Real World DOF examples?

lodious

lodious

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Are there any sites which show photographic examples of changing DOF at various different focal lengths? I'm after getting a feel for what my next lens should be and it would be good to know what effect different apertures have.

I'm thinking of getting a telephoto lens and i'd like to understand if I need something with f2.8 or if a f4 do the trick.
 
lodious said:
Are there any sites which show photographic examples of changing DOF at various different focal lengths? I'm after getting a feel for what my next lens should be and it would be good to know what effect different apertures have.

I'm thinking of getting a telephoto lens and i'd like to understand if I need something with f2.8 or if a f4 do the trick.
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One thing you should consider though is how good the lens is at its maximum aperture. Using a lens at f/2.8 might give you more light but it may not be as sharp as the same lens set to f/4.

Also, the quality of the bokeh is driven by the actual physical make-up of the lens, and in particular, the number of aperture blades. This is all part of getting a pleasing area of out-of-focusness :) and on one lens at f/4, look better than that of a lens at f/2.8. Just a consideration anyway....

What are you shooting? DoF all works out against distance to subject from the camera, plus how far the subjects is from the background, and then you have the actual angle of view to dictate what the 'in-focus' area includes.
 
I'm really after a lens to improve outdoor shots of my kids. I've recently had some pro shots taken and they look really good, so I'm trying to improve the output of my pic's to push closer to the pro shots. The Pro used a 70-200 f2.8.

I'm really thinking of the Canon 70-200 f2.8 or f4. I'd probably have to choose the non-is F2.8 due to cost constraints or possibly the Sigma. The Canon f4 is quite a bit lighter, so that would be good. I am currently using a 550D w/kit lens or a 50mm f1.8.
 
lighting is also a major contributer to quality interior shots
 
lodious said:
Are there any sites which show photographic examples of changing DOF at various different focal lengths? I'm after getting a feel for what my next lens should be and it would be good to know what effect different apertures have.

I'm thinking of getting a telephoto lens and i'd like to understand if I need something with f2.8 or if a f4 do the trick.
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For a given framing, DoF remains almost identical regardless of focal length. It only changes, slightly, at very close distances.

If you check that DoFmaster link, and input say 50mm lens at 6ft and f/4, DoF will be the same as a 100mm lens at 12ft and f/4.

However, the longer lens gives different perspective when used at greater distance, and in particular the field of view narrows which makes the background relatively larger. This makes background shapes bigger, more simplified and less cluttered and distracting, so the subject tends to stand out more - but actual DoF remains the same.
 
lodious said:
I'm really after a lens to improve outdoor shots of my kids. I've recently had some pro shots taken and they look really good, so I'm trying to improve the output of my pic's to push closer to the pro shots. The Pro used a 70-200 f2.8.

I am currently using a 550D w/kit lens or a 50mm f1.8.
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TBH if you're hoping that buying a pro lens will somehow "improve the output of my pic's to push closer to the pro shots" it probably won't.

The f1.8 lens is more than capable of producing excellent indoor shots of children and you have 1 great advantage over any pro - time.

For the moment forget about producing pro shots of your children - just start taking pics of them - hundreds of pics of them in all their infinite moods - indoors, outdoors, playing, sleeping - everything.

Forget about posed shots - natural shots of children have a far more lasting appeal than any posed shots - at least in my opinion.

And a really good alternative lens for children outdoors is the 28-135mm IS USM lens at a much cheaper price than the f2.8 lens.

.
 
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OK, I agree. I've seen some pretty great results on Flickr w/pretty basic gear, so I'm thinking that you might be right:)

I've been taking a *lot* of pictures over the last 8 or so years, I've had some reasonable results, but I haven't really got any better, and I'm trying to step up the quality.

Where would be a good place to start?


petersmart said:
TBH if you're hoping that buying a pro lens will somehow "improve the output of my pic's to push closer to the pro shots" it probably won't.

The f1.8 lens is more than capable of producing excellent indoor shots of children and you have 1 great advantage over any pro - time.

For the moment forget about producing pro shots of your children - just start taking pics of them - hundreds of pics of them in all their infinite moods - indoors, outdoors, playing, sleeping - everything.

Forget about posed shots - natural shots of children have a far more lasting appeal than any posed shots - at least in my opinion.

And a really good alternative lens for children outdoors is the 28-135mm IS USM lens at a much cheaper price than the f2.8 lens.

.
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lodious said:
OK, I agree. I've seen some pretty great results on Flickr w/pretty basic gear, so I'm thinking that you might be right:)

I've been taking a *lot* of pictures over the last 8 or so years, I've had some reasonable results, but I haven't really got any better, and I'm trying to step up the quality.

Where would be a good place to start?
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When you say a lot what do you mean?

A lot of general pictures or a lot specifically of your children?

If I take pictures of children I usually take 200-300 shots at any one time and then prune them down getting rid of the OOF shots etc.

I concentrate on their expressions and try to show them as they really are.

That doesn't mean you can't ask them to look at you it just means avoiding the obviously posed shot.

Here's a few I have taken both indoors and out:

1
4372.jpg


2
4288dxx.jpg


3
Chloe21.jpg


4
19_Sept_2009_-_1563.jpg


5

06 MAR 2010/1159

6

Holiday in Ireland/2010/9109

All the indoor shots were taken on the 50mm f1.8 lens and the outdoor ones on the 28-135mm IS USM lens.

​
 
Your camera and lenses would be fine. Try working on different ways of lighting the shot. Directional light from a window or get a flash off camera. You can get a stand and umbrella pretty cheap. It can make a huge difference to the images. :-)
 
'A lot' meaning typically 150-200 shots over a weekend, mainly of the kids. They are distilled down to 5-15 'keepers'. I'm using lightroom for cropping / straightening. I'll put up some output onto flickr and show you where I'm up to.
 
excuse me....:naughty:

does anyone have a link to the site were you can see the effects of different Focal Length coverage ...not DoF.. to compare an 11-16 with a 12-24mm

thanks
 
lodious said:
Here's a link to some of my pics...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lodious/sets/72157624709711491/

Please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong by posting a flickr link?
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Nothing wrong at all - and you have some nice pics there particularly the one with the bubbles - I'd say the one of the baby could be cropped to cut out the background a bit more and they could also benefit from a bit of brightening.

But the expressions are great and you can always use a blur brush if you want to simulate greater DOF.

.
 
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