So the answer is both yes and no, optimal sharpness on MF lenses is probably around f/11. With f/32 there would definitively be a loss of sharpness. You would probably not see this loss in an enlarger but certainly in a very high resolution scan like at 3200 PPI. A print from a 3200 PPI scan at 200 DPI would be 64"x80", pretty big by any means.
Lars Kjellberg who had the original "Photodo" site actually made an experiment with 135, 120 and 9x12cm film where he compared pictures taken at apertures f/5.6 (135), f/11 (120) and f/22 (9x12cm). Sharpness was essentially the same, when using T-max 100 film.
Check article here: http://old.photodo.com/art/35_m9.shtml
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I remember that article well. It was an eye-opener for me when I first read it several years ago, before I'd bought my first digital camera.
There are a few points worth stressing here.
(1) Large format lenses generally don't show any noticeable resolution fall-off until they are stopped down beyond F22.
(2) When comparing resolution in different formats, it's only sensible to make F stop adjustments to equalise DoF. Is there anyone composing pictures or artworks who takes the attitude, 'I'm only concerned with resolution in the plane of focus. I don't care about the foreground or background'?
However, I suppose there
are circumstances where such an attitude might be appropriate; if the purpose was to create a montage from various cut-outs, for example, or to glean the maximum amount of detail from part of a scene for scientific purposes.
(3) The film used in Lars Kjelberg's tests, that demonstrated the 35mm shots at F5.6 were as sharp as the 4x5" shots at F22, is a film with remarkable MTF properties.
T-Max 100 can apparently record up to 50 lp/mm without any loss of contrast, ie. MTF response at 50 lp/mm is still 100%. By comparison, cameras such as the 1Ds, the 5D and the Nikon D3 are approaching zero MTF at 50 lp/mm.
Even at 100 lp/mm, a resolution which no digital camera is capable of achieving (except perhaps certain scanning backs and small P&S cameras), T-Max 100 still has an MTF response of about 65%.
I believe this is why the 'Film versus Digital' debate keeps occasionally resurfacing. The potential is there for 35mm film to outresolve any current DSLR (including the 1Ds3), but only at great expense and inconvenience, and probably only with certain B&W film types, many of which have now been discontinued.
When Michael, some years ago, tried to demonstrate that the 1Ds was roughly the equivalent of 6x7cm film format, in terms of detail captured, he used the popular Fuji Velvia film. The MTF response of Velvia at 100 lp/mm is a mere 15%.
And, of course, when trying to extract the maximum detail from film, one needs a very expensive, high resolution drum scanner. My highest resolving scanner is the Minolta Dimage 5400 II. I've seen tests on the internet which suggest that this scanner has a maximum resolving capability of around 70 lp/mm from B&W film, and less from color film.
