> I guess I was asking about sharpness in terms of what do "pros" expect to see before you start with sharpening?

To a degree I don't care about how it is, it's how it looks when I get done that I care about. Some images are closer than others at the beginning; some of that is lens. My Sigma 12-24 is not a terribly sharp lens, but for reasons I don't fully understand, its accutance is sufficient, meaning that its images are both tolerant of and demanding of significantly more sharpening than most others.

But of course I do understand what you mean - in the extreme, if I forgot to push the focusing button it is obvious that there's no point, and then where do I draw the line...

Again, I can't really tell from this size, but I don't think this particular one is very sharp. Sharp enough that I probably would not be bothering. I'm not sure why - again I can't really tell from this size - but my guess is technique and not lens. I think just about every modern lens is sharper than this. (Sorry...)

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Brian... a bicoastal Nikonian and Team Member

My gallery is online. Comments and critique welcomed any time!