I've been playing around with PDA-based DOF calculators and find pretty much they're a PITA to use because they're on a PDA rather than being card slide-rules.
Thus far I have found only DOF Master (which produces circular slide rules) for DOF slide rules.
Does anybody know of any downloadable free depth of field slide rule that I can simply print out with a linear format rather than circular?
It's easier to get it right first time. I don't have time nor inclination to muck about with a tiny LCD screen. I've also seen how that tinly LCD screen makes the most yucky out-of-focus photo look sharp.
Stopping down the iris with the DOF preview button is as reliable as its gets with ttl dslrs. As for dimness while stopped down, simply close your left eye and let your right eye's iris adjust to the dimmer viewfinder for a few seconds.
If you can't bring yourself to do that, simply aperture-bracket scenes that require focus field precision.
I have never found DOF preview levers to be all that effective in analysing DOF. I can see what's massively out of focus but when it's slightly out - no way. I need more accuracy than this. I don't chimp because I can't blow the image up large enough to check everything properly.
EB-1 wrote:
For me DOF is less than before because I shoot 24x36mm and print larger than ever. LCD body displays are useless for judging DOF of Canon RAW files.
EB
I agree. The display is good for the histogram and showing you whether you have the picture or not. It's not much good for anything else. Even zoomed in to the max I can't tell if a photo is in focus or not. I took a photo of a woman at her hen party and it looked fine on the LCD. WHen I saw it on the computer screen, it was unusable. I couldn't even sharpen it enough to be recognisable as a 6x4!
I can't guarantee to see what I'm supposed to see, looking through an already tiny and dark viewfinder in candle-light - it's just too dark to use a DOF preview. On my 35mm SLR I find the viewfinder darkens too much for depth of field preview to be much help. On my 35mm cameras though, there's a depth of field scale that I can use and have used with great success. On my EOS lenses, this scale is missing so I'm having to work through various methods of calculating DOF from distance.
Thus far I've decided that a series of cards - one for each of the following focal lengths: 17, 28, 50, 75, giving for each aperture from f2.8 to f22 at 1 meter intervals from nothing to 10 meters. I don't see much need for DOF calculations beyond 5m really but I'll do for 10 just for a round figure. It's a case of sitting down with a calculator to work it all out. Rather than calculating the range I'll calculate the hyperfocal for the distances.
Rhys wrote:
I have never found DOF preview levers to be all that effective in analysing DOF. I can see what's massively out of focus but when it's slightly out - no way. I need more accuracy than this. I don't chimp because I can't blow the image up large enough to check everything properly.
Osai wrote:
So can we assume then that you will bring a tape measure wherever you go and measure everything in the scene Come on now.
No. I check the distance on the lens, when it has focussed. Plus, the further away the subject is, the greater the depth of field so minor miscalculations don't matter so much. I have my ideas now. I shall commence designing.
Rhys wrote:
No. I check the distance on the lens, when it has focussed. Plus, the further away the subject is, the greater the depth of field so minor miscalculations don't matter so much. I have my ideas now. I shall commence designing.
Then why do you have to be so exact that you need a calculator?
LCD body displays are useless for judging DOF of Canon RAW files.