BetterPhoto Q&A
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BetterPhoto Member		about details I've an S L R film camra, how can I get meximum details in photohgraphs when I take picture of a landscape and humen being To love this question, log in above June 24, 2008

John H. Siskin		Hi Mahavir, Some films are made to hold detail, while others are made to capture images in low light. You might try Fuji Velvia for a color transparency film, or if you have access to processing Kodachrome. Ilford makes a slow speed black and white film Pan F that would be good for black and white. I really like T-Max 100 for black and white. The key thing is that film is an information storage medium and a piece of 35mm film does not store much information. If you really want detail go to a larger negative, say 120 film or 4X5. I use 8X10 sometimes, I really like that level of detail. Good luck! John Siskin To love this comment, log in above June 24, 2008

Alan N. Marcus		Hi Mahavir, Likely you are not rushing out to buy or rent a medium or gross format camera. That being the case, let’s run down a few simple suggestions that will optimize image quality. 1. Every lens has a sweet spot; an aperture setting that delivers optimum sharpness. Generally that will be two f/numbers stopped down from the maximum aperture opening. Likely this will be f/5.6 or f/8. At wide open, the edges (peripheral) of the lens is being utilized. It as at the edges that the curve of the lens is the steepest thus abnormality creeps in. As we stop down the lens, sharpness and resolution improves. At tiny apertures, the span of depth-of-field becomes greater. However, starting at about f/16 a deficiency called diffraction begins to make itself known. Continued stopping down amplifies diffraction, now sharpness and resolution deteriorates. 2. Camera shake devastates sharpness and resolution. Use a tripod. Use fast shutter speeds. Long lenses magnify camera shake. Use a shutter speed about equal to the inverse of the focal length. Example 500mm then 1/500 sec. 400mm then 1/400 etc. 3. Correct exposure secures better sharpness. Under and over exposure compromise quality. Under exposures accentuates grain structure. Over exposure and acuity to deteriorate. 4. Make sure lenses are clean, free of oil and fingerprints otherwise expect flare which is devastating. 5. Use a lens hood. Extraneous side light amass flare. Flare is devastating. 6. Use filters sparingly as all filters increase flare. Coated filters mitigate tp some extent. Never mount a filter unless the benefit outweighs the side effects. Same is true for any supplemental optical add-on. 7. Use slow film. Low ISO yields more acuity with longer scale. High ISO sacrifices dynamic range and lowers acuity. 8. Focus with care. Out-of-focus images are often caused by operator error. 9. Be skeptical of third party optics. With an SLR, you are not focusing on the film; rather the lens-to- film optical path is a replica, a sub-system, by means of mirror, prism, and ground-glass. You focus on ground glass hopeful that the viewfinder vs. film path is an exact match. Likely they are however, third party lenses dependent on adapter mounts may be substandard. Slight errors in focus produce substandard focus. Alan Marcus (marginal technical gobbledygook) ammarcus@earthlink.net To love this comment, log in above June 25, 2008

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