Thin depth of field...?

[thiskey]

I'd love some help from some boffins. I'm a keen photographer but new to video.

Is it possible to get a half-decent thin depth of field with a low to mid-range camcorder? My budget is slim (about $800) and I'm hoping to record interviews in front of camera, the sort of thing that would suit a thin DOF.

The Panasonic SD700 looks smashing (from what I've seen online), but it's top end of my budget. If I get something cheaper but with manual aperture / shutter / focus controls, do you think it might do the job?

Or is it basically a case of "you get what you pay for" and "you can't get a decent thin DOF without a decent lens"? Any model suggestions by any chance...?

Thanks!

[jagabo]

Lots of narrow DOF shots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YrB3jsHHbo

[thiskey]

Thanks jagabo. I've seen that already - one of the reasons I like the look of the SD700. I wonder if there's an alternative that's less damaging to the wallet...

[jagabo]

Oh, sorry. When I first read your post I thought you were asking if the SD700 could do a narrow depth of field. I suspect any camcorder with big glass and fast shutter speed could do similar -- as far as DOF is concerned.

[thiskey]

No probs and thanks again. I'll look out for those things.

[Khaver]

Light your subjects well and get some ND filters so you can open up the aperture to further narrow the DOF.

[Steve Stepoway]

The problem is the size of the sensor in a video camera. The basic optics (whether talking about film cameras or digital cameras or video camcorders) are that, the bigger the sensor, the longer the focal length of the lens that you use to get the same angle of view, and conversely, the smaller the sensor, the shorter the focal length. The longer the focal length (all else being the same), the shallower the Depth of Field. And the shorter the focal length, the deeper the DoF. If you know about view cameras, you already know this.

Consumer camcorders have sensors between 1/6" and 1/4" or so. This means the lenses have to be very short (small focal length), which means deep DoF. This is why people make "DoF adaptors" to let you use 35mm film camera lenses on a video camera. It's not about using a 35mm camera lens, it's about using a long focal length lens. Long focal length = shallow DoF.

Short of using one of these adaptors, use ND filters to open up the lens, as Khaver said. You should also move the camera as far away from the subject as possible and zoom in it. This means longer focal length. That means shallower DoF.

Steve

[jagabo]

Big glass and big sensor go together. Of course, it's possible to use a big sensor with small glass but that would be pointless (unless you wanted a huge DOF from the pinhole effect).

[zoobie]

like steve mentioned, with your stock cam, move it far away from the subject and zoom all the way in
or research adapters which you can make yourself or buy