[meteorite-list] Meteorite Photography

[Meteorites USA]

Agreed, but I was really only using the sports analogy as an example of 
f-stop use because I assumed it would be familiar to people and they 
could visualize what was being described much better. ;) The ultimate 
point being that f-stop isn't the "controlling factor" for sharper 
photos though it's related. Also, you don't need a digital SLR to make 
crisp clean photos. (though it helps) A simple point and shoot camera 
will work great if you know how to maximize it's settings to get the 
best results.

Regards,
Eric


On 1/27/2010 10:44 AM, Matson, Robert D. wrote:
> Hi Eric, Al, Erik,
>
>    
>> Erik is right, The higher f-stop of 22 will increase depth of field
>>      
> ...
>
> Yes.
>
>    
>> ... not sharpness of focus.
>>      
> Unless you have a very good lens, it will ALSO increase sharpness of
> focus for stationary objects.
>
>    
>> This is why sports photographers use a low/large f-stop lens like
>> f2.8 lenses.
>>      
> (f/2.8 is actually not that fast a lens for a professional. f/1.4 is
> a fast lens.)
>
>    
>> The reason is simple, the smaller aperture only allow focus on a
>> small area of the subject, blurs out the background and has a
>> very shallow DOF ...
>>      
> All of these points are true, but that's not the main reason sports
> photographers use low f/#. In sports photography, short exposure times
> are crucial so that action isn't blurred. This cannot be achieved at
> high f/# because the stopped-down lens doesn't let in enough light
> for a properly exposed image. That said, professional photographers
> usually do NOT use the fastest f-stop of a lens since the lens
> periphery has the maximum optical aberrations. An image (of a still
> object like a meteorite) taken at f/1.4 using an f/1.4 lens will
> rarely be as crisp as an image taken with the same lens at f/2.
>
> Best,
> Rob
>
>