Questions tagged [depth-of-field]

Depth of Field is the depth of a scene that is "in focus" as perceived by the eye.

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What exactly determines depth of field?

There are several questions here about the definition of depth of field, about focal length, and about subject distance. And of course there's the basic how does aperture affect my photographs. And ...
mattdm's user avatar
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57 votes
9 answers
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What is aperture, and how does it affect my photographs?

How does aperture affect my photographs? Why should I care about the aperture with which a photo was taken?
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46 votes
12 answers
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How can I get dramatic shallow DOF with a kit lens?

I'm currently using an entry-level DSLR with 18-55mm lens and having great trouble trying to creating a blurred background effect in my photos. Now matter what aperture or shutter speed I choose, I'm ...
David's user avatar
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25 votes
9 answers
7k views

Can a smaller sensor's "crop factor" be used to calculate the exact increase in depth of field?

If APS-C and similar crop-sensor digital cameras have a focal length multiplying effect such that a 50mm lens has an apparent focal length closer to the field of view of an 80mm on a full frame camera,...
Sean's user avatar
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48 votes
20 answers
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How can I maximize the "blurry background, sharp subject" (bokeh) effect?

I know that this effect occurs when there's a shallow depth of field. My question is, what are the various ways I can increase this effect in my photos when I'm taking them? Note that I'm not ...
Jaydles's user avatar
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8 votes
4 answers
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Why did manufacturers stop including DOF scales on lenses?

Seriously why? I hate it and I hate memorizing it or check my phone app for the depth of field of the current aperture. I find it so useful in old lenses. The DOF preview doesn't help that much ...
K'''s user avatar
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45 votes
7 answers
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What is "Hyperfocal Distance"?

I'd like a clear & easy-to-understand (especially for non-physics-types) explanation of what Hyperfocal Distance is, how it affects photographs, and what determines its value.
Craig Walker's user avatar
37 votes
12 answers
17k views

How can I take shallow depth of field photos with a point-and-shoot camera?

I have a compact digital camera, and in macro mode I can manage to achieve a blurred background, if the background is far enough away. Can this be done when taking non-macro pictures, and if not, is ...
Bernhard Hofmann's user avatar
26 votes
4 answers
3k views

Do smaller apertures provide more depth of field past the diffraction limit, even if peak sharpness suffers?

In Understanding Exposure (3rd edition, on page 48), Bryan Peterson has what might be called a rant against modern on-line conventional wisdom about diffraction limits. Answers on this web site are ...
mattdm's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
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How can I take a photo with everything in focus with my DSLR?

I am quite new to DSLRs and one of the first things I noticed was the incredible focus points and appearance of depth that you can achieve. That is great in a lot of scenarios, but not in all. When ...
Bram Vanroy's user avatar
30 votes
5 answers
7k views

What is the shape of the focal plane?

This is something I just realised I don't entirely know the answer to, so I'm going to ask it here as I think it's interesting. In most non-scientific writing on depth of field, diagrams generally ...
Undistraction's user avatar
38 votes
8 answers
31k views

Technically, why is the out of focus area blurred more when using a bigger aperture?

I'm wondering, technically, why and how does the out of focus areas blur more when using a bigger aperture. I think it'd help a lot if I presented a problem that's been driving me nuts for a long time:...
Frantisek's user avatar
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27 votes
5 answers
7k views

Why is the depth-of-field preview in the optical viewfinder of my Canon 500D inaccurate?

I have noticed that in my Canon 500D, the depth-of-field preview in the optical viewfinder is inaccurate with large aperture settings. If I press the DoF preview button, there is very little ...
Jukka Suomela's user avatar
37 votes
2 answers
7k views

What is "bokeh panorama" (also called the "Brenizer method")?

Somewhere I don't remember, I heard about the Brenizer method. After reading a few sites, there is no consistent information about what it is exactly, or what the procedures are to apply it, so: ...
tomm89's user avatar
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33 votes
6 answers
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Is there a 'rule of thumb' that I can use to estimate depth of field while shooting?

I can use a DoF calculator, or crunch the heavy math by hand if I really want to know exactly what my DoF is going to be... but most of the time knowing exactly is actually overkill, and taking the ...
Jay Lance Photography's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
11k views

How do you determine the acceptable Circle of Confusion for a particular photo?

I've noticed that several online and/or downloadable Depth of Field Calculators use different values for the acceptable CoC (Circle of Confusion) for some of the same camera models/sensor sizes. This, ...
Michael C's user avatar
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41 votes
6 answers
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Why does a bigger sensor lead to a shallower depth of field?

