GF1 Standard photo

[Romeolo888]

Hello all,

I have been looking everywhere on the net, intruction manual, forums but i just can't find the help that I need.

The camara I have is the Panasonic GF1. At the moment, when I take pictures, it seems to focus on an object, and then the rest of the picture is blurry. I can understand this affect is very nice. But I don't want this affect in all my pictures!!

So what I need is someone to help me so that I can take a picture with every object is viewable, including background and objects.

Can anyone help me please.

Thank you all

 

[Drake]

I am sure it is covered in your camera's manual. Check under 'depth of field', which is basically how much stuff your camera renders sharp. It is affected mostly by 4 things - sensor size, aperture, focal length and camera to subject distance.

Your camera has a relatively large sensor. It is half the size of a 35mm film, but a few times larger than in the compact P&S cameras. General rule - the larger the sensor, the smaller the depth of field. On a small sensor size camera it is hard to get the background behind your subject out of focus, almost everything is sharp. On a larger sensor camera it can be, but it depends on the settings.

The main thing you have to remember about is aperture. If you set your aperture to a lower value like f2.8 or f4, it actually makes the lens opening larger, letting in more light and resulting in a shallow depth of field. If you want a greater depth of field (more stuff in focus), set the aperture to a higher value, like f8 or f11. Don't go too far, as f16 and f22 will give you a greater depth of field, but at the cost of image quality (diffraction). You will also need a lot of light to get a correct exposure.

Lens choice is also important. A short focal length, like 14-20mm in the case of your Panasonic will provide a large depth of field. You can go even further with an ultra wide angle. I don't know what lens you can get for the m4/3, but I suppose you can go as wide as 8mm. If you use a longer lens, your depth of field will be much more shallow.

And lastly, camera to subject distance. Get close to your subject and the background will be extra blurry. This is most visible in macro shots. Move away from your subject and the background should be sharper.

These are just general guidelines. Google for 'depth of field' and you should get more info on the topic.

 

[Romeolo888]

Thank you for the quick reply Drake, I have looked in the manual already and there is nothing on depth of field. I also tried to mess around with the aperture setting, but this is something that I have to understand more. I thank this will be the same for understand the other terms such has larger sensor camara.

At the moment I am thinking of the standard zoom lenses to buy. because at themoment, the zoom lense i have got is mainly for corncerts or events.

It was sooo much easy using a digital camara where you just point and shoot!! But i will continue you to percerveer (right spelling?) with this!! hope you can help me in future

 

[Drake]

I'd really advice starting with reading your manual cover to cover. Pay attention to the part about aperture priority and manual mode as it will help you control the depth of field.