Sep 7
My favorite lens currently is a 50mm f/2.8 1:1 Macro. It’s perfect for life-size close-ups and portraits. Although it’s not as fast as I’d like it to be (i.e. f/1.4 or f/1.2), it’s sharp and has lovely bokeh (the appearance of out of focus areas) thanks to its circular aperture.
Click to continue reading “The lens of small things”
Following up from my earlier post on 35mm DOF adapters, here’s the way I’ve built mine. Note that this is revision four, which uses much better materials, including a Thorlabs 2″ lens tube (my earlier designs were crudely made out of cardboard, file dividers and lots of electrical tape!)
This design borrows heavily from Richard Mellor’s.
Click to continue reading “Cinematic focusing: 35mm DOF adapter how-to”
Digital video is great, but not so great when you compare it to actual film.
Perhaps the most interesting attribute of actual 16mm and 35mm film cameras (and some high-end digital video cameras) such as those from Arri and Panavision is the shallow depth of field (DOF.) Shallow DOF basically means there is less distance in focus between the subject and the area in front and behind the subject, allowing for selective focusing.
Click to continue reading “Cinematic focusing with digital video cameras”
