Best optical F-stop (Page 12): Back in the days of Pop Photo, where they used to test lenses, they used to provide In almost all lenses, the best results were at f8 to f11. That...

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

Back in the days of Pop Photo, where they used to test lenses, they used to provide In almost all lenses, the best results were at f8 to f11.
That doesn't mean that good results were not found at different apertures, but that was where the best were located. On almost all lenses.
The fact that you will not see those results on a small print or on the screen, has no basis in the actual measurements.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

MT Shooter wrote:

Photojournalists used to say "F8 and be there". It was more for standardization than anything else.
In the real world there are LOTS of variables to be considered before taking the shot, aperture is only one of them.

Yeah dem dere journalists. Shooting quick shots for newspapers.
Newer landscape shooters said "F16 and be there!" shooting 120 film.
Ansel whats his face hung out with a large format shooter club "F32 and be there!"
Then again, shooting on a slow film 8x12, the F16 hole might be @ 1/2 inch;
Try to measure that F16 hole on a 4/3camera.
It all still depends.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Harry0 wrote:

Yeah dem dere journalists. Shooting quick shots for newspapers.
Newer landscape shooters said "F16 and be there!" shooting 120 film.
Ansel whats his face hung out with a large format shooter club "F32 and be there!"
Then again, shooting on a slow film 8x12, the F16 hole might be @ 1/2 inch;
Try to measure that F16 hole on a 4/3camera.
It all still depends.

f/64, I think it was.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

larryepage wrote:

f/64, I think it was.

Paul Diamond Loc: Atlanta, GA, USA

grahamfourth wrote:

I have read that, from an optics perspective only, F-8 is in general the best optical setting for most lenses (though obviously not every image will be best at F-8). If this is true, does this suggest that parameters such as diffraction and aberrations are minimized at F-8? Some other reason? Or is this simply not true and F-8 is not generally the best optical condition?

Thanks in advance for your help, it is much appreciated.

There is science for this. And you can/should do it. Newspapers are less common now than in days past. Get a shopper/grocery ad or supplement. Tape each 2 sheets to a flat surface that is evenly lit. Use a tripod for your camera. Take a picture with your camera/lens (and focal length if a zoom lens) to make the image in the camera about the same actual size using a reliable, consistent light source for even illumination (sun, studio lights, etc.).

Look at the pictures!!! Not rocket science. And you can do it. View each picture at 100% to 150/200%. Note the evenness of exposure for each lens (no lessening of resolution of contrast/exposure) at each f/ stop. You can quickly compare for your camera/lens/focal length combination what are the best f/ stops for images with no fall off in sharpness or illumination density. - Repeat for each lens that you use.

In about a half a day or less unless you have many, many lenses, you will have evidence of what you compromise by using a particular lens or 1.5x-2x-3x focal length magnifier. If you have a macro lens, you should test it against your 'standard' camera lenses. YOU see the difference with the lenses that YOU own on your camera. (How much resolution do you lose at smaller and very large f/ stops? When do the outside edges of your pictures begin to show light fall off or unacceptable loss of resolution at the edges of the picture?

There ARE variations from lens to lens. How a lens performs on a different camera body can be significant.

Nothing will EVER replace the results that you can see with your camera and the lens taking pictures of the newsprint wall.

And, actually, please - you will be the one to repeat these recommendations to future UHH'ers asking the same question on this subject.

Nothing replaces doing it yourself with your camera and your lenses.

gwilliams6

MT Shooter wrote:

Photojournalists used to say "F8 and be there". It was more for standardization than anything else.
In the real world there are LOTS of variables to be considered before taking the shot, aperture is only one of them.

As a longtime photojournalist (48+ years) that saying was merely for the depth of field of focus at f8, NOT for the best optical quality. It was manual focus lenses back then, so having the greatest depth of field in a fast moving news event helped insure your shot would be in focus . Please get it right.

The old rule of thumb was that most lenses were sharpest at two to three f-stops down from max aperture.

The best modern lenses with the latest optical designs and best glass are now as sharp wide open as they are at reduced apertures like f5.6 or f8. Yes beyond f11 you can start to get image diffraction and some loss of sharpness and image quality, but again modern lenses will still produce excellent images at f11, f16, even f22.

I love shooting my Sony 135mm f1.8 GM lens at f1.8 for great bokeh and maximum image separation from the background. And I also take advantage of f22 with other lenses for great sun stars and maximum depth of field.

1) Sony A9, Sony 135mm f1.8 GM lens at f1.8. A veteran skateboarder on Venice Beach, California, USA. 135mm, ISO 400, f1.8, 1/2000 sec. This lens is super sharp at wide open aperture at f1.8.

2) Sony A7RIV, Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 lens. Sunrise over Monument Valley, scene of countless Movies, TV shows, Commercials, Navajo lands, Arizona/Utah border, USA. 28mm, ISO 100, f22, 1/30 sec. I accepted some image diffraction to get those great sun stars at f22.

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