Question by omgitssum1: Canon 50mm Aperture Question?
Sorry if this seems like an amateur question, but if I were to get a crop camera (e.g. Canon T2i) with a 50mm 1.8, 1.4, or 1.2, is it possible to use the lens to take a picture WITHOUT depth of field in the background (like with a small aperture)? Or is the aperture fixed and all portraits will have “bokeh” in the background? Thanks.
Best answer:
Answer by selina_555
I have the “nifty fifty”, the 50mm f/1.8 and I love it!!!
Its biggest possible aperture is 1.8, the smallest is f/22 – lots of DOF at that end!
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
The aperture is not fixed on any of those lenses. If you want a shallow depth of field do these things to help get your “bokeh”.
Use wider aperature settings
Keep the subject close to the camera and…
Keep the background far back
And lenses longer than 50mm will have even less depth of field formthe same scene
Here.
Play with this tool and I think you will understand how lens apertures work.
If you ever looked on a lens, the apertures are from f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16 and sometimes f/22
The out of focus background, sometimes called Bokeh, is totally dependent upon the lens aperture, focal length and distance to the subject … ALL three, not just one or two.
There are some terminology inadequacies here. Hopefully I can explain them so that things will become clearer.
All lenses have a Depth of Field.
The DoF is a measurement of how much of the scene is in focus. In a shallow DoF, the background (and near foreground) is out of focus, which is often preferred in portraiture.
A deep DoF is one where almost if not everything is in focus as preferred in landscapes.
The term “bokeh” is often mis-applied as the term actually defines the “quality” of the out of focus area, not that the area is out of focus.
You can control the aperture on that lens to a very shallow DoF or a very deep DoF. That is one of the advantages of having a DSLR with an adjustable lens.
Wide apertures (example f/1.8) result in a shallow DoF, while small apertures (f/22) result in deep DoF.
So with the one lens, you have a wide degree of control of the DoF.
Hope this helps.