- May 17, 2010
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I see a lot of complaints that in the series of photos taken at a party, many of them come out of focus or parts of the shot are blurry, while some proclaim the camera is great.
What I think is happening is because this phone camera has a wider aperture (f/2.0) and larger pixels than pretty much any camera phone to date (as well as most point-shoot-cameras) that it's actually exhibiting a relatively small Depth of Field. While this is a desirable trait for photographers and photo enthusiasts, it can be very frustrating for novices.
What this means is that at a given focus distance (let's say 5'), all objects 5' away will be at acceptable focus. However, objects that are increasingly closer or further away they will rapidly start to be further and further out of focus. In contrast, cameras with a large depth of field (vast majority of camera phones and many point and shoots) keep objects in focus over much larger distances from the actual focal plane. The objects are losing focus, but still found acceptable by most. Or in many cases, the camera is focused at infinity, so any objects behind the subject are in focus to infinite distance
Let's say you're trying to take a photo of a group of six people huddled together using the One. If the focus is on the person standing closest, there is a good chance you will lose acceptable focus on the person standing furthest away and any people/objects towards the outer edge of the frame if the shooter is standing too close. Since we don't have control over focal length (optical zoom) with the One, the best solution is to try and focus on the person/object that is mid-distance from the furthest and closest objects in the frame, and/or try to increase the distance from the shooter and the group if possible.
So while you get the advantage of better low light performance with the wider aperture and larger pixels, you also get the tradeoff of reduced depth of field. It's something the vast majority of people using cameras never have to deal with or even consider, but with the increased specs on this camera phone one might need to be a little more aware instead of just snapping away.
Understanding Depth of Field in Photography
What I think is happening is because this phone camera has a wider aperture (f/2.0) and larger pixels than pretty much any camera phone to date (as well as most point-shoot-cameras) that it's actually exhibiting a relatively small Depth of Field. While this is a desirable trait for photographers and photo enthusiasts, it can be very frustrating for novices.
What this means is that at a given focus distance (let's say 5'), all objects 5' away will be at acceptable focus. However, objects that are increasingly closer or further away they will rapidly start to be further and further out of focus. In contrast, cameras with a large depth of field (vast majority of camera phones and many point and shoots) keep objects in focus over much larger distances from the actual focal plane. The objects are losing focus, but still found acceptable by most. Or in many cases, the camera is focused at infinity, so any objects behind the subject are in focus to infinite distance
Let's say you're trying to take a photo of a group of six people huddled together using the One. If the focus is on the person standing closest, there is a good chance you will lose acceptable focus on the person standing furthest away and any people/objects towards the outer edge of the frame if the shooter is standing too close. Since we don't have control over focal length (optical zoom) with the One, the best solution is to try and focus on the person/object that is mid-distance from the furthest and closest objects in the frame, and/or try to increase the distance from the shooter and the group if possible.
So while you get the advantage of better low light performance with the wider aperture and larger pixels, you also get the tradeoff of reduced depth of field. It's something the vast majority of people using cameras never have to deal with or even consider, but with the increased specs on this camera phone one might need to be a little more aware instead of just snapping away.
Understanding Depth of Field in Photography
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