F32 and F8-A study in clarity

For jewelry we often push the depth of field to get the whole piece sharp. However as I found (with some help from Steven Benskin) that a lens is at its most sharp almost wide open, which severely limits depth of field. You will notice on the sharp shot the bottom of the ring shank is soft, the less sharp ring is as sharp as it can get at F32, from the stones to the bottom of the ring. I have a depth of field calculator that shows the hard numbers.