Infinity or Outfinity

[P3D Jamie Drouin <jdrouin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

George wrote:
>(M. Merklinger)states "If we want _anything_ at infinity to be critically
>>sharp,focus at _infinity_"

        I don't really agree with this.  I use hyperfocal whether I'm using
35mm, 2 1/4, 4x5", or larger, and have found that even when the lenses have
been properly calibrated, infinity focus is dependent on lens resolution.
I think the quality presented by the Kodak Stereo is a testament to the
quality of the lenses.  I forgot to mention that I noticed very little (if
any!) vignetting on the Kodak pictures.

>Many times the smallest things that we want to resolve well
>are found at infintity.  Closer by objects are larger and easily
>recognizable and do not have the same sharpness requirements as
>objects at infinity.

         This is quite true, and is also, I believe, the main reason why
all of the vintage stereo cameras I've tested (up to around 6 different
makes now) fail at infinity in their 'pre-calibrated' form.  These cameras
are not unlike todays point-and-shoots: they were typically used for
subjects within the 6-15ft region (such as mom and dad standing in their
backyard), and the average person would not be concerned that the
background was not critically sharp.


                                                     :-)jamie.

Jamie Drouin Photography
http://www.islandnet.com/~jdrouin

'the means...exceed the measure of the imaginable'
 Hans Kessler, 16 April, 1933



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