 Michael Rossi |
Isolated Focus I know this is basic- but here goes: I am a avid hiker and backpacker, so I carry a pretty much bottom line compact digicam- the Canon Powershot A520. I would like to take better shots by working with depth of field, blurring either the background or foreground. I think I understand how it works, but am unable to achieve the blurring, except in the background with macros. My camera has manual capabilities, and I thought the operation was simple- set a low F-stop for a shallow depth of field-(my camera goes down to F 2.6 at the wide end at ISO 100, and 5.0 at the telephoto end),set my subject in the center of the viewfinder, press the shutter halfway to set the focus lock, then recompose. Am I doing something wrong? My camera has the 9 point AiAF "Smart" autofocus, which I thoght was the problem, so I turned it off thus giving me the center square only. Any thoughts or advice would help!!
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Kerry L. Walker |
There are many things that affect DOF: focal length of the lens, aperature, distance at which you are focused, etc. The problem you probably have is the fact that the small sensor on your digicam has an inherently greater DOF at a given aperature and focal length. Therefore, you are going to have problems trying to limit the DOF with your camera.
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Jon Close |
While f/2.6 is a pretty wide aperture, the depth of field it gives is determined by the focal length. With a 100mm or longer lens the depth of field with f/2.6 would be very shallow. But teh A520's lens is a very short focal length with a lot of depth of field. The focal length of the A520's zoom lens is 5.8mm - 23.2mm with f/2.6-5.5 maximum aperture.
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Justin G. |
With a 5.8mm lens and an aperture of 2.6, this will give you TONS of DOF. If you were to focus 20 feet out everything from 5.8 feet in front of you to infinity will be in reasonable focus. Let's say you jump up to f/8.0, everything from 2.28 feet to infinity will be in reasonable focus. Even at f/2.6 you can focus down to 9 feet and have focus to infinity.
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Michael Rossi |
thanks for the response guys. I really have a lot to learn! Is there any tips you can give me to isolate focus with such a limited camera? I know I could probably do a lot of background and foreground blurring using photoshop- guess I am gonna have to finally break down and go for it. I've been hesitant to purchase a better camera because of the nature of hiking and backpacking- I'd probably drop it off a cliff or in a creek! But, as I become more serious about photography, I guess I can keep my A520 for the strenuous stuff and get a good DSLR for my creative outlet. Thanks again!- Mike
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Michael, With your camera, your best chances for blurred backgrounds will be with macro shots. The closer you are to your subject, the more background blur you will get. Chris
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