Digital Scrapbookers – Size matters

Ok ladies, stop the snickering.

No really… This is serious.

Size does matter.

The size of your sensor, that is.  Yes, the size of the sensor (the actual “chip” in a digital camera that takes the picture) matters for a lot of things.  What I want to talk about today is how your sensor size affects the depth-of-field you are able to get.

This “bokeh” effect or the shallow depth of field effect is very popular with digital scrapbookers and photographers.  And why not?  Bokeh produces some artistic, unexpected effects and the shallow depth of field isolates your main subject so the viewer’s eye immediately focuses in on the most important part of the picture.  During our digital photography classes we are always asked “how do I do that”?  And it’s really simple – you need to use the shallowest depth-of-field on your f/stop or aperture setting (that would be the lowest numbers.)

And here’s where the size matters.  The size of the chip determines how shallow the depth of field will be – the larger the chip, the shallower the depth of field is and the easier it is to get a good bokeh effect.  So my little point-and-shoot digital camera, in order to keep it small and portable, has a really tiny chip – making it tough (if not impossible) to get a shallow enough depth of field.  It will always be easier and better using a DSLR.  Here’s a real shocker – a typical DSLR set at f/1.4 would need to be set at f/0.6 on a typical point-and-shoot digital camera to get the same look. And I know my point-and-shoot doesn’t go down that low!

So I guess Jenn and I will be buying the shiny new DSLR soon, right?

I don’t think so.

Leave us a comment with your thoughts!

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