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Does anyone know if you can you produce shallow depth of field with a micro four thirds camera?

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gme109

Hoping to find a compact digital camera that will achieve shallow depth of field. One of the draw backs of all point and shoot digital cameras, is the inability to produce shallow dof. Does this hold true for the newer micro four thirds as well?

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RE: Does anyone know if you can you produce shallow depth of field with a micro four thirds camera? - Pam1 00:33:10 08/02/09 (0)
Micro or regular 4/3 produce the same dof and 2x crop factor. The Oly 50mm f/2 macro makes really nice portraits and shallow dof shots when not taking pics of bugs etc. and has a decent bokeh too. When I shot 35mm film with a 50mm f/1.4 I always used to have problems with too shallow dof... like portraits with one eye in focus while the nose and other eye were fuzzy, but then insanely low f-stops were the only way to get decent shutter speeds with Kodachrome 25 etc. Dslr's do a pretty decent job up to about ISO 400 or even 800+ for ordinary prints so there isn't as much need for such low f-stops anymore. Still, you're going to need a lens that goes down to f/2 or 2.8. Those cheap f/5.6 zooms aren't going to do the trick on any dslr.

Play with putting various lenses in a dof calculator and you should get some idea of what you can do http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
a fast lens and a normal or longer focal length...... - danj 18:31:31 07/28/09 (0)
If you must get the 4/3 system, a longer focal length will give a shallower depth of field at any given aperture than would a shorter focal length. However, there are other problems that telephotos exhibit that you may not like, notably foreshortening and the requirement to use a tripod on many shots.
There are many resources on the net and many books that have tutorials or give lessons on lenses. CNET has a very good article on the micro 4/3 and how the camera with that sensor will behave compared to those with different sensors. A little research should answer all your questions.
If you have a "portrait" mode on your compact digital that will likely give you shallowist depth of field of the normal (non-macro) shooting modes.

Edits: 07/28/09 05/18/10 05/18/10
shallow depth of field is the product of a fast f/2.8 lens- the toys of which you seek come only as f/5.6, f/8 - Joe M 18:06:07 07/12/09 (2)
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- Not true Joe - gme109 16:15:11 09/29/10 (1)
  Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH
  
  Panasonic makes several fast lenses for their line of micro 4/3 cameras, plus you can pick from a slew of other lenses as well.
  
  G1 + Canon FL 35/2.5
  
  GF1 with Carl Zeiss Planar T* 45mm f2 -- ISO 100 -- f2 -- 1/640
  
  G1 + Sankor 135/2.8
  - RE: Not true Joe OK you caught me. But a very Few at that - Joe M 06:21:40 12/27/10 (0)
    I own the Cannon S95 with a fast f/2 - same sensor as the G series G11, G12. But these cost over $400. Close to the cost of a entry level DSLR.
RE: Does anyone know if you can you produce shallow depth of field with a micro four thirds camera? - Tubo 06:50:34 07/09/09 (0)
In general, yes.

The GetDPI Workshop Forums has a lively discussion on 4/3 cameras and lenses. You have to register but it is free.
- GetDPI Workshop Forums (Open in New Window)

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