@Valerio & Dave: The wedge of focus is exactly that - a wedge. So, it's narrower near the camera than in the distance (as per my Rolls shot). Therefore you have to be very selective when choosing what you will focus at close range. In close-up mode, you really don't get much choice at all actually. The other thing with close-ups (and I include the sewing machine example) is that your diffraction limit kicks in a lot sooner. At f/45, you'll get quite a bit of fuzz. I would guess that in your example, the lens will be at its most resolving around f/11, maybe even a little wider. I don't see how you could have the whole machine in sharp focus. So I would choose to have the needle sharp, as well as the paintwork above it and the wheels at the right (you can't resolve more than three points which aren't part of the same plane). You'll need some back-tilt and some swing, but overall, you won't need buckets of movement (5-10 degrees?). Get that tack sharp, then close the aperture. That way, you bring the eye in to the elements that matter (to me) and soften the context which is secondary. That's what I mean about the movements driving the narrative.
HTH. Regards,
Charles
the figures in Merklinger represent mathematics near infinities and hence strange things happen. Try extrapolating the figures you have for small angles down to the point where the angle is zero and you'll see "theoretically" infinite depth of fields with zero tilt..
