Depth of Field

[Kingham]

Hey everyone

Just a quick question. Im using a Panasonic NV-DS38 Mini DV Camera and I have been trying for some time to reduce the depth of field; making my subject in focus and whatever is in the background blurred. I have been to my local photography/film shop who tried a few different filters with no success.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could try.

Thanks

Kingham

[eddie]

is this an automatic camera?
To reduce depth of field you need to increase your aperature. You do this by having less light.
If your camera is automatic you may be able to adjust the shutter speed, decrease it. Then the aperature will compensate by opening up a little bit to get the same amount of light - reducing your depth of field.

This is assuming that your camera has manual overrides and manual focus.



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[steven_craig]

...or.... move the camera further away from the subject and zoom in. please make sure you are in manual focus, manual everything

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a carefull man tries to dodge the bullets, while a happy man takes a walk!

[sn-films]

Kingham:
Great to see a film/video making question on the board!

Actually, I've been trying to do the same thing for a while. If you manage to work out how to do it, be sure to post it on the board. I tried using some different filters to achieve the same results to no avail.

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www.sn-films.com

[The Woddler]

As steven said, move back and shoot on a 'long lens' (i.e. zoomed-in from distance). As long as you are on a stable tripod then it will look fine- when you zoom in the background will be out of focus, giving a more filmic effect.

W

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[Kingham]

Thanks a lot. I'll have a go and experiment with all of your suggestions. One last quick question though: Not knowing how a digital camera works internally, should I expext to have the effect on the viewfinder, or will it only show on the video itself?

Thanks

Kingham

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If anyone needs me I'll be in my trailer!

[eddie]

viewfinder.
You cant possibly do this effect blind.
What you see on the viewfinder is what will be recorded onto the tape.

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[tim.callaghan]

Use ND filters to reduce the amount of light hitting the CCD. Therefore you will have to up the aperture causing less depth of field. Also the longer the zoom will also decrease depth of field.

If you are shooting a long shot, make sure you have a sabilizer like a glide cam or get it on a tripod.

There are filters that blur the outerside of the frame, but to be honest they should be used more for special FX rather than for subject/background seperation.

ND filters are your best bet, but to be perfectly honest with such a small chip you're not going to get the depth of field versatility that you would get with 16mm or 35mm film.

Tim Callaghan


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