Depth of field effects... Canon A590 IS Powershot can?

[leobox1]

Hi all,

i am a novice. I like those pictures with sharp subject blur backdrop. I am told it is called depth of field and it has something to do with low F number?

So i set out to buy a cam but yet afraid to spend, i never buy SLR.

in the end i bought A590is cause its lowest is F2.6 and the manual commands seems good.

Until now i cant produce any DOF. Did i make a mistake buying this?

 

[davee78]

So when you take a pic at 2.6 and say 8, there is no difference in the picture?? Shouldn't be:dunno:
DOF is there always, it's just a matter of deep or shallow, a shallow DOF would mean what you are trying to do here

Actually, shouldn't have a problem, maybe try your focus on the foreground (front object)? or easier, set to manual, then slowly adjust to get what you want, then you can get a feel of how the controls affect the picture?

There is quite a lot on DOF in the forum, I remember reading a lot on it as well and some got links to some good websites (with explanations in diagram to explain how the change in aperture affects the DOF, but I can't remember off hand the links now.;p But I personally find it useful to understand how it works, then when you go out and shoot, somehow u will be more sensitive to your surroundings, at times, i may even feel my eyes are the lens and try to focus on foreground and see the effects:bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[leobox1]

hmmm i believe what i meant is .. i want to do those person sharp .. back ground blur kind of effect.. am worried this 590 cant..

 

[davee78]

"people" you said, are your "people" too far from you? when you take the pictures?

Do a simple test at home, just focus on an object near at 2.6, you should be able to see the difference, then slowly move the object further...and further, then think the idea will become clearer to you Sorry, I am not good with explaining how it works in words..:bsmilie:

 

[leobox1]

ok.. bro, so in other words this cam cannot do like those "wedding shots" la hor.. the couple in focus , other thing blurry

 

[giantcanopy]

Until now i cant produce any DOF. Did i make a mistake buying this?

Well you can produce comparatively *more* depth of field on your point and shoot, great for taking macros You mean you cannot produce the background blur as much as you want ? The oof background blur is an interplay of alot of parameters. Other than the aperture, your subject and background distance plays a part as well.

The point and shoot has a much smaller sensor, and compared to a larger ( SLR ) sensor and has a more limited capability in creating the background blur.

Ryan

 

[shahrulesa]

It can be done but not easy, object very close to you, background very far, aperture wide open, also as Ryan mention, the sensor is smaller tha dslr so very limited capability.

 

[leobox1]

oh i @@.. i wanted to create for example lady @ 1M , tree @ 2M is blur liao... must SLR issit? sigh i KO le

 

[giantcanopy]

oh i @@.. i wanted to create for example lady @ 1M , tree @ 2M is blur liao... must SLR issit? sigh i KO le

If the existing pic is really not to your preference and you really cannot throw more distance between the person and the bgd, short of buying SLR, you can post process too. will not be easy.

Ryan

 

[leobox1]

I @@.. not i really regret le.. but then SLR so ex.. the canon basic one is 1000+? this is only 300+ hai

 

[gohaj]

u may want to try shooting at max tele (that is 140mm) using f5.5 (that is widest for 140mm) at 45cm distance to subject. just test shot and see if u can get better results.

 

[leobox1]

*now i mean

 

[leobox1]

max tele means max zoom right? wont it be straight in the subject face? hee

 

[gohaj]

max tele means max zoom right? wont it be straight in the subject face? hee

try on other subject 1st and then slowly adjust the variable to get the max output of the camera. variables like (1) distance to subject, (2) how tele or zoom, (3) f5.5 or ... etc..

 

[leobox1]

sorry so tele is zoom ?

 

[giantcanopy]

sorry so tele is zoom ?

nope *tele* is the longer focal length/telephoto end of your camera's zoom lens.

 

[windwaver]

Hi all,

i am a novice. I like those pictures with sharp subject blur backdrop. I am told it is called depth of field and it has something to do with low F number?

So i set out to buy a cam but yet afraid to spend, i never buy SLR.

in the end i bought A590is cause its lowest is F2.6 and the manual commands seems good.

Until now i cant produce any DOF. Did i make a mistake buying this?

It'll be tricky to get the effect you want on a A590 but it's possible depending on how far the background is from the target in focus. It's easier for a DSLR or Proconsumer because we can change lens/add filters to achieve that effect.

 

[leobox1]

so for my this cam.. how do i tele it? cause it states 5.8-23.2mm so to get 23.2 mm not max 4x zoom meh? thanks bro. i really appreciate this lesson and i hope u all can continue to teach me in this thread...

 

[giantcanopy]

so for my this cam.. how do i tele it? cause it states 5.8-23.2mm so to get 23.2 mm not max 4x zoom meh? thanks bro. i really appreciate this lesson and i hope u all can continue to teach me in this thread...

The 23.3 mm is the telephoto ( *tele* ) end of your zoom. The 4x is the zoom ratio using 23.2mm/5.8mm ( The longest focal length of the zoom divided by the shortest )

Shoot at the telephoto end at the widest possible aperture and have yourself move back to frame the same shot and try. Using a longer focal length can appear as though the depth of field is reduced and while having your subject in focus, having abit more blur at the background too.

Ryan

 

[ozkid88]

hi, just saw ur questionposted at the top. this is how you can make the 'bokeh' (background blur effect). the blur becomesmore obvious when there is more distance from the subject in focus and the back ground, so basically, it cant be done with a girl at 1m and a blur tree at 2m. the distance is not far enough. the blur would look good only if the tree is far away enough. otherwise, zoom out all the way (4x zoom), put it to the largest aperture(small f number) and take again. ofcourse now the largest aperture wun be 2.8 anymorela...like 4.5 or 5.3. yup. these are the ways... the best is to givethe subject and the background more distance like a girl in front of a quarry or sth. or u can just take the sunject really close.
heres what i mean...

camera>-1meters-(girl)-10 meters-(tree)

or

camera>-0.5m-(girl)-5meters-(tree)

both will have very good bokeh even though the treeismuch closer. its somewhat like ratio...haha
p.s. pros correct meif i'm wrong (just speaking from past exp)

cheers happy shooting