• Camcorder DOF adaptor HELP
    12 replies, posted
Hi guys I am seeking some advice A few months ago I purchased a Panasonic SD900 FullHD camcorder to replace my ageing digital camera I use to make videos with, I am also aiming to move into using it on a more professional basis Now I picked the SD900 as it was highly rated in reviews for its picture quality at 1080p/50 max recording, its 3MOS sensors give great low light shots, it also has ability for external microphone and has full manual controls on Focus, WB, Shutter speed and Iris So it seemed perfect for what I required Now, when I posted some comedy sketch videos on here a few years ago the feedback from you guys suggested giving my videos a more professional appearance. Which was part of the reasoning behind this camera as appose to the lower range models because it gives alot more function control. Now I've built lighting rigs and a boom mic for the camera to help the production value but one thing I am spotting from looking around at other people videos of getting good looking videos is a shallow depth of field (For those who don't know, a shallow DOF is where the subject is clearly in focus however the background is blurred) Now I am trying to achieve this look with my camera and it doesn't seem able to manage it, a bit of research seems to suggest that shallow DOF is normally achieved by cameras with a large, single light sensor (normally found in SLRs) this camcorder of mine however has 3 smaller 1/4 sensors which seemingly aren't as effective for DOF. I've seen videos of people making their own DOF adaptors and you can buy adaptors that screw to the front of camcorders and through the magic of optics give a shallow DOF where it would otherwise be difficult. But I am not finding any mention of people doing this to the series of camcorder I have Anyone have any idea if it's possible to on my type of camcorder?
Well I'd think that if they had the same filter thread size as the one on your camcorder you could use an adapter. Or the better option would be to return this and buy a Canon 60D, it has all the features this has but with a big sensor and a lineup of big apertured lenses, and it costs about the same.
try making the iris as wide as possible (lower numbers, like 3.5), and keep the zoom as long long as possible. that will help make the DoF more shallow without changing what you already have.
Yeah, keeping the aperture wide open, and zooming will help. Zooming foreshortens the entire frame. It'll essentially bring objects in the background closer to the objects in the foreground, but since the distance is still there in real life it'll significantly shorten the depth of field.
I've tried all of that, I can get the effect I am after, but the standard camera does not allow a short enough depth of field. It only works when the subject is quite a distance from the background or foreground i.e. outside What I am more looking for is for shooting indoors like on TV shows where the room behind the subject is blurred. My camera seems to only be able to get a longer DOF so when you try and focus is either everything is in focus or nothing unless the subject is with a foot of the camera and the background is at least 2 meters or more away and that puts the subject to close in the shot for what I am filming Which was why I was looking at making a DOF adapter so I can film with an SLR lens, Im just trying to find out if it actually works or not
well from what i've read on them, they do work.
I think i have a similar one, the first one with the 3D conversion lens, and i was messing about with manual and just slamming the iris setting one way and putting on manual focus, i was able to get a ridiculously shallow depth of field. it was from like 10cm in-front of the camera, and then about 15 in-front.
Unless you actually make an adapter that works I'd say you are out of luck. You're trying to get a result that your camcorder isn't capable of.
AHEM [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4zB1zjLCbc&feature=youtu.be[/media] [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] Shit quality because of my bandwidth cap. [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] Shit quality because of my bandwidth cap. [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] Shot on a HDC-SDT750
that's macro though. not really practical in the field of what he's doing. But i'd suggest attempting to build a rig, it will let you get what you are after but quality is going to suffer a bit.
[QUOTE=Wickerman123;34805015]AHEM [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4zB1zjLCbc&feature=youtu.be[/media] [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] Shit quality because of my bandwidth cap. [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] Shit quality because of my bandwidth cap. [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] Shot on a HDC-SDT750[/QUOTE] Note: Thats not Depth of Field as such, thats macro Mine can go right up to stuff and focus on it, thats not the effect I am aiming for I meant for normal filming situations where the camera is a bit of a distance from the subject that I can change the focal length so that only a narrow distance range from the camera is in focus, anything closer or further away is out of focus. But seemingly with my camera, and more than likely yours, you'll find that shooting at a distance (i.e. more than 2 inchs) the camera struggles to pick out different focal lengths unless they are a very far distance from each other. But while I've found someone with the 750, whats the 3D lens on those like?
In my opinion the 3D lens isn't as good as i expected, it needs a lot of light to work, and it disables all of the handy functions, including zoom. It's cool to have but not very practical. The camera itself however is brilliant. I'm sure you can find some way of shallowing the DOF, what most people suggest is making the aperture as large as possible (forgotten how that relates to iris) and zooming in from quite a distance away. [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx-Q_dQAeFA[/media] [editline]21st February 2012[/editline] I know they use a DSLR but the same principles should apply.
Yeah that pretty much confirms what I had already checked out. My camera will get DOF, but seemingly only a long distance with a high zoom. Not ideal for shooting in confined spaces but I guess it will have to do
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