????? (and I mean every one of those question marks) * Are you using a DECENT tripod (and long cable release)? If you are not, are you are holding the camera, resting it on a solid support (tree, chair, ledge etc... my cameras are completely scratched up by rocks, brick walls and the like because of this 'support fetish')? Also, tripods vibrate because of wind, machinery, traffic etc. Mirror lock-up is a useful aid to reducing vibration. Test your camera-tripod combinations with and without the SLAM of the mirror if possible. Feel the vibration with your hand... can you damp it by loading the tripod with sandbags or wrapping foam around bits of it? * Did you focus REALLY carefully and inspect depth of field? work well within the limit of the d-o-f scales engraved on the lens barrel. I recommend pretending that you are using 1.5 stops less when reading the lens barrel scales. * Are you using the finest grain film? Long 'wet time' (in the developer) usually causes clumping of grains (unsharp effect). Also, developers that contain sodium sulphite are not too good for good 'acutance' (i.e. sharp edges of images), especially with long development times. * Are you using slow film? Eg. Kodachrome 25 ASA or Agfapan 25 ASA (B&W film) developed in Rodinal or Edwal FG7. Yes, you do need to watch the temperatures very carefully.