P3D Focusing at infinity...

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

>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. 

Hello Oliver!  This is a subject I have discussed in some detail in 
the past... The concept of the hyperfocal distance does not take
into account the nature of the subject photographed.  As a rule,
distant objects offer more fine detail to be resolved.  So I tend
to bias my focusing towards infinity.  In certain cases, if the 
foreground is relatively far away, I do focus right at infinity.
This practice might be wasting depth of field (the one that extends
past infinity) but, as you described, results in very sharp details
of far way objects.

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

Yes I have and I have gotten very good results in most cases.

George Themelis