Focus Peaking & Depth of Field v. Bokeh

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Larry S.

Larry S.

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I came across this interesting pair of mushrooms yesterday in a pine woodlot. One was growing up under the skirt of a larger one. Using a 200mm f/4D micro on the Z8/FTZii at ground level was the only way to present this oddity. The focus peaking worked great. I also improvised a camera rest with my shoe (stop laughing, it worked!)…. the “shoe-pod”😒…

I wanted to see depth of field differences and how bokeh changed with selected “f-stops” . These are reduced resolution images……
First f/11: Sharp but the bokeh is small as expected and has flat edges which may be distracting.
Z8J_4010.jpeg
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Next f/8: Not quite as sharp as f/11 but bokeh improving; little larger and more rounded
Z8J_4013.jpeg
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Last f/5.6: Depth of field becoming obvious. Forward portion of mushroom not sharp but bokeh much better.
Z8J_4014.jpeg
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Here’s the hi-tech “shoe-pod”
IMG_1611.jpeg
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Archibald said:
Looks good. Focus stacking can get you the sharpness you need on the subjects as well as a good background.
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Certainly aware that focus stacking can help here. This “f” mount lens requires manual focusing on the Z platforms and I was interested in bokeh and subject sharpness at different apertures…that’s all..
 
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EricBowles said:
If you are stacking you can use a very shallow aperture for the last few frames. Creates an f/4 bokeh for the background with f/11 detail for the subject.
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Thanks Eric… I want try focus stacking soon for subjects like this but also on other things like frogs, turtles and critters that might stay put. I’d like to get a praying mantis in a focus stack (praying mantis’ my hero, they eat stink bugs! This shot was from 2013 w/D200… And of course landscapes.
LCS_0008_2_2.jpeg
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bleirer said:
It's interesting to see the difference in the background with the different f numbers.
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Thanks Bill, The f/11 bokeh really doesn’t look very good. I see aperture reflections and not a soft round bokeh background. I need to learn focus stacking. Steve has a tutorial video on this that I bought but I haven’t got to it yet…. Time is my most important thing these days😂.
 
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Larry S. said:
I came across this interesting pair of mushrooms yesterday in a pine woodlot. One was growing up under the skirt of a larger one. Using a 200mm f/4D micro on the Z8/FTZii at ground level was the only way to present this oddity. The focus peaking worked great. I also improvised a camera rest with my shoe (stop laughing, it worked!)…. the “shoe-pod”😒…

I wanted to see depth of field differences and how bokeh changed with selected “f-stops” . These are reduced resolution images……
First f/11: Sharp but the bokeh is small as expected and has flat edges which may be distracting.
View attachment 99062
Next f/8: Not quite as sharp as f/11 but bokeh improving; little larger and more rounded
View attachment 99063
Last f/5.6: Depth of field becoming obvious. Forward portion of mushroom not sharp but bokeh much better.
View attachment 99064
Here’s the hi-tech “shoe-pod”
View attachment 99066
Click to expand...
Such an interesting exercise. Thanks for posting. Def something to think about.
 
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Topper1946 said:
Such an interesting exercise. Thanks for posting. Def something to think about.
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Thanks Topper, Anomalies found on walks through the woods can become interesting photo subjects. This was about 40 yards from my door. This time of year spiders and mushrooms seem to make their presence known…
 
Larry S. said:
Interesting idea Bill….I’ll tinker with that a bit..🤔.
Click to expand...

Perhaps oddball, but I bind the three together with a strong rubber band. Then grasp with my left either in a "tripod" or just at angle resting on the ground. I rest the camera in my right hand on my left hand to stabilize it.
 
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bleirer said:
Perhaps oddball, but I bind the three together with a strong rubber band. Then grasp with my left either in a "tripod" or just at angle resting on the ground. I rest the camera in my right hand on my left hand to stabilize it.
Click to expand...
Yeah…that’s the only thing I could image…great idea!👍
 
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