Peter Smith asks:
> I find because of the image dimming my eyesight is incapable of fully
> appreciating the depth of focus in the viewfinder image.
*nod* And it's even worse through a red filter...
> Therefore the DOF
> button is useless to me. I know many correspondents here regard this
> feature as essential - but can they actually use it. When is it most
> useful? (macro work I assume). I personally would be interested in other's
> views.
I mostly shoot without a tripod, so most of the time I'm limited to
apertures that allow hand-holdable speeds anyhow, which means that
the smaller apertures mostly get used in bright daylight. And on a
sunny day, I _can_ see with the lens stopped down. In dimmer light,
I won't be stopping down as far (usually), so the range of apertures
I'm working in will often allow me to see anyhow.
When is it most useful? When I'm using a lens with a _really_ shallow
DOF wide open, in low enough light that I can't stop it down very far,
and want to make sure that the aperture I've chosen _is_ enough to get
the subjects eye and ear both in focus. When I'm shooting in bright
light and want to throw the background out of focus, and want to check
that I'm getting the desired result. When I'm getting ready to shoot
a subject that will be moving around faster than I can refocus and
want to see what area the subject can be in when I shoot. When setting
up a group photo and checking to make sure the front and back rows are
in focus. To see how distracting that vague blur in the background will
be at shooting aperture. And, yes, for macro.
Occasionally I'll try to use DOF preview at night. I look for highlights;
a candle, a reflection, anything bright enough to make out despite the
narrow aperture and small enough for its sharpness to register. But
no, that's not usually all that useful. If I'm going to be shooting
in the dark at f/16, it'll be a long exposure anyhow, so I'll be setting
up some sort of camera support, and I can take the time to futz with
DOF the slow way: checking distances and looking at the DOF scale
printed on the lens.
I don't use the DOF preview button on every shot -- not even on most
shots -- but I do use it often enough to be one of those people who
consider it an essential feature.
-- Glenn
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