Comments on: Depth of Field Preview

By: Mr Chris

Mr Chris — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:58:39 +0000

it would be super helpful if you put the aperture numbers on the actual photos, where you typically credit the photographer. That was we can see and associate it in our minds, immediately, without having to go back and read again what the AP was for that certain photo.

By: Circu

Circu — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:03:32 +0000

I consider DOF preview important enough to be on the list for any DSLR I get. I got the Canon T3i in part because it had the DOF button. (Even the new Nikon 5100 lacks it.)

And Elena – you’re not correct when you say “And in film it’s not needed because the aperture is changed manually =)”

The aperture is changed manually but the lens remains wide open until the shot is taken. It is then stopped down, exposes the film, and then re-opens. That is why 35mm film SLRs usually have a DOF preview. All of my 35mm film slrs did (Honeywell, Minolta and Nikon).

By: Sarah Wyld

Sarah Wyld — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:17:29 +0000

I used it all the time with my pre-digital camera. Got out of the habit a bit with my canon 450D, but it is invaluable so I will get back into the habit! In response to Paul – Try & ignore the fact that the image in the viewfinder goes dark – You want to look through that – at what is in focus & what isn’t. That is what it’s previewing. It only goes dark with the preview button because it is physically closing down the aperture therefore letting less light in. Normally it just closes down the aperture to your setting when you hit the shutter button.

By: S.Chandrashekar

S.Chandrashekar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:22:18 +0000

Very usefull information I was not aware of useing this option gone through all the comments very usefull for beginers like us
Thanks

By: jimk022

jimk022 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:16:26 +0000

I’ve never used the dof preview. I don’t even know if my Nikon D40 has it, I’ll have to look. I love digital photography. The one thing I miss on my old film lenses was the depth of field guide. When you focused the lens, you could tell what was in focus and what was not by simply looking at the depth of field guide on the lens. I wish there was a handy-dandy depth of field guide I could print out, laminate, and keep in my camera bag, so that I could set the aperture setting and know what my depth of field would be.

By: Gerald

Gerald — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:01:06 +0000

Hi Darren and all the other members! Thank you for the great site and information!
My wife recently started a photography course at the national photography collage here in South Africa. One of her exercises is to have the front and back of the image blurred while the 2nd subject must be in focus. The setup is 5 cans in a row, slightly in front of each other, and the 2nd can from the front must be in focus while the first can and the rest behind the 2nd can must be out of focus. In the training/course manual it explains how to do it, but it seems like there’s something missing, we just can get this right!!? We have a Canon EOS 400D body and a Sigma 70-300mm lens. Please can you explain EXACTLY what we must do to get this right?
Kind regards, Gerald.

By: pavan

pavan — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:12:34 +0000

Aah!! Finally !! Have been wondering about that button ever since I got my D80.. I am a newbie to Digital Photography..

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:39:52 +0000

The DOF-preview can be hard to use, sometimes, because the image is so dark, but there is a website that can do the calculations about DOF and Hyperfocal Distance and even print charts for various focal-length/aperture combinations:

http://www.dofmaster.com

It understands the affect that sensor size and lens-size play in DOF so you need to specify your camera from the drop-down list before doing the calculation.

By: brewe

brewe — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:15:34 +0000

My canon 1Dmk2 has it , and it is very useful. thanks for so many great tips.

By: Britta

Britta — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:27:50 +0000

This article may give you more reasons to use that loved/hated button:
http://www.apogeephoto.com/jan2005/jaltengarten1_2005.shtml

It also has some good information on DOF that I didn’t know.