It has been mentioned at a few places that a larger sensor results in images with a shallower depth of field. Example image: APS-C Canon 30D left, FF Canon 5D right, same lens¹, same composition, ...
Lazer's user avatar
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13 votes
8 answers
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How can I get everything in focus? (Why can't my camera just use all of its focus points at the same time?)

I have a Canon 550D with 70-200 f4 and 50mm prime lenses. Although the camera has built-in 9 focal points, I sometimes face a strange problem. Here's a sample photo: In reference to the above pic, ...
Rish's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
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How can I get more of this macro photo in focus?

I want to make a full focus on the body, for example: I need to have a clear focus on the each balls in the photo. I used just single point focus. In this picture I used: shutter speed: 8 aperture: ...
rixlinux's user avatar
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3 answers
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Why I am getting different values for depth of field from calculators vs in-camera DoF preview?

When using depth of field and hyperfocal calculators, I get very different result versus the in-camera DoF preview of my Fujifilm X-M1. For example: With DOFMaster (or any other online calculator), ...
Julio's user avatar
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28 votes
5 answers
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What are the best practices for DOF stacking?

What are the best practices for DOF stacking? How do you get the frames with focus just right amount apart? How do you stack them in post processing?
Karel's user avatar
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15 votes
2 answers
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How do I get adequate depth of field in macro photography?

I have been messing around with some Macro Photography using the techniques (and a reversal ring) described in a blog post by @ElendilTheTall My main issue is that I am having a hard time getting the ...
L84's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
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Why does getting closer or zooming in decrease depth of field?

I know that aperture changes the depth of field (DOF), but why is it that by making the image appear larger (by getting closer to the camera or zooming in) there is less DOF?
user17252's user avatar
21 votes
7 answers
11k views

How does background blur (bokeh) relate to sensor size?

This is a somewhat theoretical question. Suppose I first take a photo of a subject using a full frame sensor DSLR, with a given lens (say 50mm prime lens at f/3.5). Now suppose I exchange the camera ...
Laurent's user avatar
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18 votes
5 answers
13k views

How does changing focal length affect depth of field?

I'm curious about how my "area of acceptable focus" changes when the focal length of the lens I'm using changes as I zoom (or switch lenses). In particular, I'd like to know how the front & back ...
Craig Walker's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
4k views

Is camera lens focus an exact point or a range?

I have often wondered if the focus of a lens at a particular focal length is an exact point or a range within a few millimeters. This becomes all the more important when manually focussing. How far ...
Anil Joseph's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
6k views

What are the depth-of-field capabilities of point & shoot cameras?

Is it possible to show following by using a point-and-shoot camera? shallow depth of field deep depth of field
Syed Tayyab Ali's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
1k views

Does amount of background blur change with focal length given equal framing?

Let's assume I have two lenses, 50mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8. I want to fill the frame with the photographed object. Now, if the object is 50cm wide, I need to take the photograph at a distance of 1.112 ...
juhist's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
442 views

Find hyperfocal distance for HD (1920x1080) resolution?

I'm using panohelp.com to prepare tables with hyperfocal distances for my camera. The most important camera-specific info I have to plug in is the circle of confusion (0.019mm for my Canon EOS600D). ...
Hagen von Eitzen's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
365 views

Simple quick DoF estimate method for prime lens [duplicate]

All: I have a concrete example related question: My prime len is Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX. If I only use this lens to shoot, I wonder if there is any simplified Depth of Field estimate method like by ...
Kuan's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
67k views

How do I keep both the background and foreground in the image in focus at the same time?

How do you have both the background and foreground in the image in focus at the same time? Last week I was attempting a shot where I had the back of a hat in focus and in the distance you could see a ...
L84's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
4k views

How do depth of field and the circle of confusion relate to pixel size on the sensor?

I have been reading about depth-of-field and presume to have a sufficient understanding of what it means and how it is related to lens properties, lens aperture, focal length, sensor format size and ...
Parikshit Sakurikar's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
847 views

Why would a photographer do focus stacking?

Recently, I come across the term called Focus Stacking where you combine different pictures with different focus points. My question is, why do the focus stacking? Are there any benefits from the ...
Nitin Kumar's user avatar
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3 votes
4 answers
3k views

How to focus on an area correctly, while still blurring everything else?

