dandantheadminman
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sharpest f-stop for nikkor 18-70mm f3.5-f.45i know some of you have the nikkor 18-70mm f3.5-f.45 so was wondering what is the sharpest f-stop? and if you dont know, how would i find out?
thnx
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Hamish
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f8 - f11
It's pretty much the sharpest for most lenses, although the 50mm f1.8 is allegedly not so sharp at f8 but best from about 2.8-5.6.
It's also best to avoid particularly narrow apertures with DX lenses as well as the resulting diffraction can make them a bit soft.
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dandantheadminman
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oo thnx, and for landscapes im guessing no smaller than f/16 then right? (looking for sharpenss.)
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Hamish
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I've found that f11 is fine for landscapes. You might be okay up to f16 I guess, but I've heard that f11 is probably the best all round.
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dandantheadminman
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ok, f/11 it is 
yeh since i shoot most landscape at 18mm f/11 should give enough DOF
thnx
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Hamish
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You'll have seen this one of mine before but it's a good example of the DOF and sharpness you can get with 18mm f11. Of course, you can appply more aggressive sharpening with landscapes to help tings a little. FYI - I focussed on the rocks in the foreground and used the 18-200VR which performs similarly, if not slightly poorer than the 18-70 at 18mm:
Bear in mind, if not using a tripod, that you might be better off with f8 if the shutter speed starts to get slow. Also, if using a tripod then use the timer instead of pressing the shutter yourself will help the sharpness by reducing any potential camera shake.
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dandantheadminman
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yeheyh i should be getting a remote cable release soon anyways, and ill try focussing on foregroundish from on then...
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Hamish
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The rough rule is to focus abut 1/3 of the distance into the photo to get the maximum DOF, unless you want to have particular detail at a certain point. Sometimes you might want sharpness in elements at the front of the scene, other times it may not be so important.
Also, sometimes shallow DOF can work in landscapes too if you want to contrast a sharp foreground element with a more blurred background.
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fozzybear
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F11 and be there 
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