First time user - DOF Adapter - thoughts

Shooter

Shooter

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Some thoughts that maybe of value to someone..

I recently purchased a Letus Elite DOF adapter. (to mount to my HVX202)

We tested my complete set of Nikkor lenses ( 24, 35, 50, 55 macro, 105, 28-70 zoom, 70-210 zoom) and we tested the unit to learn how it works eg GG grain, f-stops and back focus etc.

Real world time:
Shot a couple of table top tv commercials with it this week. Food shoot.

Images are great but...

I have learnt something though. The DOF adapter has a limitation for this type of work and namely...that it is very difficult to get enough DOF or control the subtlety. It is often too little for the type of shot where you may need to stagger a couple of objects (such as two or three packs) . A packshot may need to have all the labels readable and the bg subtely de-focussed to bring the packs foward. This is very difficult even with the range of lenses I have. Kind of totally opposite to the situation one has with just the raw HVX lens.

Fact is with shooting small objects and small items the lack of DOF is more a limitation. I am a bit worried that my work will all end up looking the same because of this.

Larger subjects such as actors I think I can control the DOF with a little more finesse.

Any thoughts on this ...?
 
Pic yourself up a 17 to 35mm, and the farther back you go the distance between two subject close together becomes less of an issue.
 
Are you referring to product photography/cinematography? I would suggest that the same challenges of product photography apply to moving images. Use a lot of light so that you have lots of DOF and try to use a proper macro lens. F/22 is usually the limit of typical 35mm and video lenses unfortunately.
The pack shot you are referring to reminds me of one of my 4x5 view camera assignments where you have to get all the labels in sharp focus as they are stacked like bowling balls. That's one of the things that's hard to do in movie making, especially with video cameras - you can't til the lens board or film plane to achieve the desired focus plane. Using tilt and shift lenses may help but they are expensive.
The only suggestion is to amp up your light so you can close down. You can use wider lenses like the 17-35mm but they may not give you the right FOV you want. Let us know how you do - it's difficult.
 
You can also use an adapter that offers choices on the screens with greater or less DOF. The Brevis or the upcoming Blade will allow that, though changing is not easy in the field at least on the Brevis, don't know about the Blade yet.
 
dadoboy said:
Use a lot of light so that you have lots of DOF and try to use a proper macro lens. F/22 is usually the limit of typical 35mm and video lenses unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately this is not possible with most adapters. The design limitation means that once you stop down past f4 the grain on the GG starts to show up.
 
I forgot about that limitation on adapters (going past F4)!
Seems like shooting product with adapters would be a royal pain the butt.
 
The situation is as Huy Vu noted and I agree with him.

The limitation with DOF Adapaters is the lack of DOF control .

On a film camera I have absolute control (thru lens, shutter speed, frame rate, light level and aperture in combination) and can determine exactly what is in, out or the degree of defocus.

I actually have more control with the standard HVX202 lens than I do with a DOF Adapter.

Now I will have to plan accordingly. eg. pull the DOF Adapter fro the shots I require more dof control. Clients usually like the products to be sharply focussed in my many years of tabletop shooting experience.
 
Its taking me a bit to get used to but Im stoked on it so far. Looks so much like a good movie rather then a decent video. Im using mine to create documentaries & weddings & some Music videos. Hopefully i'd like to do some other things with my cam Like some TV commercials or shows which the DOF adapters might only be good for some things with that but still, just having it in the quiver keeps options open for so many different artistic areas or can really bring life to a drab segment. Im loving this thing!

I know the general rule here is to not deal with Zoom Lenses but couldn't that possible help with scenarios such as control the DOF with 1 or 2 products on a table? Just wondering because the Lens I had at 1rst was a zoom, A canon 18-55 & it seemed to be subtle on the DOF with closer objects. Thats why i was nervous at 1rst about adapters when i got it because it seemed to be a very relaxed DOF. Also, maybe the angle, get creative with a different angle if you have more then 1 pack?

just throwing this out there because I'm pretty new to the RR dof adapter world myself but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
 
Lens selection is only part of the solution/problem for DOF control.

The minimal aperture is a bigger part.

In table top shooting (eg packshots) often the subject/object is small so this compounds the problem dramatically and in this case lens choice is often a little limited as well.

Shooting drama and actors etc ..the problem is less evident and the DOF Adapter can play nicely in a more controlable way.
 
reem12 said:
Pic yourself up a 17 to 35mm, and the farther back you go the distance between two subject close together becomes less of an issue.
Click to expand...


This does not help the situation. I can not tell the client that I now have to place the packs way back in the frame where they will be very small but by the way, they will both be in focus.
 
depending on what your zoom setting is already, have you tried using one of your wider lenses, and zoom the hvx into the GG a little further? easy enough to test out at home, grab some things out of the fridge, and try to focus all of the labels like you were saying.


and is it out of the question to rack focus from label to label for your client?
 
I used the first suggestion often during the entire shoot. eg. I used a wider prime lense and zoomed up the GG a little. It is a partial solution and only moderately succesful for critical situations.

Racking focus in a packshot is more of an effect and basically a workaround.

I kind of conclude that the lovely "bokeh" is cool for some things but un desireable in others. eg when you need "brand /product recognition".
 
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