I made a picture (see below) of an almond cake with the following settings: 4/3 sensor 25mm focal length Aperture f1.4 Shutter speed 1/30 sec I chose an appropriate shutter speed with the biggest ...
Ely's user avatar
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20 votes
6 answers
43k views

Is there a formula to calculate DOF?

I am pretty clear about that DOF depends on: Focal length Aperture or f-stop Distance from subject Sensor size and more (as pointed out in this comment). But my question is: Is there any formula ...
vivek_jonam's user avatar
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13 votes
6 answers
5k views

What does small depth of field mean?

Can anyone clarify for me the various terms used to describe depth of field? There are so many it's hard without a photo dictionary to relate in my head what's actually being said to me about the ...
kacalapy's user avatar
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12 votes
3 answers
19k views

What is the depth-of-field preview button on my DSLR supposed to show me?

I'm fairly new to DSLRs and I've been exploring the functions on my new Canon 60D. There's a button to the side of the lens described as the "depth-of-field preview button". Based on the limited ...
Damovisa's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
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How does using a lens with some focal length on a full frame camera differ from using a lens with "equivalent" focal lens on a crop camera?

As an example, a 35mm lens on a crop body (such as Nikon DX) is said to be "equivalent" to a 50mm lens on a full frame body. Equivalent here means that they will have the same field of view, but what ...
SoftMemes's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
247 views

Why do viewing conditions affect Depth of Field?

There's a lot of information here and elsewhere about how things such as aperture, focal length, and subject/focus distance affect Depth of Field (DoF). Most people seem to understand that side of it ...
Michael C's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
7k views

Why does depth of field occur?

I wonder why depth of field occur in the first place. This is not a question about what changes the effect/size of field. We all know that. Aperture, Focal Length, Focus Length (distance to subject), ...
Umur Kontacı's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
2k views

How does sensor size impact depth of field and diffraction for macro photography?

Macro photographers often stop down to very small apertures to maximize the razor thin depth of field when operating at such close focus distances. Smaller sensors have greater depth of field than ...
Icycle's user avatar
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8 votes
4 answers
2k views

How can I take photographs with a large depth of field without diffraction?

I was looking at some pictures by TSO Photography, and I was struck by how everything in the image seems to be sharp and in focus. I do realize that to achieve huge depth of field, you set the ...
Viv's user avatar
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7 votes
5 answers
18k views

Is it possible to change depth of field in RAW images?

I am beginner to photography, and I've learnt that we can do a lot of post-production in images by using RAW format. I'm looking for options to change/modify the depth of field in the RAW images - is ...
Aravin's user avatar
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7 votes
6 answers
14k views

What aperture should I use to photograph people and why?

What f/# do you use to photograph people, and why? I know this varies from shot to shot. Let's suppose that you are photographing either a single person or a couple, that it it outside on a somewhat ...
PearsonArtPhoto's user avatar
4 votes
6 answers
1k views

Why don't cameras provide you with DOF information?

The viewfinder is usually not 100% accurate in representing the final image you will get and I've lost a few shots while using a too narrow DOF. I would imagine that cameras, knowing the focal length, ...
Andrew's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why do some people say to use 0.007 mm (approximate pixel size) for the CoC on a Canon 5DM2?

The 5DM2 pixel size is approximate 0.00645mm in size and so some people talk about using 0.007mm as the CoC. I think canon said once they use 0.035mm for DOF charts, full frame normal is 0.033mm, ...
DavyCrockett's user avatar
21 votes
8 answers
14k views

How does a teleconverter affect depth of field?

I'm aware that a teleconverter will reduce the amount of light reaching the film or sensor in a camera, and as such you hear people banding around things like "With a 2x teleconverter this 300mm f/2.8 ...
Rowland Shaw's user avatar
14 votes
6 answers
12k views

How do I find a point-and-shoot camera specifically for bokeh / a very shallow depth of field?

I will be getting a point-and-shoot camera for taking portraits and only portraits. Specifically portraits with a shallow depth of field. Groups portraits sometimes. It's just too much work to add ...
William C's user avatar
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11 votes
4 answers
5k views

Can I get a shallow DOF using a kit lens? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How can I get dramatic shallow DOF with a kit lens? Is it possible to generate shallow DOF with a "kit" lens, and how? In my case, I have the Nikon D7000 with the 18-105mm f/...
kacalapy's user avatar
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9 votes
4 answers
5k views

What lenses are best for food photography?

What lenses are best for taking photos of cooked dishes? In some articles, I have read that I can have great results with lenses f/1.4 because they are cheap and they give that nice blurred ...
john's user avatar
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