Shallow depth of Field with PDX10P at DVinfo.net

James Darren · April 14th, 2005, 08:48 AM

hi all,

whats the best way of achieving a reasonably shallow depth of field with the PDX10P? it seems pretty hard to do this when shooting outdoors since it has a 1/4inch ccd.

or is using a mini 35 adaptor the only way?...

Boyd Ostroff · April 14th, 2005, 08:57 AM

About all you can do is zoom way in and be sure the iris is open full. A few ND filters can come in handy for that. If you're a big fan of shallow DOF then this may not be the best camera choice. Personally, I think people are way too hung up on the whole DOF thing, but that's just me.... :-)

Juan Parra · April 14th, 2005, 11:05 AM

I just want say the same thing in a different way.

If you want to narrow Depth of Filed, pull the camera back,
zoom in and open the iris.

The farther back the camera is from the subject while maintaining
the composition you want, combined with zooming all-the-way in,
will give you the narrowest DoF. In order to have the iris wide
open and the correct exposure when you are outdoors,
you'll need ND filters or perhaps shoot at sunrise or sunset.

I agree with Boyd that some people are obsessed with narrow
DoF. These people want DoF regardless of the story or if it'll be
effective for the story. They use it as a gimmick. However, it has
to be considered if you're looking for a filmlook style. Especially
when your subjects are far apart from one another.

Tom Hardwick · April 18th, 2005, 12:58 AM

It's also worth mentioning that for the narrowest DOF it's best to be as close as possible to your subject and have the background as far away as possible. If you don't have extra NDs with you, it's pretty easy to up the shutter speed. Beware of going into the gain-up mode though - the PDX10 has to be 'understood' to avoid this happening. You bar-graph reading guys know what I mean.

tom.

Sean McHenry · April 28th, 2005, 07:59 AM

Or, if you drop the light levels overall, the iris will more fully open and you will get a similar function as adding ND filters. HOWEVER - you risk increasing the noise floor by going into too low a light situation. You need to turn the camera gian off (does this one have gain? I haven't played with my PDX in a while).

You should keep the lighting balanced even if you do go lower in level.

I needed a close up of my grandsons wooden Thomas the train set for a kids DVD I am working on and doing it on my living room coffe table with the shades pulled and a touch of auxilary light from a dual lamp flourescent 5600K shop light from the hardware store, I got nice DOF.

To give an example, the engine was in focus but 3 cars back was quite a bit out of focus. Exactly what I was looking for. The cars are less than 4" each so I got a good DOF feel over 12" of space.

It is doable. Just don't take the light too low, or better, use an ND filter in front of the lens. Buy good ones so you don't get distrotion.

Boyd Ostroff · April 28th, 2005, 08:13 AM

In auto mode you can limit (but not eliminate) the amount of gain the camera will add using the custom presets. In manual mode your cannot. Yep, you need to be a "bar graph reader" to understand what's happening in manual mode. With the exposure indicator completely at the right hand position you are adding 18dB of gain. Turn the wheel and count in 3dB clicks to find the 0dB position and take note. In 16:9 mode I've found that 0dB is when the indicator sits just between the "D" and the "E" in the "16:9 WIDE" text on the screen....

April 14th, 2005, 08:48 AM	#1
James Darren Major Player Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New York, NY Posts: 235	Shallow depth of Field with PDX10P hi all, whats the best way of achieving a reasonably shallow depth of field with the PDX10P? it seems pretty hard to do this when shooting outdoors since it has a 1/4inch ccd. or is using a mini 35 adaptor the only way?...

April 14th, 2005, 11:05 AM	#3
Juan Parra Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 110	I just want say the same thing in a different way. If you want to narrow Depth of Filed, pull the camera back, zoom in and open the iris. The farther back the camera is from the subject while maintaining the composition you want, combined with zooming all-the-way in, will give you the narrowest DoF. In order to have the iris wide open and the correct exposure when you are outdoors, you'll need ND filters or perhaps shoot at sunrise or sunset. I agree with Boyd that some people are obsessed with narrow DoF. These people want DoF regardless of the story or if it'll be effective for the story. They use it as a gimmick. However, it has to be considered if you're looking for a filmlook style. Especially when your subjects are far apart from one another. __________________ Juan Parra

April 28th, 2005, 07:59 AM	#5
Sean McHenry Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hilliard, Ohio Posts: 1,193	Or, if you drop the light levels overall, the iris will more fully open and you will get a similar function as adding ND filters. HOWEVER - you risk increasing the noise floor by going into too low a light situation. You need to turn the camera gian off (does this one have gain? I haven't played with my PDX in a while). You should keep the lighting balanced even if you do go lower in level. I needed a close up of my grandsons wooden Thomas the train set for a kids DVD I am working on and doing it on my living room coffe table with the shades pulled and a touch of auxilary light from a dual lamp flourescent 5600K shop light from the hardware store, I got nice DOF. To give an example, the engine was in focus but 3 cars back was quite a bit out of focus. Exactly what I was looking for. The cars are less than 4" each so I got a good DOF feel over 12" of space. It is doable. Just don't take the light too low, or better, use an ND filter in front of the lens. Buy good ones so you don't get distrotion. __________________ ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m shooting on D.V.’ - my hero - David Lynch http://www.DeepBlueEdit.com

April 14th, 2005, 08:57 AM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	About all you can do is zoom way in and be sure the iris is open full. A few ND filters can come in handy for that. If you're a big fan of shallow DOF then this may not be the best camera choice. Personally, I think people are way too hung up on the whole DOF thing, but that's just me.... :-)

April 18th, 2005, 12:58 AM	#4
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	It's also worth mentioning that for the narrowest DOF it's best to be as close as possible to your subject and have the background as far away as possible. If you don't have extra NDs with you, it's pretty easy to up the shutter speed. Beware of going into the gain-up mode though - the PDX10 has to be 'understood' to avoid this happening. You bar-graph reading guys know what I mean. tom.

April 28th, 2005, 08:13 AM	#6
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	In auto mode you can limit (but not eliminate) the amount of gain the camera will add using the custom presets. In manual mode your cannot. Yep, you need to be a "bar graph reader" to understand what's happening in manual mode. With the exposure indicator completely at the right hand position you are adding 18dB of gain. Turn the wheel and count in 3dB clicks to find the 0dB position and take note. In 16:9 mode I've found that 0dB is when the indicator sits just between the "D" and the "E" in the "16:9 WIDE" text on the screen....