How Depth Of Field Changes With Sensor Size – Camera Comparison

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Hi, this is Jay P. Morgan here. Today on The Slanted Lens we’re going to take a look at how sensor size affects depth of field. I’ve always wanted to look at this comparison. I’ve got Angelina here with me today. “Hi.” We’re going to look at each one of the different formats. We’re going to start with the Panasonic G9 II. Then we’re going to take a look at the APS-C sensor, the R7 from Canon. We’ve got the Sony A7R V which is that full frame. And then we got that large medium format with the GFX100 II. We’re just going to look at each one of these cameras and see how the depth of field at the same aperture affects the image and how much depth of field you get. It’s an interesting comparison to know and to understand as you make a decision about which one of these sensors is right for you. So let’s get started and see what we can do.

So let’s talk about how we’re going to set this test up here. So I’ve set my camera up here and the cards are 6 inches apart. And I’m going to set the camera at 3 and 1/2 ft from the number four card. So that’s about the distance I’m going to use to do the portrait of Angelina. And so that just gives me a consistent test. Each one of these cameras will go on the same tripod. They’ll each be 3 and 1/2 feet from the four. And we’re going to take a look at f/2.8, f/5.6 and f/11 and just see how that focus really differs between each one of the sensor sizes. So we’re going to go ahead and shoot through these now using those cards and just see the focus. You’ll be able to see very easily how much the depth of field moves forward and back. Which is a really interesting thing to understand because depth of field moves forward about a third and back about 2/3rds. We’ll be able to see that when we look at the cards and just see exactly how that depth of field is building forward and backwards. And we’ll be able to compare between the different sensor sizes how shallow the depth of field is at f/2.8, at f/5.6 and at f/11. So let’s shoot through these, all of these, with a sensor about 3 and 1/2 ft from the number four card. Let’s go after it.

So let’s take a look at the tests that we shot outside. The way I set this up is we focused on the number four card. Each one of these cards is 6 inches apart and it should give us an idea of how many of these cards we can hold in focus at a certain aperture and on a certain sensor size. Now obviously micro 4/3rds is going to have much more depth of field than a full frame or a medium format. So that’s going to vary and that’s what we want to look at. Focus is very tricky. As I get closer to something and move in the amount of depth of field narrows. As I move away the amount of depth of field increases. So the depth of field is changing all the time, the amount that you get in focus. So we’ll take a look at this in two or three different situations and just see exactly how it applies to that sensor size and if focus is super important to you getting that kind of nice soft out of focus in the background. This will be a great comparison for you to be able to see exactly what each one of these is doing.

So this is the micro 4/3rds. That’s the G9 II. If you see in the background here, this say number four is in focus. The number two card is pretty out of focus. But the five is holding. The three is actually pretty good. The five is starting to drift and then it drifts to the nine.

Now let’s see what happens when we go to an APS-C sensor. This is the R7. You see that we now have the four. But the focus is starting to fall out faster on the five. It’s definitely more out of focus on the two and the three.

If we go now to a full frame, wow, look how much that two card is out of focus. It is way out of focus. And now we see that the four is sharp but the three is not very sharp at all. Now five, everything back behind the five is really out of focus.

Now let’s see what medium format does. So here’s medium format. So look at that medium format. You’ve got a four is in focus but the focus drifts immediately. The Three is out, the five is out. You’re getting a very shallow depth of field. This is 6 inches between the three and the four. And so we’re getting somewhere way less than 6” that is critically in focus. Probably only like 2 or 3 inches. Just very, very shallow depth of field.

Now if I compare this to the micro 4/3rds, look at the difference. Look at that micro 4/3rds. We’re almost in, we are so much sharper into the back. Look at how that medium format falls out. That GFX100 II, it just gives us the four and everything falls out. You see the focus in the background. Look how sharp this is the background. That’s a f/2.8. That’s micro 4/3rds versus a medium format.

So now if we jump up to f/5.6, here’s f/5.6 for that micro 4/3rds. It’s starting to be almost all in focus, not quite the nine. The 7,8 & 9 are drifting in the background. The two is definitely out in the front.

But as we go to that APS-C sensor at f/5.6 we see that there we’ve got a little less depth of field. The two is falling out more, you know.

