Photos - Background Focus

[cpjitservices]

We have a Hitachi digital camera - it's a 10 Megapixel Camera and was wondering how you can take pics with a blurry background but concentrates on faces ? I've tried the macro setting but cant find an y options for shutter times etc etc

 

Does anyone have a similar camera and know how to do it ?

 

Cheers

[gaz350]

You need to have a higher aperture (actually it's a lower aperture but the number is higher ) works like your iris in your eye

 

Problem with this is you have to shoot with a slower shutter speed or higher iso to allow enough light in so it's exposed correctly

[cromertech]

As above. If it's a compact you probably won't have too many options for aperture or shutter speed or even a manual focus mode in case it auto focuses on wrong subject

[cpjitservices]

theres a few options like ISO and have set it to the highest option with Macro turned on but can't find any settings to do with aperture or shutter speeds.

[laptopsandspares]

oooh this is my field. let me know which model it is and I'll see if I can google a manual and see what settings you have available.

 

Are you after head and shoulders, full body or just head shots?

[LosOjos]

Actually, you need a lower numbered aperture for a lower depth of field - something like 3.5 / 5

 

You want your ISO as low as possible (the higher number increases brightness in dark situations, but also degrades quality).

 

Do you have a dial on top of the camera to select the mode? If so, do you have an 'A' or 'Av' mode?

[maniac]

You need to have a higher aperture (actually it's a lower aperture but the number is higher ) works like your iris in your eye

 

Problem with this is you have to shoot with a slower shutter speed or higher iso to allow enough light in so it's exposed correctly

 

I hate to say, but you've got that the wrong way round. You need a big aperture (A low number) and ideally an DSLR with a prime lens which goes down to f1.8 or f1.4 to get the best results.

 

For example:

 

Taken with a aperture of f5.6

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/mredman/Image-7339.jpg

 

Taken with a aperture of f14

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j29/mredman/Image-7341.jpg

 

The technical term for it is Depth of Field. A wide aperture (low number) gives you a shallow depth of field, where as a small aperture (high number) gives you a large depth of field.

Edited May 12, 2011 by maniac

[laserblazer]

Zooming in will reduce the camera depth of field, which is why you should manual focus on a long zoom.

[laptopsandspares]

distance from the subject will have an impact too which might be the way to go if you have limited control on the camera.

[pcstru]

If your only options are ISO, zoom and focus, set as low an ISO as you can, this should force the camera to open up the aperture but may also force it to use a slower shutter speed, then get as far away from the subject you want in focus on as you can while still being able to frame the shot as you want it with the maximum zoom you can get.

[cpjitservices]

oooh this is my field. let me know which model it is and I'll see if I can google a manual and see what settings you have available.

 

Are you after head and shoulders, full body or just head shots?

 

My Camera model is HDC-1087E, if you could help that wold be great if you could find out that'd be great - and any combination of those shots would be great!!

[cpjitservices]

found a manual online : PDF- Hitachi HDC-1087E 10 MP Camera Owner Manual | Owners Manual PDF, Ebook,Wiring Diagram Ebook, Service Manual Guide

[laptopsandspares]

Hi Chris,

 

It took some digging but I eventually found a manual (in English too!) It does suggest you can have control of all the settings mentioned above as there is a "user setting" under "Scene mode" in the camera set up menu (second button down on the back) but it doesn't elaborate on how. There's also a "Program AE" setting which is an aperture priority mode but I think on this model it's an automatic option.

 

If you pm me your e.mail I'll send you the manual. P27 shows you where in the menu to find this stuff. when you have the manula open, read the below:

 

 

The settings you need to try and achieve are lowest iso possible for image quality, 80 on this camera, this will also (as mentioned above) force the camera to open up the aperture (make the f number smaller) there's an auto, turn it off by selecting 80

the lowest f number (aperture) you can get f2.9 is the lowest you can get on this model at min zoom, f5.2 at the long end of the zoom, I'd suggest midway for portraits. you'll need to experiment with the different scene modes to see which gives you most control. in the "user settings" mode i'd thik the rocker on the back of the camera might control the f number and shutter speed, and there should be a gauge somewhere which will need to be in the middle to get the right exposure.

set the camera to mid zoom and then use your feet to compose the shot. get as close as you can once the camera is set as this will help with your blurry back ground.

then take some pics and see how it turns out.

