Optimum focus setting for wide angle shots?

[Patrick]

When trying to maximise depth of field, is there are a particular focus setting that some people use when their super 8 zooms are set to their widest settings? I think I recall someone on this forum quoting 3 meters....would that be about right? I'll be using a Canon 1014 but depth of field tables for that camera's lens won't come in much handy since I'll be using it in auto exposure mode (depth of field tables of course refer to the relationship between the selected f stop and the distance setting.) For this particular project, I'm not worried about getting close subjects in focus. It will mainly be medium distance and far away subjects that I want in sharp focus.

[sciolist]

If you use the wide angle setting of the lens on the Canon 1014, have adequate light, and are exposing a film stock of average speed, you should get good results. Ideally, you would set the lens to its hyperfocal distance, bringing the near field and distant field into acceptable focus. You'd might want to assess a 'worst case' aperture based on conditions and, referring to the depth of field tables, set focus accordingly.