hi, was wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks how to get a Nikon D800 to have the look if we were going to shot a documentary. It seems everywhere where I read it recommends to shot at an f-stop of 8 or smaller. Just wondering if anyone has experience with HDSLR footage and documentaries.
D800 Documentary Look
- Thread starter 847Films
- Start date
You shoot a doc the same way you shoot anything else. Don't follow that f8 advice. The advantage of a big sensor is the shallow depth of field, if you limit yourself to f8 you might as well use a more ergonomically friendly camera like an xf100, xf300, or equivalent Sony, Panasonic, etc.
Just watch your focus and get the shot, use your creativity to compose your scene.
Just watch your focus and get the shot, use your creativity to compose your scene.
Chris Santucci
Veteran
I tend to stop down when shooting documentary stuff with a wide lens. A full frame sensor offers dangerously shallow depth of field. If you're shooting in dark or darkish available light settings, it can become irritatingly difficult to find focus especially with moving subject matter, so I would tend to start out with a more forgiving depth of field. Save the cinematic shallow DOF stuff for more controlled or less crucial setups.