How do I get my whole frame to be in focus. ? I am using a Lumix 45 to 175 (power zoom lens) and I am getting too much of shallow field of depth. I am looking to get the entire frame to be in focus. Is there a setting to make this happen. I tried to reduce the iris and I am noticing the picture is getting darker. Thanks for your help in advance.
Acheiving a deep depth of field
- Thread starter skmami
- Start date
There are three things that affect depth of field (DOF.)
Remember, a shallower DOF means less is in focus. A deeper DOF means more depth is in focus.
1. The focal length of your lens
2. The F-stop
3. The sensor size or film gate size
1. The longer the focal length (ie., more telephoto) the shallower your DOF. The shorter your focal length (ie., wide angle) the deeper the depth of field.
2. The smaller the f-number (ie., the more open the aperture, like f1.4) the shallower the DOF. The larger the f-number (smaller the aperture, f22) the deeper the DOF.
3. The larger the sensor or film (35mm or 70mm) the shallower the DOF. The smaller the sensor or film (8mm, 1/4", handycam CCD) the deeper the DOF.
So for a deep DOF: a wide lens, small aperture (which usually means more lights required) and a small sensor camera.
Remember, a shallower DOF means less is in focus. A deeper DOF means more depth is in focus.
1. The focal length of your lens
2. The F-stop
3. The sensor size or film gate size
1. The longer the focal length (ie., more telephoto) the shallower your DOF. The shorter your focal length (ie., wide angle) the deeper the depth of field.
2. The smaller the f-number (ie., the more open the aperture, like f1.4) the shallower the DOF. The larger the f-number (smaller the aperture, f22) the deeper the DOF.
3. The larger the sensor or film (35mm or 70mm) the shallower the DOF. The smaller the sensor or film (8mm, 1/4", handycam CCD) the deeper the DOF.
So for a deep DOF: a wide lens, small aperture (which usually means more lights required) and a small sensor camera.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
You forgot one factor affecting depth of field; camera-to-subject distance. One way to get your whole frame in focus is to set everything to fall beyond the hyperfocal distance of your lens, at the f-stop selected. It is not just that simple, but I do have DOF charts in my kit that show the hyperfocal distance of my lenses. I have one many occasions, shooting run and gun events with prime lenses, used the hyperfocal distance setting as my default focus setting. The biggest problem for me is accurately eyeballing the camera-to-subject distance so I do ride the focus as I go in those types of situations. In a controlled situation, I consider controlling the depth of field to what ever I want an essential skill of the craft.
Thanks for elaborate details on how to achieve deep depth of field.
I think I started with wrong lens (telephoto Lumix 45 to 175 f4.0-5.6). I will try it out with wide angle lens (Lumix 14 to 45) to see how it works.
I was standing at the very back of the dance auditorium to get a wider field of view which also gave me the height I needed to get a better view of the stage. I was using HDR-PJ30V consumer level camcorder to record previous performances and it did a fantastic job of getting the whole frame in focus. I am trying to get the same result with the AF100 and I guess it is not as straight forward because of its large sensor which is giving me too much of narrow field of depth. I know this is much sought after effect but I am looking for the complete opposite.
I am afraid if I use the wide angle lens like (Lumix 14 to 45) and stand at the very back of the stage... will I be able to get a close up view of the performers.
Any tips to solve my problem are highly appreciated.
I am also in the process of buying LUMIX 14-140 lens (f3.5-5.6) Model : H-FS14140K. Just wondering if this would solve my problem.
Thanks a bunch in advance.
I think I started with wrong lens (telephoto Lumix 45 to 175 f4.0-5.6). I will try it out with wide angle lens (Lumix 14 to 45) to see how it works.
I was standing at the very back of the dance auditorium to get a wider field of view which also gave me the height I needed to get a better view of the stage. I was using HDR-PJ30V consumer level camcorder to record previous performances and it did a fantastic job of getting the whole frame in focus. I am trying to get the same result with the AF100 and I guess it is not as straight forward because of its large sensor which is giving me too much of narrow field of depth. I know this is much sought after effect but I am looking for the complete opposite.
I am afraid if I use the wide angle lens like (Lumix 14 to 45) and stand at the very back of the stage... will I be able to get a close up view of the performers.
Any tips to solve my problem are highly appreciated.
I am also in the process of buying LUMIX 14-140 lens (f3.5-5.6) Model : H-FS14140K. Just wondering if this would solve my problem.
Thanks a bunch in advance.
Stuart Keasley
Well-known member
- the focal distance to your subjectthe
In terms of DoF, the 14-140 is going to perform in exactly the same way as the 14-45 and 45-175 (up to 140mm focal length) that you already have.
You can try using a wider focal length, i.e push towards the 14mm side of the 14-45, this should help you out loads, although it will mean getting a lot closer to the subject. If the framing doesn't work for you, then your only option will be increase the aperture/iris, and then increase the ISO/Gain to compensate for the loss of light (or increase the lighting).
What ISO are you currently set to?
