Inch-thick textbooks have been written, and fistfights have been started over this topic, but I'll give it a short whirl...
What you're referring to is depth of field - specifically, a narrow depth of field where there isn't much depth to the area where things are in focus. This is great for portraits, for example. The best results can be obtained by having your camera at maximum zoom (full telephoto) at the widest aperture value (smallest F#) if your camera has an aperture-priority setting, with the subject as close to the camera as it's possible to get while still being in focus. Usually this is about 5-10 feet depending on the camera.
The ability to control this depth of field is diminished in point-and-shoots and fixed-lens digital cameras such as yours. Most of the pictures here where there is a very blurry background in a shot which isn't a macro (small stuff) are typically from a digital SLR or other expensive camera with a big sensor, a big lens and a long zoom. These all control the ability to vary depth of field.
Macro mode will give you a very narrow depth of field (blurry foreground and background) so try that as well.
James.
Message edited by author 2003-04-24 02:24:24. |
