Selective Depth of Field on Canon A1?
 

I noticed the DOF on the A1 goes forever. I guess wide DOF is inherent in these cameras. I think I read somewhere on this forum that bigger chip size would allow more selectively choosing the desired DOF.
I am shooting an interview in a small room 12 X 10 (room of stone about 1000 years old) I want to selectively stay focused on the subject speaking not the stone wall behind him. I need to go wide just to get him and what he is doing in the shot. Is this camera capable of narrowing the depth of field? Is there a way to do it in post processing? Any help or suggestions? Other than aquiring another camera?

Hang a green cloth behind the subject for the interview and replace with a an unsharp view of the wall in post, maybe?

check out this post

http://dvinfo.net/conf/archive/index.php/t-41612.html

See also http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/optics/dofskinny.php

And lighting helps. Light the subject and let the background go darker to make it less obtrusive.

depth of field
 

Funny, I was just at the Brevis35 lense adapter site reading about how it lets you control DOF by adding other lenses. You might go look at it - read the forums.

http://www.cinevate.com/

Walter Graff's lighting guides are invaluable for anyone looking for ideas on how to get the best lighting in a range of challenging situations.

http://www.film-and-video.com/new-page6.html

Particularly look at "backgrounds", "beyond three point lighting" and "lighting small spaces creatively".

Even if physics (and the size of the room you're working in) make it hard to throw the background out of focus, lighting the subject at least a stop or two brighter than the background and using a gobo to create a soft pattern on your background will really help draw the eye to your subject.

Thanks for all the info. Spent the last 2 hours reading it all. Really great info!