depth of field question

[mark king]

hey,

is it possible to buy a lense for a mf 'blad that has a depth of field smaller than f22 or do i need to think about lf photography?

any help would be appreciated.

thanks

mark

 

[Donald Miller]

Mark,

I can't answer your question regarding a 'blad lens. I don't find any of my Bronicas having smaller apertures then F22.

The matter of aperture size is a function of aperture opening and focal length. Therefore a large format lens, while it may have a F45 aperture will be a larger focal length and the effective depth of field may not be any greater then your medium format lens.

The difference that large format photography enjoys is that one has the benefit of movements to effectively increase depth of field without solely relying on stopping the lens down to accomplish this.

 

[rbarker]

The 120mm Makro Planar goes to f32. Whether you need more DOF, or the focus plane control that a view camera provides depends on what you want to accomplish. Remember, too, that you'll lose some image sharpness at smaller apertures, as diffraction takes its toll.

 

[mark king]

thanks

Mark,

I can't answer your question regarding a 'blad lens. I don't find any of my Bronicas having smaller apertures then F22.

The matter of aperture size is a function of aperture opening and focal length. Therefore a large format lens, while it may have a F45 aperture will be a larger focal length and the effective depth of field may not be any greater then your medium format lens.

The difference that large format photography enjoys is that one has the benefit of movements to effectively increase depth of field without solely relying on stopping the lens down to accomplish this.

thank you for a very helpful answer. although you have confused me more because i now need to start researching focal length more. confusing stuff at the moment but i look forward to it. maybe i could pick your brains some more?

have you been shooting large format long? is it a major shift in photographic logic from medium format.

once again cheers.

mark

 

[mark king]

thanks for the reply.

i hope you have a happy new year and a creative one.

 

[Donald Miller]

thank you for a very helpful answer. although you have confused me more because i now need to start researching focal length more. confusing stuff at the moment but i look forward to it. maybe i could pick your brains some more?

have you been shooting large format long? is it a major shift in photographic logic from medium format.

once again cheers.

mark

Mark,

I have been shooting large format for over twenty years. Yes, large format is a far more contemplative form of photography and less spontaneous. As others have previously said, each format has it's strength.

Good luck.

 

[mark]

I assume you mean aperature smaller than f22. Other wise I have no idea what you are talking about. As far as I can tell f22 is it for the few blad lenses I have seen.

I've been shooting LF for about 8 years now. and some days it feels like I just picked the camera up that morning and have no idea what I am doing. The smaller aperature is not the only thing that controls the LF camera's DOF. This maybe the wrong way to look at things but it works for me, I see stopping down as merely an aid to DOF and movements as the major controling feature.

On MF and 35mm I never quite got the hang of hyperfocal distances or ways of keeping everything in total focus. I have the utmost repect for those folks who can do this all the time. Starting LF was a true liberation for me.