Midrange camera versus DSLR and Depth of Field ----PIC HEAVY

I have a friend who takes absolutely beautiful pictures of her jewelry. I asked her how I could get such great pictures and she said get a better camera. In general, and as far as I know, you really can't get much depth of field (DOF) without a DSLR.

What is DOF? It is the blurry background effect. What some people might call the vignette effect. (IMPORTANT! I have edited this to say that where I say "DOF", I am referring to SHALLOW DOF. That it the more correct term for the vignette effect. Sorry for any confusion.)

To begin, let's just get this out of the way. I'm a Nikon fan. I know Canon fans and Nikon fans are extremely devoted, some even rabid. I won't go into which camera is better. But, I do like Nikons much better. I am going to talk about some pictures that I shot with a Canon midrange G12 and a Nikon DSLR 5200. When I bought the Canon, it was the quality that I could afford at the time. It never was really up to par. But, I am comparing apples and oranges here, so let's forget about the brands. The point is my Canon is a step up from a point and shoot and my DSLR is a beginners level DSLR. 

My friend's pictures are really great because her jewelry is always the center of attention- or, some point of it. Whatever she wants you to see is in sharp focus and the rest isn't. If you are really, really good, you can do this with photoshop, but it will never look quite as good as if you had done it in camera and it will take a long time.

In the simplest terms, DOF is achieved with low f numbers. If I get more complicated, it just gets confusing- so, just remember- You want the lower f numbers for good DOF. The lower the number, the more blurry the area outside the point of focus is. But, the lower the number- the more light you will need, too.

Here are some pictures I threw together:

This was taken by the Canon. It is cropped from the RAW image.



Below is the image adjusted in PS (Photoshop). Notice the background rocks are mostly in focus.



Here is the RAW cropped Nikon DSLR image:



Below is the adjusted image. All I had to do was bump up the contrast 5 points- not much, at all. The DSLR is very good at gathering light.



You see how the rocks are now fuzzy and seem to actually slip into the background, creating a 3-d look. The agate is the most in focus. Which is what I want.

I chose to show you a few of the most difficult rocks for me to photograph. With the Canon midrange, it took forever to get the best shots, which still required lots of post processing. I don't like to do much post processing because I run the risk of the picture not looking like the piece. I always used Aperture Priority on the canon because that is the setting that allowed me to adjust the f number. (For those of you who really understand cameras- just go with me here, I'm trying to keep it simple.) I used the smallest number available, but it wasn't small enough for really great DOF.

With the DSLR, it is super easy to dial in a low f number and use manual to gather the light I need in a light tent. On manual, there is a nifty little sliding scale that tells you if your image is under or over exposed. All you have to do is adjust the f number and/or the exposure time to get the right exposure. It couldn't be any easier and I get consistently good results.

Here's another set of Canon pictures. This bloodstone was extremely hard to get a good picture of. Getting the exposure right turned out to be impossible with this mid range camera in a light tent.

First is the cropped RAW image, second is post processing. I like to have white backgrounds because they look best online- at least, I think so anyway.





Here are the DSLR images cropped and processed.





Notice again the DOF and how it makes the stone pop. Notice, too that the "blood" shows up much better and is much closer to the real thing.

Here are two Montana agates that were really hard to photograph.

Canon: (I even had to use a handheld light to shine on it!)





Nikon: (No handheld light.)





Both are in front of white backgrounds for a backdrop to the pattern in the stone. The DSLR gathers more light and does a better job of revealing the stone's true character. The DOF also helps the stone pop.

And for the last one, Montana 2 (nevermind the dust) :





.... and DSLR





I think this comparison was the most dramatic. I always find Montana agates hard to get, but with the DSLR, it is really easy.

So, if you are still reading and you have a camera that will allow you to select "A" or "AV" shooting mode, dial in a low f number and start shooting. If you can afford it and you are ready to step it up a notch, get a DSLR and do't be afraid to go full manual. It, honestly, is very easy. It'll take a little while to learn the buttons, but it will so be worth it. For anyone interested- I am using an automatic focus 35mm lens. I purchased it separately. I could use the lens that came with the camera, but it is more bulky.

I hope this was helpful to someone. It was a pain to get all these hosted images up here. LOL!

If you ask questions- I might be able to answer them.