 

one thing you could try, put your subject in front of a plain background ( a whiteboard? a wall?). if you put some distance between them and the background, say a couple of meters, and are within a couple of feet, the background should be fairly out of focus and won't have any detail anyway. Or if this is for personal stuff, keep as much distance as possible between the subject and it's surroundings.

 

you'll be a bit limited with the controls available to you but the manual should help you find the settings to help.

 

I'll await your e.mail address

 

D

[cromertech]

The thanks is for the link for the service manuals site. What a great resource!!

[laptopsandspares]

oh, looks like you found the manual while i was typing :D P 27 for your menu options. I'll get my coat...

[cpjitservices]

thanks for your help everyone but still cant get it to work, might have to save up for a bit and gt a Nikon or a Canon SLR camera as I've heard they are better cameras at doing this.

[LosOjos]

thanks for your help everyone but still cant get it to work, might have to save up for a bit and gt a Nikon or a Canon SLR camera as I've heard they are better cameras at doing this.

 

Might be a bit overkill, especially if (no offence intended) you're not all that clued up on photography. Great if you have the time to learn though, I certainly find it very enjoyable

[cpjitservices]

We'd like to learn, but at the same time we are good at taking photos but maybe with another camera we'd do better, this camera is good but most of the settings are automatic and cant be adjusted.

[laptopsandspares]

thanks for your help everyone but still cant get it to work, might have to save up for a bit and gt a Nikon or a Canon SLR camera as I've heard they are better cameras at doing this.

 

Certainly this will give you access to the controls you need much more easily and will deff do the job. If you don't mind used or refurb, check out misfuds as I think they had a nikon D200 for £200 the other day. Very good camera for the money if a little old but less than a new entry level unit. nikkior do a 50mm f1.8 for about £100 new, check out warehouse express, jessops etc which is an ace lens for the money. Amazing actually and perfect for portraits. (i'm speaking as a nikon user, Canon is of course as good)

 

good luck and happy snapping. just sorry none of us managed to solve your issue for you.

 

D

[cpjitservices]

no probs we wont be able to raise funds near the £100 mark as we have the little on on the way and we are looking on ebay for a cheap Digital SLR, It'd be great to learn this kind if stuff before little one gets here.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

[laptopsandspares]

no probs we wont be able to raise funds near the £100 mark as we have the little on on the way and we are looking on ebay for a cheap Digital SLR, It'd be great to learn this kind if stuff before little one gets here.

 

Thanks for all of your help.

 

lol, you'd better learn now as you'll be too tired to remember anything when the bubba arrives!!! Good luck

[keithu]

The reason you can't get shallow depth of field (DOF) with your camera is that the sensor is too small.

 

DOF is inversely proportional to the physical size of the sensor (not the number of megapixels) and your sensor is only 6mm across, compared to 36mm in a 'full frame' camera. To get shallow DOF you need a physically large sensor and a lens with a large aperture (i.e a low 'f' number) - unfortunately neither of those things are cheap.

[cpjitservices]

I have my eye on a Nikon D80 on ebay this should do the trick hopefully - has a large sensor type and aperture size compared to what I have now. The Nikon looks like a real nice piece of kit.

[SteveBentley]

Worth checking whether the camera has a Portrait mode. That's usually optomised to get as much depth of field as possible.

 

If you're buying new kit specifically for this kind of shot, I'd heartily recommend getting a 50mm prime lens, although the kit lens that comes with it will be vastly better than what you're using now.