DOF Auto bracketing on Nikon D810 Advice

[mikeodial]

I am enjoying my new D810 and have several manual lenses which is both good and bad. When I have a shot I would really like to "ensure" I have a shot with the subject in focus and isolated I would like to use the bracketing function to achieve the following:

1. Take 3-5 shots in succession after the manual focusing point has been set
2. Have the camera modify the aperture, but not exposure level of the image. (e.g. first shot 1/250@f8, second shot 1/125@f11, third shot 1/500@f5.6) So all the shots would receive the same amount of light, but create different DOF due to changes in aperture setting.
3. Ideally also being able to keep auto ISO active which would mean the shutter speed would remain constant (e.g. 1/500 and the ISO increases with smaller apertures) --- I realize that is somewhat of a compromise, but the range of acceptable DR on the D810 is wide.

Right now I have the feeling I can set up the bracketing to achieve this with the D810 in manual focusing mode, but not exactly sure how.

This would also be great for landscapes where I often take shots to isolate the subject in a bigger scene, but would like to have more control over DOF when I have an important shot to take instead of modifying the camera set up each time or every shot. (Sort of infocus insurance).

Ideas and suggestions welcome. (I call this DOF bracketing, and would be a great function for manual and autofocus lenses.)

Mike

[mikeodial]

As there have been no responses should I be considering:

1. Focus stacking
2. Just manual aperture control with separate settings.
3. Some form of remote "manual" programing from a smart phone/ipad

Thoughts are welcome.

Mike

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

As there have been no responses should I be considering:

1. Focus stacking
2. Just manual aperture control with separate settings.
3. Some form of remote "manual" programing from a smart phone/ipad

Thoughts are welcome.

Hi Mike,

The difficulty with varying the aperture is that it becomes harder to register the images automatically, mask the different slices, and the plane of best focus will exhibit varying degrees of diffraction. There is a reason why focus stacking normally is done by varying the focus distance, but with constant aperture, it's a more robust method.

Cheers,
Bart

[mikeodial]

Thanks and yes I agree that for focus stacking the method you describe is the only way. My question however, was for a little different purpose.

I was wanting to have a range of photos with the same focal point but at different apertures to isolate the range of subject in focus. Sort of an insurance policy just in case I preferred sometime with more or less DOF afterwards. It seemed using the Bracketing (which this is not technically bracketing) feature might be a way around this.

Otherwise I will do what I have been doing for years. Take the pictures manually.

For larger subjects in landscape this is still probably the optimum method, but I take a lot of flowers and this type of isolation, combined with the bokeh of the lens can be hard to manage, as sometimes the range of depth of field may be outside objects I am focusing on.

Hope that makes a little more sense.

Thank you for your input.

Mike

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

For larger subjects in landscape this is still probably the optimum method, but I take a lot of flowers and this type of isolation, combined with the bokeh of the lens can be hard to manage, as sometimes the range of depth of field may be outside objects I am focusing on.

Yes, taking a wider aperture shot for a less obtrusive background, and a narrower aperture one for the close-up main subject, is a usable method. But for increasing the physically possible DOF, and avoiding loss of contrast due to diffraction at the same time, is more often solved by focusstacking or by using a Tilt/Shift lens.

Cheers,
Bart

[mikeodial]

Hi Bart,

Yes, I agree with you. If I am trying to extend the DOF then focus stacking is the way to go. I also see what you are saying that by taking the pictures this way I can "extend" the DOF artificially, without compromising image quality. Hadn't thought about it that way. Providing I don't have a moving subject this will work, but less so with wind movement etc.

Got me thinking again about the issue.