If we go to full frame the two is definitely softer. The cards are falling out faster in the background.

Of course medium format, you have a very shallow depth of field. Even at f/5.6 you’re not holding the three and the five. This is important to know because if you’re shooting a family and you’re fairly close and you’re on a medium format, you’re not going to get f/2.8 is not going to hold two rows of people. If you’re backing up f/5.6 might but you’re probably going to definitely, on a medium format, need to go to f/8.

If you go back to say the full frame you could probably, f/8 you can hold two rows of people as you back up. We’ll take a look at that as we get back further. Because as we back away we get more depth of field. So there’s f/5.6.

Look what happens when we go to f/11. So there’s f/11 on the micro 4/3rds. That’s the G9 II. It’s just, you have the two is definitely sharp. The nine is almost sharp in the background.

We go to APS-C sensor and the two is pretty sharp. The nine is pretty sharp. I mean that APS-C sensor is really holding it all.

Full frame, it’s a little soft in the front on the two. Nine is a little soft in the back. The 8 and 9,  7,8 and 9 started to drift.

And then we go to the medium format. And you see that you have less focus up at f/11. We’re still getting some fairly nice softness, some nice bokeh in the background. So even at f/11 that medium format has given us a pretty shallow depth of field.

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So here’s how we’re going to do our test. I’m going to set each of these cameras up on the same tripod. We’re going to use a 50mm equivalent lens for each and we’re going to shoot three different apertures. We’re going to do f/2.8, f/5.6 and f/11. And we’re going to now compare those and just see how the depth of field is different on each one of those sensors. So I’ll get some shots of Angelina here using each one of these different cameras and we’ll just look at the depth of field. That’ll show us, in a real life situation, how the background falls out of focus and how the focus looks on a person’s face. All right, so let’s shoot through each one of these cameras.

So I’m going to start with the GFX100 II and we’re going to shoot our images here at f/2.8, f/5.6 and f/11. “Little smile there for me.” So we’re going to go to the Sony A7R V which is a full frame camera and we’ll shoot through those same three apertures. We’re going to go f/2.8 and then to f/5.6 and to f/11. Now let’s look at the R7. I got a 35mm lens on here which should equate to about a 50 mm and we’re going to shoot through the same apertures, f/2.8, f/5.6 and f/11. “All right, looking right here.” That’s that APS-C sensor. So now let’s look at that micro 4/3rds, it’s the Panasonic G9 II. And we’ll get some shots both at f/2.8, f/11 and f/5.6. All right, here we go.

So let’s see how this relates to a person. So here’s the G9 II, that micro 4/3rds. Even though there’s a lot of depth of field with that micro 4/3rds, I’m still getting a soft, kind of a nice soft background. But look at the difference as I go to an APS-C sensor. That background becomes more creamy, becomes a little nicer.

If I go now to full frame it’s even softer. That f/2.8 gives me a really soft background. And of course, when I go to that medium format it’s beautifully out of focus. Look at those two together. If I go with that full frame and the medium format it’s just, it’s just a little softer, a little nicer. If I go to the G9 II which is that micro 4/3rds, look at the difference in those with regards to how the background falls out of focus. It’s just beautiful on that medium format. We’re still holding a lot with that micro 4/3rds.

So let’s take a look at that back shoulder. There’s the micro 4/3rds. Her back shoulder is pretty much in focus at f/2.8. When I go to the APS-C we start to see it drifting just a little bit. When I go to the full frame, look at that, how it’s starting to drift in the background. But when I go to that medium format her back shoulder is way out of focus at f/2.8.

So let’s take a look at these four images lined up next to each other. That micro 4/3rds, so much depth of field. Down to that medum format that drops so far out of focus. You really see it on her shoulder as you go to that micro 4/3rds to that medium format. That shoulder falls way out of focus. That’s pretty interesting to see there.

Okay, now let’s take a look at f/5.6 on the micro 4/3rds. Her back shoulder is in focus. The background is starting to be pretty sharp back there. You’re starting to be able to see a lot of definition. APS-C back shoulder is very much in focus. The background is starting to drift just a little bit. Then we go to the full frame. We got a nice out of focus in the background. Her back shoulder is starting to drift a teeny bit, not much. When we go to the medium format, that GFX100 II, her back shoulder starts to really drift. So there’s a big difference. That’s a f/5.6. Now at f/5.6, we still are falling nicely out of focus with that medium format. Full frame is pretty nice. APS-C starts to be more and more focused and the micro 4/3rds. So you can see that difference. That comparison there is really interesting.

