Depth of field for video loss of sharpness with EOS 70D, 18-55 zoom lens

[moonlight33]

Hi everyone, I've been on this forum previously for this matter but asking specifically if there are any options I'm missing? Thank you! Shooting video of natural scenes outdoors with Canon 70D, 18-55 zoom lens.  I am shooting intentionally at 24 fps and using 50/sec and holding my aperture between 8-11, because I've been advised here that the loss of sharpness is that this lens should only be set at F11 max, to hold sharpness.  My problem is that the depth of field is not enough and the final outcome is really limited.  I do need more depth of field, and focus about a third into the distance of the scene.  Do I need a better lens that will allow F22, etc.?  Also, does anyone have a suggestion for the best color setting...such as neutral, or faithful, or.....?  Depth of field is quite important for my project.  Even with a lens filter to deal with sunny conditions, (on my list to buy) it wouldn't solve the problem of depth of field if I cannot close down the lens past F11.  Your responses will be so helpful, thank you!

[stevet1]

moonlight33,

The loss of sharpness that comes with apertures higher than f/11 (say the f/22 that you mentioned) is the result of diffraction - or the light passing through a small hole. It's a matter of physics.

Another downside is that at f/22, you are going to lose a lot of light that you will have to compensate for by either slowing down your shutter speed, or by raising your ISO.

As far as Picture Quality settings, you might be interested in this article:

https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/what-best-picture-styles-controls-enhancing-video-quality

Basically, it says it depends on what you are shooting. For Landscapes, it recommends the Landscape Picture Quality.

Steve Thomas

[moonlight33]

Thank you so much for your reply. The problem I have is that the landscapes I am shooting are sunny and too light, so I need to shut down the f-stop.  I do not yet have the proper filter to compensate, so I am shooting the video with 24 FPS, 50/sec and F11. I am over exposing which I can only avoid with a filter. I cannot go higher than F11 because I was told the loss of sharpness was caused by this lens..yet, I need the F22 for more depth of field. I have been shooting at the lowest possible 100 ISO. Is there anything I can do to get the depth of field I need with this lens?

Thank you!!

[Waddizzle]

“ I am shooting intentionally at 24 fps and using 50/sec and holding my aperture between 8-11, because I've been advised here that the loss of sharpness is that this lens should only be set at F11 max, to hold sharpness. “

“ Thank you so much for your reply. The problem I have is that the landscapes I am shooting are sunny and too light, so I need to shut down the f-stop.  I do not yet have the proper filter to compensate, so I am shooting the video with 24 FPS, 50/sec and F11. “

I really don’t understand your DOF concerns when you are shooting landscapes.  When you focus on landscapes, the focus point should be sufficiently far away from the camera that DOF is a moot point.

I suggest that you purchase an ND filter set.

[jrhoffman75]

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@moonlight33 wrote:

Thank you so much for your reply. The problem I have is that the landscapes I am shooting are sunny and too light, so I need to shut down the f-stop.  I do not yet have the proper filter to compensate, so I am shooting the video with 24 FPS, 50/sec and F11. I am over exposing which I can only avoid with a filter. I cannot go higher than F11 because I was told the loss of sharpness was caused by this lens..yet, I need the F22 for more depth of field. I have been shooting at the lowest possible 100 ISO. Is there anything I can do to get the depth of field I need with this lens?

Thank you!!

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There can be a loss of sharpness due to diffraction at small apertures. There can be a loss of sharpness with insufficient depth of field with too large an aperture.

You can use a DoF calculator to determine if focusing at a different distance can help.

You can also just do a test yourself. Set the lens at f/22 and see if the image is sharp enough. 

You can use this tool to evaluate.

The loss of sharpness due to insufficient DoF could be much greater than the effect of diffraction.

[stevet1]

moonlight33,

Yeah, at 1/50th of a second, you are letting in a lot of light. A lot of videographers will use a 3 stop neutral density filter to offset that. You are right in thinking that a larger f/stop number would help, but I just don't think that using f/22 is the way to go. Your better bet is to bide your time and shoot later in the day or earlier in the morning when conditions are not so sunny until your filters arrive.

You could shoot at 30fps and 1/60th and that might help a little, but only a little.

That's just my opinion.

Steve Thomas

[moonlight33]

Thank you to everyone, yes, I previously shot the same scene at F22 and the softness was unusable, quite perplexing.  I used to shoot film (photos) with a Canon system/ 28-105 lens and the DoF was whatever I needed it to be...the lens was responsive to my settings.  With this digital system lens(which I am relatively new to in comparison) isn't allowing for the DoF that I require.  Admittedly, it isn't a very expensive lens.  But I am focusing about a third into the scene, as is my usual practice, but the setting is quite expansive... into the distance and I cannot get even a reasonable expanse at the sharpness that I wish for this video.  Will the filter do anything to ameliorate this in general?  I did shoot this latest setting at 6 p.m. and it was overcast!  I'm not able to understand the graph.  Thank you again for info.

[moonlight33]

Will the filters do anything for the sharpness? I shot this latest video at 6 p.m.  on an overcast day!

[jrhoffman75]

Can you post a link to a One Drive or Dropbox file of your video?

Are you using a tripod or gimbal?

[stevet1]

moonlight33,

No. A filter won't do anything about the sharpness n your photos or videos. It's just like your camera is wearing sunglasses.

From what I have read, lenses are at their sharpest about 2 stops down from their widest aperture.

Steve Thomas