One of the main reasons I absolutely love my Sigma 30mm/f1.4 is the “f/1.4” part. Even before I truly knew what aperture was and how it worked, I was trying to create narrow depth off field photos. After I found out what aperture was I started using it to my advantage to create desired effects in my photos. Depth of Field is usually manipulated by adjusting aperture on the lens, but it can be manipulated without changing the Aperture and it is this that I would like to describe in this article.
Phone cameras are rather complicated high tech things, but they are by no means SLR cameras. They were never meant to be and they will never be. You don’t buy a phone because you need a camera just like you don’t buy a camera because you need a phone.
Phone cameras have no moving part and because of this you have no real control over the aperture. Sure, there are programs that add a depth of field effect, but if you are someone who actually shoots to create the effect it is immediately obvious that this is fake and, unfortunately, badly done.
The aperture on a phone camera is typically set to f/2.8. This seems to be a pretty nice aperture, callable of giving OK performance if you are looking to create depth of field, but the problem is that it just does not happen on a phone. But why, you may ask.
Phones have a tiny, tiny sensors and in order to keep the phones thin and light the lens is mounted extremely close to the sensor itself. I am not an optical physicist and can’t explain why this is so, but because they lens is so close to the sensor the camera behaves more like it has a lens of about f/8 to f/11.
When I first started learning about depth of field I read and also experienced the effect where depth of field shrinks the closer the object you are photographing comes to the lens. At f/1.4 a whole landscape will be mostly in focus, but with that same aperture and lens something 1 meter away from the lens will only be in focus for about a 1 centimetre area. I don’t know about you, but I fond this interesting.
Just after getting my iPhone I started wondering if I can exploit this and it turns out I can. Most camera phones these days can focus on points very close to the lens, so in order to create depth of field and a blurred background, bring an object to just a few centimetres away from the lens. Take your photo and be prepared to be amazed. Well, at least mildly interested, but still.
I can hear you say “There are not really that many things you can use this on, is there?” and sure, but at least you are now able to do something most people think is not possible on a phone.
great post. i liked your idea of having a meetup where we only use phone cameras. we should try it sometime in the near future.
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