The male honeycreeper from Costa Rica pic-
tured on the previous page shows very sharpfeathers on the wings and body, but if you look
closely the eye, the top of the head, and the beak
are not in focus. Why? Let’s analyze the set-
tings.
Lens: 500mm. This equals shallow DOF
Distance to bird: Approximately 35 feet. For
a super telephoto like a 500mm, this is still
considered close. Therefore, DOF is lost.Lens aperture: f/5.6. This produces shallow
D O F.
The distance from the bird to the background
was far -- perhaps 100 feet. That’s why it is so
blurred.
The reason the depth of field in this picture
Said another way, the greater the magnifica-
tion (such as when using a telephoto lens or a
macro lens), the less depth of field.
- The closer the camera is to the subject, the
less depth of field you’ll have. Moving back
from the subject with any lens increases D O F.
This factor is often overlooked by photogra-
phers.
- The distance from the subject to the back-
ground determines in large measure how much
of the background is sharp.
The complexity of depth of field is that all of
these factors interact with each other every
time you take a picture. Predicting the results
comes from experience -- and even then your
assessment can be inaccurate.
Real world DOF scenario #