P3D Re: S1 sharpness - WOW!!!

[Oliver Dean <3d-image@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dr. "T" wrote:
> I use the S1 handheld at a wide
> aperture to take pictures looking down.  The focusing is locked
> at infinity.  I look at these pictures and the amount of fine
> detail is incredible.  

The "Locked at infinity" interests me.  On a mountain top on a clear,
California day, when I similarly focused a good Realist f2.8 at infinity
with Kodachrome 25, instead of simply including infinity  at the extreme
end of the depth of field range, I got stunningly sharp, detailed images
of distant trees. This reinforced my knowledge that that the depth of
field scale limits on the Realist are not tight enough for critical
work.  As a result, I get significantly sharper results for viewer use
by by using the depth of field limits for one stop larger than my actual
exposure setting (i.e., for an exposure at f8, I use the depth of field
limits for f5.6, which is a more conservative range).  

(For novices reading this, including a distance within a depth of field
range is no guarantee of maximum sharpness; only the distance under the
pointer is designed to be at optimum focus.  Objects closer to or
farther from the point of focus are progressively less sharp, until the
unsharpness theoretically becomes unacceptable at a distance where the
blur exceeds an arbitrary standard called the "circle of confusion"--
this distance becomes one limit of the depth of field range.  Clearly,
apparently "unacceptable" sharpness varies with subject and individual
preference.  For this reason, Dr."T" checked for maximum sharpness by
focusing his camera at infinity for the distant objects in his scene.)  

Dr. "T," have you tried to use your Realist, focused at infinity, under
the same conditions that you did this with your S1?

Cordially,
Oliver Dean