Depth of field at DVinfo.net

Jamison Olivieri · August 25th, 2003, 10:25 PM

Can anyone tell me how to get the good depth of field shot were you can focus on your subject and thew backround is totaly blurred with our a filter? It makes it look more filmmic.

TackleQB@aol.com

Frank Granovski · August 25th, 2003, 10:37 PM

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...Depth+of+Field

Happy reading! :-)

Jamison Olivieri · August 25th, 2003, 10:46 PM

It all seeems a bit complicated for me i wanted to see a more simple way of how to do just like a couple of sentences to explain how to get it not a bunch of math formulas and wierd science eqaution. I mean surley its not that hard. Don't get me wrong though that was a great report.

TackleQB@aol.com

Charles Papert · August 25th, 2003, 11:03 PM

It's not THAT hard, but there are plenty of variables. If you shoot zoomed in with the subject relatively close and the background a good distance away (in other words, not right behind the subject) while keeping the aperture open as much as possible (using ND or bumping up the shutter outside to achieve this), you can achieve a softer background. There is no single formula to use for every shot, however...if you need to shoot wide angle, you simply will not be able to throw out the background by conventional means.

Alex Knappenberger · August 25th, 2003, 11:07 PM

Yup, as Mr Papert says, you won't be able to do this without using the telephoto end of the lens, and having the aperature open all the way. With 35mm film, and cameras with big sensors, a shallow DOF is easy to pull off.

Barry Green · August 26th, 2003, 12:58 AM

<<<-- I mean surley its not that hard. -->>>

It is, and it isn't. It is not hard to get the best that your camera can deliver, but it is usually extremely difficult to get satisfactory results.

To get the best the camera can do: zoom in as much as possible, get as close to your subject as you can while being fully zoomed in, and open the iris as much as possible, and keep your subject as far away from the background as possible.

Those are the rules, and they will get you as good as your camera will get. But using those rules, you will never be able to accomplish what larger cameras can do -- i.e., you'll never match what a 35mm, 16mm, 2/3" HD camera, or 1/2" video camera will be able to do.

If you're still not getting a satisfactory shallow-DOF look, there is another way, which is to use a product I manufacture, the SoftScreen (www.softscreen.us). It is an optical panel that you put behind your subject, and the panel itself throws the background out of focus. With it you don't have to do any zoom in/iris up/etc finagling, but you do have to watch for reflections and you are somewhat limited to only being able to do closeups, because of the physical size of the screen.

Jamison Olivieri · August 26th, 2003, 11:44 AM

Ok thank you guys alot for those tips (very helpful).

Rick Quevedo · August 28th, 2003, 05:27 PM

Here's an alternative!

http://www.fiercely-independent.com/SoftScreen.html

August 25th, 2003, 10:25 PM	#1
Jamison Olivieri Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: CA Posts: 50	Depth of field Can anyone tell me how to get the good depth of field shot were you can focus on your subject and thew backround is totaly blurred with our a filter? It makes it look more filmmic. TackleQB@aol.com

August 25th, 2003, 11:03 PM	#4
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	It's not THAT hard, but there are plenty of variables. If you shoot zoomed in with the subject relatively close and the background a good distance away (in other words, not right behind the subject) while keeping the aperture open as much as possible (using ND or bumping up the shutter outside to achieve this), you can achieve a softer background. There is no single formula to use for every shot, however...if you need to shoot wide angle, you simply will not be able to throw out the background by conventional means. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

August 28th, 2003, 05:27 PM	#8
Rick Quevedo Tourist Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1	Easy to do Depth of Field Here's an alternative! http://www.fiercely-independent.com/SoftScreen.html

August 25th, 2003, 10:37 PM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...Depth+of+Field Happy reading! :-)

August 25th, 2003, 10:46 PM	#3
Jamison Olivieri Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: CA Posts: 50	It all seeems a bit complicated for me i wanted to see a more simple way of how to do just like a couple of sentences to explain how to get it not a bunch of math formulas and wierd science eqaution. I mean surley its not that hard. Don't get me wrong though that was a great report. TackleQB@aol.com

August 25th, 2003, 11:07 PM	#5
Alex Knappenberger High School Student Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canton, Ohio, USA Posts: 609	Yup, as Mr Papert says, you won't be able to do this without using the telephoto end of the lens, and having the aperature open all the way. With 35mm film, and cameras with big sensors, a shallow DOF is easy to pull off.

August 26th, 2003, 12:58 AM	#6
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	<<<-- I mean surley its not that hard. -->>> It is, and it isn't. It is not hard to get the best that your camera can deliver, but it is usually extremely difficult to get satisfactory results. To get the best the camera can do: zoom in as much as possible, get as close to your subject as you can while being fully zoomed in, and open the iris as much as possible, and keep your subject as far away from the background as possible. Those are the rules, and they will get you as good as your camera will get. But using those rules, you will never be able to accomplish what larger cameras can do -- i.e., you'll never match what a 35mm, 16mm, 2/3" HD camera, or 1/2" video camera will be able to do. If you're still not getting a satisfactory shallow-DOF look, there is another way, which is to use a product I manufacture, the SoftScreen (www.softscreen.us). It is an optical panel that you put behind your subject, and the panel itself throws the background out of focus. With it you don't have to do any zoom in/iris up/etc finagling, but you do have to watch for reflections and you are somewhat limited to only being able to do closeups, because of the physical size of the screen.

August 26th, 2003, 11:44 AM	#7
Jamison Olivieri Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: CA Posts: 50	Ok thank you guys alot for those tips (very helpful).