Why no "maximum depth of field program" ?

Del Paso

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I still wonder, why Canon hasn't taken the chance to provide the EOS R5 with an AUTOMATIC maximum DOF program.
It would be a huge help for landscapers, if you could automatically obtain maximum DOF to infinity, for preselected apertures. All new AF lenses lack a usable DOF scale...
With, for instance rangefinder lenses, Leica, Zeiss or even Canon Nikon manual (No AF) lenses, it was easy, especially for wide angles.
I'm convinced, this would be a welcome feature for many stills photographers.
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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I think the bigger problem for that kind of feature now is the concept of ‘acceptable focus,’ which is the determining factor for dof, is so different for different people. Birders that crop in to 1:1 have very different ideas of acceptable focus than landscapers outputting at web resolutions.

Of course the acceptable focus concept does have definitions, but nowadays it is far too easy to shout bad things about anything rather than learn the definition of what is being denigrated.
 
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Del Paso

M3 Singlestroke
CR Pro
Aug 9, 2018
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I think the bigger problem for that kind of feature now is the concept of ‘acceptable focus,’ which is the determining factor for dof, is so different for different people. Birders that crop in to 1:1 have very different ideas of acceptable focus than landscapers outputting at web resolutions.

Of course the acceptable focus concept does have definitions, but nowadays it is far too easy to shout bad things about anything rather than learn the definition of what is being denigrated.
You are basically right, of course (really great article by Keith on the subject(y)).
But in practice (Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2,8), I obtain tack-sharp landscapes from near to infinity.
Sharpness distribution is obviously a matter of compromise, yet, in my specific case, I get better results than with the EF 24mm f1,4, and know exactly what will be in "focus".
The EF 24mm is about as sharp as the Zeiss, but no way to know from where to where ...
 
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Del Paso

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stevelee

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I use hyperfocal distance as a guide. In a landscape if the nearest things I want in focus are farther away than the hyperfocal distance for that aperture, then I should be OK. In shooting video of basketball pick up games, I would set manual focus, leave the zoom alone, and focus on the rim of a basket. DOF kept everybody on the court in good focus. It beat having autofocus fishing around dusting shooting. And I could zoom in during post, especially if I shot 4K and output was 1080p. All that works best with shorter lenses, of course.

All that said, it seems like I had the auto depth of field setting on some camera I owned, maybe a Rebel or S or G camera, because I think I remember trying it out. But the techniques above work well enough I really didn’t feel much need for it.
 
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