If we go to f/11 in this situation, at f/11 on a micro 4/3rds it’s all pretty much in focus. It does drift a little bit in the background. But generally speaking it’s pretty sharp from front to back. That R7, it’s in focus from front and it’s starting to drift some in the background. When we go to the full frame the A7R V, we see it drifting in the background even at f/11. It’s starting to give us a little bit out of focus back there. Then we go to the medium format and you see that even at f/11 the background is giving us just a little bit of out of focus. This is one of the reasons that people love medium format. It’s one of the reasons I shot with a Hasselblad for so many years in my professional career. And that is because you want to see the background drift out of focus. And even at f/11, as close as I am to her, I still get some nice softer looking background. That’s the advantage of that medium format with a lot of other things, image size and cropping capabilities and some other things.

All right, now let’s take a look at a full figure. You’ve got to back up to be able to shoot a full figure, which means you’re going to get more and more depth of the field every step you take backwards. So let’s just take a look at how these compare. This is f/2.8. This is where it’s pretty hard to give yourself a shallow depth of field because you’ve backed up so much. This is that micro 4/3rds at f/2.8. Look at that background. It just is, it’s pretty, pretty sharp even at f/2.8. At APS-C it starts to fall more out of focus. Then we go to the full frame and you see it falling more and more out of focus. And then you see this, finally the medium format, and it falls very much out of focus. The sun was coming in and out when I was doing this test so don’t let that fool you. Just look at the focus in the background. Look at the trees and how they become more and more in focus. You look at those four up next to each other and you can just see how that foliage in the background slowly falls out of focus. That’s at f/2.8. At f/2.8 her figure is in focus in just about every single one of these formats. But the background is where it really tells the story. Look at the ground behind her. Look at the grass. It kind of is all in focus. By the time you hit medium or full frame it’s drifting behind her. Once you hit the medium format the grass is out of focus just slightly behind her feet and you can see the difference that that creates.

Let’s see what happens now if we go to f/5.6. At f/5.6, I didn’t go any further than f/5.6, because at f/5.6 on that micro 4/3rds everything is pretty much in focus. I mean, you see the grass in the background. Same with the APS-C. When you see the full frame you’re starting to see some drift in the background. And certainly on the medium format you’re starting to see some drift a couple of feet behind her. So even at f/5.6 we’re still getting some nice out of focus in the background on that medium format. Sounds like I’m selling medium format. I’m just, I’m not, I’m just saying that’s what’s happening with the medium format. You may be shooting something like architecture and you need depth of field. You may be shooting something that requires more depth of field. So in that case you’re going to want deeper depth of field. Sometimes medium format can be a challenge because you can’t get enough depth of field to be able to conquer the problem that you’re going after.

Next I took this camera out and just shot some images and played with the different formats to see exactly how they react in a real life situation. So we took our model out and photographed in some greenery and let’s see exactly what we get. Here’s some of that G9 II which is a micro 4/3rds sensor. Let’s take a look at those images.

Now let’s take a look at that R7 from Canon. That’s the APS-C sensor.

Here’s the full frame images from that A7R V.

Here’s the GFX100 II, that medium format. Here’s some images shot on that.

So let’s wrap this up. Each one of these sensor sizes has an application you can use it for. I can see a use and a way to be able to use each one of these in a time when it would be very effective. So this is just information I want you to have so you can understand when you decide on one of these cameras how depth of field is going to be affected. Depth of field is one of the key elements that we use when we’re photographing for creative purposes. Whether we want it to be deep or shallow, that becomes a creative decision. With this information you can decide on a camera and how to use that camera that’ll give you the outcome that will most match what you’re trying to do. Shallow depth of field for some applications and great, deeper depth of field is really needed in other situations. So leave us some comments. I’d like to hear what you think about this comparison. And if you want some other lessons to talk about format comparison check out this lesson. It’s really a great place to see the difference between the different formats. So keep those cameras rollin’ and keep on clickin’!