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Position:Home>Visual Arts> Depth of field with a canon camera?Question: Depth of field with a canon camera!? I have one of those old school canon cameras where you need film and all that jazz!. It's an AE-1 model I guess!. That's what it says on the camera at least!.
I really want to learn depth of field! I really don't know what settings to put it on or anything!. I know something called the "f stop" is needed, but I really can't find it!. Please help! Thanks!!Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: All the answers are correct and well you are probably very confused by now!. I would look into registering for a class in photography as well as taking the great advice already given!.Www@QuestionHome@Com The "f-stop" is a ratio that refers to the size of the aperture of the lens!. The higher the f-stop number, the smaller the aperture opening!. However, the smaller the aperture, the greater the depth-of-field!. (So, higher f-stop = higher depth-of-field)!. On older cameras like the AE-1, the aperture is controlled by a ring around the lens that is located at the base of the lens closest to the camera!. The exact numbers it has will vary from lens to lens, but it should include a range similar to 4, 5!.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Depth of Field (DOF) is loosely defined as the area in acceptable focus in front of and behind the main subject!. DOF is a product of the focal length of your lens and the aperture (f-stop) chosen!. A wide angle lens (17mm, 21mm, 24mm, 35mm) will produce the most DOF at any given aperture when compared to a 50mm lens!. The role of lens focal length becomes even more apparent with 100mm, 200mm, 300mm lenses!. Using a DOF Table, lets look at a 35mm lens, a 50mm lens and a 200mm lens!. We'll use f16 and as close to the same focusing distance as possible!. 35mm lens @ f16, focused to 20' : DOF is from 5' 8" to Infinity 50mm lens @ f16, focused to 15' : DOF is from 8' to 130' 6" 200mm lens @ f16, focused to 20' : DOF is from 18' 8" to 21' 7" Now lets try it shooting wide open with each lens!. 35mm @ f2!.8, focused to 20' : DOF is from 13' 9'' to 36' 11'' 50mm @ f1!.4, focused to 15' : DOF is from 9' 6'' to 10' 6'' 200mm @ f3!.5, focused to 20' : DOF is from 19' 8'' to 20' 4'' Now lets look at some ultra-wide lenses: 16mm lens @ f16 and focused to 6' yields DOF from 1' 6'' to Infinity!. 21mm lens @ f16 and focused to 6' yields DOF from 2' 2" to Infinity!. 24mm lens @ f16 and focused to 6' yields a DOF from 2' 5" to Infinity!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Like this: http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/little_pook!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com RockDaddy's answer is right, but here are some visual aids that will hel pyou understand the concept as well as links to serious articles!. Wikipedia does pretty well on the subject of depth of field!. See: http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Depth_of_fi!.!.!. See also: http://www!.photo!.net/learn/optics/dofdig!.!.!. See also: http://www!.flickr!.com/groups/dof/ MY DEMO ON FLICKR =================================== Go to this link and click on the first image, called "Fake Flowers 1!." Then you can just click on each successive image in the set!. You can read the comments to see what is going on and then you can just page through the demo left-to-right (1 to 5) and back again to compare the effects of the larger sensor or better lens!. http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!. 35 mm f/2!.0 http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!. ANTONI'S DEMO http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!. Composite with 4 lenses http://www!.flickr!.com/photos/samfeinstei!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |