Blurred Effects in a Photo

[KmH]

Here is a good tutorial: Understanding Depth of Field in Photography

 

[ConradM]

It's a matter of using a very large f/ like 2.8 or faster if you can, but 3.5 can work if you are using a kit lens. Combined with how close (either through zoom or through physically being close) to your subject you are and how far from the background the subject is. There should be more distance between the subject and the background than there is between the camera and the subject.

If you have a bridge camera or a point and shoot it is harder to attain because the sensor is so small in them that it results in much more being in focus than a DSLR does.

Thanks for this advice! Thanks to everyone else too! I currently have a Nikon L100, and I guess that's what most people call a bridge camera. I'm ordering my D3100 on Monday. The D5000 has came recommended, but the D3100 has better reviews and ratings on every site that I've found. Looking forward to getting it!!! It will, of coarse, come with the kit 18-55 lens, but I was also considering a 55-200 for sometime in the future. Are either of these decent for DOF or does lens choice matter?

You should take a look at the Sony A33 also.

http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon_D3100-vs-Sony_SLT-A33

Now, the sony actually loses this comparison as it does most. But you have to pay attention to why, it loses because of "popularity" and because it lacks an OVF. But in almost every other category it blows it out of the water.

The Sony A33 has been discontinued and replaced by the A35 which cost more and lacks an articulating screen. But, Amazon has A33 bodies in stock for $480, but who knows for how long.

Do yourself a favor and check out the feature list of the Sony A33, I think you'll find that it does much more than any camera you've looked at.

 

[KmH]

Sony a33 reviews - Bing

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 Camera - Full Review
Many issues related to the EVF:

Cons

• More exposure variability than we like to see
• Overexposure bias in metering system under bright/high-key conditions
• Short battery life compared to traditional SLR
• Best-of-breed EVF still doesn't match optical viewfinder for highlight/shadow visibility
• Succession-of-stills viewfinder images can make subject tracking difficult during high-speed shooting sequences
• Time-multiplexed EVF display sometimes produces RGB "rainbows" with rapid eye, camera, or subject movement
• Autofocus a little quick to jump to the background, if the AF point leaves the subject momentarily
• Limited/no aperture control during high-speed burst or video recording
• High ISO performance not quite as good as mirrorless or true SLRs with same sensor (translucent mirror reduces the amount of light reaching the sensor)
• Internal mirror reflections can appear in images in certain situations (mainly occurs in night shots containing small, bright lights)Lens AF actuation noise very prominent in audio track of videos
• Sunny-Weather LCD brightness setting does lose highlight detail (hard to avoid, though, given how bright it is)
• Modal playback showing only stills or videos (but never both together) is awkward
• Viewer software (Image Data Lightbox SR version 2.2) is very buggy under Mac OS X 10.6
• Fixed screen brightness in magnified live view can make it difficult to check focus on highlight and shadow areas
• Video frame rate from sensor is 30p, frame-doubled to 1080/60i output
• Very good body/grip design, but the small body can still be tiring when shooting with large lenses