Can I get decent depth of field with a minidv cam?

[OmeN]

Hi, Basically i want to buy a camera for myself because im fed up of borrowing my uni's one. However I want to get a camera that I might be able to change lenses on if the one supplied is **** .
All i really want is a lense that acts like a lense on a typical SLR camera - they just have a really nice DOF on them - but all the minidv cams i have played with keep everything infocus - they are terrible - but i guess fine for filming your family.
I heard you can get slightly better DOF by using the ND filter on some camera's - but I have to increase the lighting or something?

Well theres enough questions there, hope someone can lend a kind hand !

[belovedmonster]

One of the drawbacks of shooting on small dv cameras with tiny chips is the extreme sharpness of the images. While this may seem to be desirable in most cases, it can be a nuisance where one is trying to get a deliberate point of focus in a scene for a creative effect. Just think of the number of drama sequences you see on TV where pulling focus between characters or objects adds to the dramatic effect.

There's a nifty little gadget to help get less depth of field on dv cameras by using standard 35mm. prime lenses.

The camera is attached to a base plate where the camera lens is focussed on a revolving ground-glass screen the size of a 35mm film gate. The prime lens throws an image onto this screen. Therefore the dv camera is efectively shooting as a 35mm camera as regards lenses and depth of field. The rotation of the ground-glass is to stop the grain of the screen showing up.
You can see it at:
http://www.zgc.com/html/p_s_technik_mini_35_adapter.htm

[OmeN]

Hi, thanks for your speedy reply !!
Well im certainly glad i dont own a XL1 - cuz that would kill my bank account !
I still dont think i could afford it anyway since it would be like buying 2 cameras for me, however it looks like a great idea.
Is there a cheaper way for a cheapo like me?

Since i havent even bought a camera is there a particular minidv that you or anyone might reccomend?
[remember price [img]wink.gif[/img] ]

[deanl]

Hey there.

Another way to get this effect on a cheaper dv camera is to move the camera futher away from the subject (harder to do when working indoors) then zoom in and frame and focus your subject. You should find it easier to achieve nice DOP effects this way.

Give it a try.

Despin out.

[belovedmonster]

-1- Use maximum zoom (most effective), but 10 times zoom is not very usable in all situations...

-2- Place subject at the end of the focus - making the background fall (more) out of the focus

-3- Widen the iris/aperture (this is the same right?): Wider iris/aperture means reduced depth of field

-4- Use a ND-filter to reduce the light entering the CCD (this will hapen if the iris/aperture is widened

and/or

-5- Increase the shutterspeed.

[MonkeyVideoProductions]

All the miniDV cams i have worked with all have a manual or auto focus switch...if u wan to **** with the focus find one wif the switch n set it to manual n you can change wat is in focus easy.

Not knowing too much about film stuffs (only what I have picked up from doing **** amature films with my friends), I'm probably talking about completely the wrong thing, but it might help you at som point in your life [img]tongue.gif[/img]

The cams I have used all cost around ?500 n are all faily decent, with like 20X optical, and 300X digital (summit like that anyways), along with many other features, just check around in any electrical shops, and play with the camera if they will let you, see if it is what you are looking for or not.

[redlum]

word.

no matter how hard you try though, youll probably never get nice foreground to background (>&lt [img]wink.gif[/img] focus pull with the prosumer cams.

love to hear someone prove me wrong on that though.

[belovedmonster]

maybe ill change my mind one day, but i dont really like the focus pull between two things/people effect anyways. Rather than think hey that made it more dramatic i just think... why didnt they show both in focus [img]confused.gif[/img]

[belovedmonster]

pretty much, but you could also use a wide angle lens instead of moving the camera back.

[redlum]

come on its totally important in some cases. Its all about control and telling the viewer where to look. You may wanna distract the audience momentarily, show a characters pov, can be good for transitions.