Outdoor Photo Gear » Depth-of-Field http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog Great Photography Gear and Accessories for the Wildlife, Landscape, and Nature Photographers Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:24:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Understanding Depth of Field and how to use it correctly http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/understanding-depth-of-field-and-how-to-use-it-correctly-15476 http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/understanding-depth-of-field-and-how-to-use-it-correctly-15476#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:11:51 +0000 Jack Graham http://jackgrahamphoto.wordpress.com/?p=2427 If you were to talk to many of my workshop attendees and they will tell you there are a few things I really espouse throughout the workshop, hopefully not to the point that its information overload. One of these techniques is DEPTH of FIELD. Some of of my attendees did not know what depth of field is, let alone how to achieve it. Some didn’t understand it and others thought it too complicated and therefore have never mastered the techniques. Well, it’s not complicated at all, once you understand it, and perhaps this essay will help explain it to you in as easy terms possible. I will state that Depth of Field is essential in every form of photography and must be understood and applied.

So, what exactly is depth of field? Simply, it is the amount of detail, within the image that is in focus. You, the photographer must decide on how much depth of field (DOF) is desired. Do you want the entire image in focus? Do you want the background out of focus ( often referred to as blown out—-I don’t really like that term as “blown out” might refer to overexposed, not out of focus).

Once you make the decision on how much of the image you want in focus, you must understand the technique that must be used to achieve your goals.

Decisions on setting to attain Depth of field are:

  • The F-Stop (see below) chosen to make the image
  • The focal length of the lens
  • Subject size (the depth of field decreases as you decrease the lens/subject distance
  • How far away is the subject?

LENS OPTIONS

Choosing a lens will have a dramatic effect on your depth of field. Lenses below the 60mm range are capable of attaining a large depth of field. (wide angle lenses) The DOF affect attained with lenses above 60mm will be less and when combining a 160mm+ lens on a DSLR, perfect Depth of field is virtually impossible. This is a principle of physics.

]]> http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/understanding-depth-of-field-and-how-to-use-it-correctly-15476/feed 4 Video with your DSLR: Why use a Digital SLR to shoot video, The Good http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/video-with-your-dslr-why-use-a-digital-slr-to-shoot-video-the-good-5626 http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/video-with-your-dslr-why-use-a-digital-slr-to-shoot-video-the-good-5626#comments Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:06:44 +0000 Juan Pons http://dpexperience.com/?p=4713

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnZLTzRYw1Q

I am amazed that there is a debate still going on about why anyone would want to use a DSLR for shooting serious video. The arguments remind me of the early days of digital photography, where many out there would argue that images NOT taken on film were not real photos. Today we know differently.

To this end I want to share with you why I shoot video with a DSLR, what I find the be the advantages and disadvantages of using what many are now referring to HDDSLRs (I personally prefer the term Video DSLR).

In this first installment I will talk about what is great about shooting video with DSLRs. Tomorrow I will follow-up with what I consider to be the shortcomings of such systems.

]]> http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/video-with-your-dslr-why-use-a-digital-slr-to-shoot-video-the-good-5626/feed 0 Depth-of-Field Explained http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/depth-of-field-explained-382 http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/depth-of-field-explained-382#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:50:54 +0000 Martin Bailey http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/?p=382 http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/depth-of-field-explained-382/feed 0