Narrow dept of field in compact

iant

Hey,
I've been looking for a compact Digital where I can achieve a pretty narrow dept of field.
(I know I should be looking at lences)
Can anyone recommend anything?
Nothing too pricy.
Ian

nilhg

I don't think its possible unless you can find a compact with a large sensor ( Sigma have a new one coming out but its not cheap), from wikipedia

The greater DOF with the smaller format can be either an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the desired effect. For the same amount of foreground and background blur, a small-format camera requires a smaller f-number and allows a shorter exposure time than a large-format camera; however, many point-and-shoot digital cameras cannot provide a very shallow DOF. For example, a point-and-shoot digital camera with a 1/1.8″ sensor (7.18 mm × 5.32 mm) at a normal focal length and f/2.8 has the same DOF as a 35 mm camera with a normal lens at f/13.

Thirdfox

you could also just use selective gaussian blurring in photoshop...

elven

It can be done with a compact, but mostly just using macro mode so you're limited with subject and viewpoint.

You can see some examples here though:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/bokeh_/discuss/72157594200092540/

melekalikimaka

Thirdfox wrote: »

you could also just use selective gaussian blurring in photoshop...

yup i second that

elven

It depends on the subject though - it's pretty near impossible to fake real depth of field in photoshop even if it's obvious and clearly defined which areas should be in focus and which not. Even decent looking lens blur, at all, is a huge challenge.

Thirdfox

In my opinion - most people are just looking for selective focus (a la lensbaby) so that the attention of the viewer is concentrated immediately on one particular spot. Even Picasa has a tool that does that (quite adequately for a free programme).

iant

c'mon there must be a compact that can do this well?

quilmore

it's all down to the size of the sensor / lenses
small sensors are good for macro and gives you massive DOF
bigger sensors are harder to get a macro lens and DOF is smal
in large format cameras is almost imposible to get macro and DOF is very small at almost all settings

as somebody said, there are compact cameras with bigger sensor, but they aren't cheap

iant

ok...any particular cameras I should be looking at.

elven

If you look at the list I posted you'll see examples with camera names...

Thirdfox

You could try the newly announced 800 euro Sigma DP1 (it has a APS-C size sensor built in) but that doesn't seem to fit into the low price criteria.

But since you're looking for a specialised camera you have to expect to pay more.

iant

Yeah I've seen that, a lot of the shots are quite close up.

elven wrote: »

If you look at the list I posted you'll see examples with camera names...

challengemaster

iant wrote: »

Yeah I've seen that, a lot of the shots are quite close up.

because the camera is in macro mode...

AnCatDubh

hmnnnn... been a while since i used my old fuji bridge type camera which mightn't be the best example and it was difficult to get any decent depth of field but not impossible if i remember correctly.

There are a number of factors to be considered including the sensor size but also the object distance, the focal length, and the F-number. Most material on the subject also refers to the vision or perceptivity of those observing (Now thats bloody confusing).

Towards the bottom of this page you'll find a DOF calculator which will give you a technical calculation of the closest and furthest distance of acceptable sharpness and total depth of field - http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm . It includes Point n Shoot as well as DSLR sized sensors so it may have the actual answer to your question. The truth is out there (queue X-Files theme) ;o)

Cheers.

nilhg

iant wrote: »

Yeah I've seen that, a lot of the shots are quite close up.

It might be a help if you give an idea of what you want to shoot and the amount (or lack of) of DOF that would be acceptable.

JMcL

Thirdfox wrote: »

You could try the newly announced 800 euro Sigma DP1 (it has a APS-C size sensor built in) but that doesn't seem to fit into the low price criteria.

And also comes with a 28mm f4 fixed lens - not ideal for shallow DOF in the first place