Returning to SLR and a few questions

[rockcrusher]

I used to use an SLR to shoot mostly Autocross events about a decade ago. Then got a Digital elph and other point and shoots and just stopped using film. Fast forward to recently when I picked up a DSLR (canon t1i) and I am back to shooting photos again (not cars this time).

I used to remember the whole depth of field thing but for the life of me I can't remember it at all. Can some one give me a brief refresh or point me to a source where i could review it?

I have a canon t1i with the 18-55 lens.

[Anbesol]

depth of field is dictated by magnification and aperture. greater magnification and wider apertures produce narrower depth of field. Your 18-55 doesn't have much dof range with its variable aperture.

[Franglais]

There are just two things to remember with depth-of-field:

- the longer the focal length of the lens the smaller the depth-of-field
- the wider the aperture the smaller the depth-of-field

An online calculator is here: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

You might have noticed that you have less depth-of-field on your DSLR than you had on your point-and-shoots. This is because the focal length of the lenses on the DSLR is longer to match the bigger sensor.

[rockcrusher]

Ok thanks for the clarification on that and the website links.

It has been so long and I generally used a shorter lens as the main thing I was looking for before was intense colors and motion blurs. I now have kids and a life other than photographing cars and driving cars and have developed a passion for capturing mountain bike rides and the stuff I see on them. The point and shoots were nice for compact ease of use but the photos all really came out the same, huge depth of fields, a lot of time the rider gets lost in the shots which is a good and bad.

Looking forward to getting out and giving this a try. I guess since it isn't film I can play around and instantly see the difference with different settings too. Ain't the technology grand!

[flyinion]

There are just two things to remember with depth-of-field:

- the longer the focal length of the lens the smaller the depth-of-field
- the wider the aperture the smaller the depth-of-field

An online calculator is here: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

You might have noticed that you have less depth-of-field on your DSLR than you had on your point-and-shoots. This is because the focal length of the lenses on the DSLR is longer to match the bigger sensor.

Wow that's a handy website, someone needs to turn that thing into a smartphone app!! (preferably for Android )

[Chris350]

Wow that's a handy website, someone needs to turn that thing into a smartphone app!! (preferably for Android )

well there are a few..
http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

[Anbesol]

- the longer the focal length of the lens the smaller the depth-of-field

I said "magnification" to include both focal length and subject distance. Distance also impacts DOF.

[Franglais]

Yep. I forgot about distance. I was thinking about how I was going to say that point-and-shoots have greater depth-of-field than DSLR's without having to explain why the lens focal length is shorter on a point-and-shoot.

[flyinion]

well there are a few..
http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

:thumbsup:Nice I never even thought about the fact that there really might be some. Time to go browsing the Market hehe.