How is this done. Its so nice!

[digitallearner]

I know about the aperture and how you can adjust it to change your DOF. but the F10 doesnt allow manual aperture settings.
i was wondering, how do you take a photo with the f10 to look like this with the subject 10ft away, out in bright sunlight and the background is blured out

heres an example of what i want to do with the f10.

http://www.visionqueststudios.com/kim_matts_wedding/DSCN0141.jpg

any suggestions?

[sjseto]

Hi there,

Make sure that the distance between the subject and the background is much greater than the distance between the camera and the subject.

If you want, set your F10 to portrait mode - according to the manual, it is "used for photography getting beautiful skin tones and soft overall tone." Having read that description just now, I realize that it doesn't specifically say that it gets the camera to use a large aperture to reduce depth of field, which is what you want. Fortunately, the F10 favours fast shutter speeds and larger apertures, so that will help with getting a blurred background.

Set the ISO to 80 (or to the lowest ISO that will give you a fast enough shutter speed, if you're hand-holding the camera). This will help give you the widest aperture possible.

Zoom in with your lens, all the way if possible. The telephoto end of the lens will produce images with a shorter depth of field than the wide end.

Unfortunately, compact cameras like the F10 can't produce really blurred backgrounds like an SLR with a proper lens can. Even doing all of the above, the background will still be relatively in focus. But try those suggestions, and see what you think.

Stephanie

[digitallearner]

if i zoom in, the aperture hole will be smaller, creating non-blurred background. we want a larger aperture so that the BG will be blurred? right? if i use telephoto, then it forces the f10 to go all the way up to f5. wouldnt that be bad though? i tried this method before. i guess thats not possible to produce an image like that with an f10 huh?

sucks. how about the f11 and f30? can they get images such as the one above? how good is their A/S settings?

[Hacker]

f i zoom in, the aperture hole will be smaller, creating non-blurred background. we want a larger aperture so that the BG will be blurred? right?
AFAIK longer focal distance (zoom) takes precedence over aperture, when concerning DOF on compact cameras.

[AlexMonro]

The best explaination of Depth of Field I've seen on the web is here:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

This includes an on-line calculator.

[sjseto]

AFAIK longer focal distance (zoom) takes precedence over aperture, when concerning DOF on compact cameras.

Yes, the longer focal length actually decreases the depth of field, even though the maximum aperture available also decreases on most compact cameras like the F10. DOF isn't dependent only upon aperture. Also, when taking portraits, a longer focal length is more flattering to your subject's face. The wide end of your lens will distort features, making the nose appear larger than it really is.

Stephanie

[sjseto]

That's a really good tutorial, Alex. Thanks. I'm bookmarking it now.

Stephanie

[lOLOS]

The best explaination of Depth of Field I've seen on the web is here:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

This includes an on-line calculator.

Everyone please look at the gallery of that site.

I just can't believe the quality of the photos taken!!! Are they real?!!!!

They just put me speechless and breathless!

Please look at the Gallery... the colors in the photos and the scenery are just AMAZING!!!!! I can't say it enough... amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amaz...


Edit:
Thanks Alex :)