How to obtain the sharpest image possible

One further thing: if the main object is the same size on the sensor or the film then regardless of the focal length of the lens at the same aperture the DOF will be the same. The picture will be different because the perspective will depend upon the focal length of the lens. I said it was fun didn't I?

yes. fun.

its all a bit complicated when u analyse the who f stop / depth of f. thing.

experince and time will gain better pictures im sure.

i have to ask,

many people say as a rule dont go above f11, f5.6 etc

...

do only professionals apply this rule?

as , what aboout all the millions of people who have canons and go over f11 ...

ab=nd what about when u simply want to reduce the amont of light u want

and dont want to have to use the short shutter spead to reduce light

opposed to wanting to use a higher f stop number to cut the light down / make pictures sharper - the entire frame

.

it seems to me, that u mostly dont want to go above say f11 ( f16 f22 ...)

as it cause cause diffraction (softeness to the entire shot in frame)

aside from this reason, using a higher stop (f18/f22 can be a goo dreason if u want to cut down light/have all subjects in shot - should there be subjexts that are all diffeent distances from one another

No you do what is necessary taking into account the different qualities of your eqipment, lenses, camera etc. Then think to yourself S** I* I'll do it any way.

I will reply to your question. I'm no professional, but I'm a pretty good photographer shooting for 28 years. I go over f11 when I need to, particlulary when I need maximum depth of field (everything close to far away in focus). I'll use a depth of field chart I keep in my camera, and use the f-stop necessary. However, I don't use it often.

Greg

Any lens performs best about one or two stops down from fully open (so, usually around the f5.6~8 area).
That's not the same as saying f18 is unusable, any more than when you shoot fully open (f2.8, whatever).

uncle Mark huh? hmm , now there's onei haven't heard before

as you can see from all the comments, it is diverse how people use their equipment, but they all know how to use their equipment in their own way. yup you can shoot at f22, it just isn't as sharp as f11 thats all.

it's all just one huge learning curve, theres always more to learn. thats the best thing about it

agree - that site seems good

but very indepth

interesting

it seems the higher the f stop number, say f22 in theory, the entire shot will be in focus,

but even though its in focus, the all round sharpness will not be as sharp if u go above f11/f16...

so, even if i want great deapth of field of a landscape shot, the manuals say use the highest possible f stop number...

but in reality u cant do so, othewise u will get this diffraction.

interesting....

MHP wrote:
uncle Mark huh? hmm , now there's onei haven't heard before

as you can see from all the comments, it is diverse how people use their equipment, but they all know how to use their equipment in their own way. yup you can shoot at f22, it just isn't as sharp as f11 thats all.

it's all just one huge learning curve, theres always more to learn. thats the best thing about it