Response to out of focus film

If the images are unsharp I would consider other possibilities first: You mention that you are using f stop 22-32. Due to difraction this will give you the lowest resolution of your lens and visibly lower "sharpness" than with higher f-stops. Most medium format lenses reach their peak resolution around f11 and drop drastically when stopped down further. You can easily try this yourself. You will be surprised about the difference that a higher f stop will make. Most medium format cameras additionally have a sharpness problem due to the (idiotic) construction of their backs. In cameras like Hasselblad but also Mamiya 645 the film is never really flat. This is very visible when shooting with aperture 2,8 or similar. It is advisable for maximum sharpness to wind the film only just before taking the image. This is also a recommendation by Zeiss. Zeiss also says that the highest resolution will only be achieved in the middle of the roll (no joke!). This alls speaks for cameras using a direct film path, like the Pentax 67 or the Rolleiflex. Another problem -- perhaps the most serious -- is TMAX 100. It has a very low acutance, probably the lowest I have come across in the many years I shot B&W. This film simply looks fuzzy, lets better say it is definitly fuzzy and not "sharp". (Additionally it has a very poor tonal rendition). For high acutance I can only suggest using different material, eg. Agfa APX 100 or other cubic crystal film, eg. Fomapan T200, Efke 25 or 50 etc. Medium format also calls for high acutance developers, such as Rodinal or better Calbe R09. Again you will be surprised about the difference this makes.

[ Previous | Next ]