Yes. You can shorten the depth of field by opening your iris/exposure all the way and zooming all the way in. You may need to use an ND filter to achieve this. So you've got to be pretty far away from your subject because you have to stay at the edge of the zoom. This works with any camera with manual controls. As John Cline said, the larger the chip, the shallower the DOF you can obtain.

You can also purchase 35mm adapters that increase your DOF possibilities.

~jr

Thanks,

I am looking at Canon XHA1. Can it do DOF. Do I need additional lenses? Could someone give me an estimate budget for the lens. Thanks a lot again

"I am looking at Canon XHA1. Can it do DOF". All cameras can do DOF. It is whether it does enough shallow DOF for your needs. And that, my friend, is something YOU need to answer?

"Do I need additional lenses?" If the DOF is NOT shallow enough for you then you need a device to assist the 1/3 inch CCCD block. However, and as JR is suggesting, if you open the IRIS as far as you can and from then on add Neutral Density filters to darken down, then you will achieve "some" shallowing of the DOF. Go to larger block receptiors 1/2" or 2/3" then you are up amongst the major players!!

"Could someone give me an estimate budget for the lens." If you are asking for the cost of a DOF device there are many out there. You need to search for them and asses yourself.

I have a Canon XM2 SD 1/4" CCCD, which in bright/well lit environs and a series of extra NDs gives a very passable shallow DOF result. You might want to try the same with your A1 before forking out large sums of money on a mini35 DOF device. If I could point you at some examples for your A1 then I would. The ones I've seen are using a shallow DOF device. Now, if are you asking what FURTHER lenses to use in conjunction WITH mini35 device - THAT is a different question?

Grazie

All images have a Depth Of Field.

With the 1/2" EX1 my problem more often that not is trying to get enough DOF. What's that old saying about being careful, you might get what you wished for?

The big trap with the HDVish cameras is you might not realise how shallow the DOF is until you see the image full raster on a largish screen. Thankfully the focus assist on the EX1 is pretty good but even so I and many others better than me have still been caught out. I find myself in many situations having to rock focus to make certain what I want in focus is where I have focus. It's quite a problem shooting stage productions where there's not much light and you're on the longer end of the lens. The first time I shot a quick test with my EX1 I got quite a wakeup call. I had my partners ears in focus instead of her eyes.

If you're planning on shooting drama with selective focus you will very likely find you need talent who can hit the mark and a focus puller.

Bob.

As said by above contributors, DOF is a characteristic of lenses (rather than of images). Surprisingly, while most people know what it is, many haven't bothered to get to grips with understanding it and many forget that it is strongly influenced by viewing conditions. Read through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_fieldwikipedia[/link]; note that these days with large cinema screens the diameter of the circle of confusion for 35mm is taken to be 0.001 inches (not 0.002") and 0.0006" for 16mm. As mentioned by Bob, the DOF seen on your camera LCD appears much greater than that for the same clip projected onto a large screen (all about image magnification, or your ability to perceive that a point is not a point but is a fuzzy spot).

Check out the Letus Extreme adapter. By using such a device it will assist in the creation of DOF. As mentioned there are steps that can be taken without one.

Keep in mind... its the person that influences DOF, not the equipment. (repectively its what the person does with the equipment at hand).

Chad

Chad, I'm being a bit pedantic because DOF is a term used much too loosely far too often; the Letus doesn't create DOF, as I'm sure you know. DOF is that depth of region which is in acceptable focus. Gear such as the Letus lets you have more control over that DOF than is easily achieved using small cameras.