I have a canon gl2 does anybody know if there is an adapter lens or filter that can maximize my depth of field? (I'm looking to be able to really blur my backround and keep my foreground in focus or vice-versa)

Ya know, I can't answer the question, but if you happen to have photoshop, for one of my films, I opened up the film in that, and I went into each frame and blurring the background. Took hell of a long time, but it worked and looked great! Just a tip

Unfortunately that isn't possible, I have way too many shots for that...

video works a little bit different because CCD sensors aren't as big as film, so as far as getting the blurry background, you can only get so much. the bigger the size of the frame, the better, which is why generally:

70mm>35mm>16mm>chips

it's not just the size, it has to do with how it interacts with the lens, but here are some tips for video:


a smaller aperature will INCREASE your depth of field, meaning more things will be in focus. smaller aperature means a bigger number.

so f/11 is smaller than f/8 which is smaller than f/5.6.

also, zooming out all the way, using the wide angle setting, will help you keep more things in focus.


on the opposite side, to get things blurry in the background, shallow depth of field, a bigger aperature will DECREASE your depth of field.

meaning that low f-stops like f/2.8 or f/2 will allow for the most blurring of the background.

also, using the zoom-in feature, the telephoto setting, will blur out the background as well. you'll have to be further away from you actors, but you'll see the difference.



also, if you keep your actors away from things in the background whil keeping the lens open, or zoomed in, will help blur out things in the background.


this is pretty general stuff, works the same with every camera: video/film/still photo, just has to do with optics and how light works.

though keep in any mind, for any given image size, the DOF is the same for all focal lengths.