You seem to be missing some (???) of the fundementals about how a camera works... have you thought getting yourself some training? It would probably answer a lot of the questions you're going to be faced with now that you have a camera that's not flying around in auto.
In terms of DoF, the 14-140 is going to perform in exactly the same way as the 14-45 and 45-175 (up to 140mm focal length) that you already have.
You can try using a wider focal length, i.e push towards the 14mm side of the 14-45, this should help you out loads, although it will mean getting a lot closer to the subject. If the framing doesn't work for you, then your only option will be increase the aperture/iris, and then increase the ISO/Gain to compensate for the loss of light (or increase the lighting).
What ISO are you currently set to?
I am reading Barry Green's book that came with the camera. I don't know of any other training on this camera.
I am trying to keep the ISO at its optimal setting (lowest) to avoid the noise being added to the video. My first preference would be to keep the ISO at its lowest level always if possible.
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David W. Jones
Veteran
You might consider picking up a smart phone app like pCAM.
It's chock full of useful tools and is well worth the money.
It's chock full of useful tools and is well worth the money.
Hi, have a look at this website. http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html It will give you the fundamentals of how lenses /apertures/focal length/and format all interact. It is also a very useful calculator. Hope this helps.
Cheers!
Rod
Stuart Keasley
Well-known member
You don't need to go on a course specific to your camera, all cameras work in exactly the same way.
The lowest ISO setting on your camera is 200, this is equivalent to -6db of gain (on the AF100). Increase the ISO to 400, you'll make it zero gain, so should therefore have zero noise, and you should also increase dynamic range across the shot when compared to -6db/ISO 200 (or to makeit easy on yourself, flip the display to show gain instead of ISO, and just leave it at zero)
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Your main problem i think is that all those lenses are cheap with varying apertures through the zoom - as you zoom in the image gets darker. To shoot a performance you'd ideally need a constant aperture lens. Best way would be to setup at the camera position and see what focal length is right to capture the stage and then rent or buy a lens that fits that range. I've shot a few stage performances on the AF100 and to be honest it's not the ideal camera for that job, but one of the good things about the it is that it takes almost any lens, so you could for instance buy a nikon adaptor and an old Nikon f2.8 zoom or faster fixed length lens, rack up to 800 iso and you should be OK.
Darren Levine
Veteran
refreshing to see someone working AGAINST shallow DOF 
For science & stage (and other deeper focus applications) I like to light and gain so that I'm at a working aperture of ~f8 on my m43 cameras... it's not infinite focus, but usually deep enough, and smaller apertures than that (on m43) can suffer diffraction effects that soften the image; of course, too much gain degrades the image as well, but most m43 cameras handle about ISO1600 with aplomb. That said, I typically only use my AF100/GH2 for relatively static shots.
In all honesty, with a stated need for deep focus telephoto, it seems you have the wrong camera for this application. From Panasonic, try a HMC-150, AC-130/160, AC-90, or similar small-sensor cameras from other brands.
In all honesty, with a stated need for deep focus telephoto, it seems you have the wrong camera for this application. From Panasonic, try a HMC-150, AC-130/160, AC-90, or similar small-sensor cameras from other brands.
paulears
Veteran
It also demonstrates that for many performance based events, you really can't beat a proper video camera with lenses that stay in focus when you zoom, and have great DoF for this kind of work. I didn't realise large format cameras like the AF100, which I had heard good things about, were this poor in lower light!
Thanks for all the great responses. I have learned a lot from all the great responses. Now feeling that I might have got a wrong camera for my need. Now I need to figure out a way to make it work since I already spent money. My friend "google search" came with a lens called "Macro Telephoto Lens". Would this type of lens would fix my problem ? Shoot far from the stage and still achieve deep field of the depth.
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
Darren Levine
Veteran
i think you're mislead by the macro, it has nothing to do with far away subjects, the lens really isn't your problem on the DOF front, it's physics.
you'd save yourself a bunch of headache by renting or buying a camera better suited t these purposes, there's plenty of capable video cameras under $1000.
one other option is to go the b4 zoom lens route https://vimeo.com/20171062
using one of those lenses along with the ETC mode is essentially the same as using a smaller sensor camera with smaller sensor glass, thereby stretching out the dof. that solution will also get you a sweet power zoom! It's not perfect, but does get more impressive results that you might expect
you'd save yourself a bunch of headache by renting or buying a camera better suited t these purposes, there's plenty of capable video cameras under $1000.
one other option is to go the b4 zoom lens route https://vimeo.com/20171062
using one of those lenses along with the ETC mode is essentially the same as using a smaller sensor camera with smaller sensor glass, thereby stretching out the dof. that solution will also get you a sweet power zoom! It's not perfect, but does get more impressive results that you might expect
David W. Jones
Veteran
That little iPhone app I mentioned, pCAM has tools which will show you your framing using different focal length lenses on your AF100 as well as the depth of field you will get by using a particular f stop for a given distance. Much more cost effective that purchasing lenses and guessing.