Easier Way to do DOF
josephlemons69_4db0991b45
Posts: 423
I wish there was an easier way to do Depth of Field in Studio, as someone with a Graphic Design degree who took Photography class in college this shouldn't be that hard yet I still cant wrap my head around DOF in studio, Yet I can take my image and put it in Photoshop and get DOF in like 2 seconds
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Be looking through the Perspective View
Make sure you can see both the camera you're going to render from and the thing you want the best focus on.
Select the camera and in the parameters tab turn on depth of field. You should see some guide coming from the camera.
Move the sliders in the same tab that depth of field is until the focus object is between the two squares in the focus guide lines.
(One slider moves both squares, one move one of the squares away from the other, Focal Distance and F-Stop)
Everything between the suares is in focus and goes out of focus the further away from that.
Note: iRay has a different sensitivity than 3Delight engine. (iRay squares should be closer than 3Delight to get a similar effect).
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/113601/how-to-use-depth-of-field
Better explanation with pictures
That takes way to many steps, I shouldnt have to just to set up DOF, Daz Studio should be smart enough to know how close you are to an object and be able to set DOF for you, I can do it in one click in ON1 Photo 10
ON1 isn't working in 3D. However, you can set up the DoF values by selecting the items you wan in focus and using the frame command (cmd/ctrl F, or use the viewfinder icon in the camera controls at top-right of the viewport).
I found that to be a very helpful description.... Thank you. Is it possible to see using the side views? Any other tricks you can think of to make it easier would be greatly apprecaited.
Aha, this explains why my depth of field is always almost perfect when I go to check it in Perspective.
Too Much work to do something that should be so simple, They say Iray is supposed to be more realistic well if it was realistic you would just have to point your camera and focus on what you want to be in focus and not have to do some stupid perspective crap to know if your in focus, Daz Needs a little render window down in the corner when you engage DOF that tells you if your in focus or not
You can change your preview window to Iray and that will show you if you are in focus.
Im a visual learner, these suggestions are not helping at all, some pictures would be nice
There's a freebie by cwichura that simplifies things a little bit.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/43636/
Pressing cmd(Mac)/ctrl(Win) F isn't automatic enough? Or ctrl-shift A to aim the camera without moving it (though its facing may need adjusting)?
Hover over the top of your Aux Viewport. A toolbar will appear. Change DrawStyle to NVIDIA Iray and View Selection to your camera.
When using Ctrl-F to focus I try to highlight a small but important part of what I want to focus on, for example in portraits I usually select an eye.
I agree it should be easier.
Flipmode's tutorial is the one that showed me how to do it.
http://flipmode3d.com/depth-of-field-daz-studio/
Depth of Field is not a simple, one click, answer in photography, either. Many things are considered: are you using a long lens, a medium lens, or a fisheye lens, etc.?; what shutter speed do you want to use (are you shooting action or still life, do you want to freeze the action or blur it)?; do you want a very shallow DoF or a medium or deep one, or focus to infinity?; do you want less focus in front of your subject and more beyond it, or the other way around, or a balance in the middle? One click will not do this with a camera, either.
Dana
MarcCCTx.. thank you.. THANK YOU.. THANNNNKK YOU!!!! DOF is now no longer a guessing game. You are AWESOME.
After I turn on DOF in the render camera I switch to either the left or top view cameras and adjust the focal distance and fstop there. My issue is that the focal distance is marked by a tiny green line that can easily get lost on the screen. I'd like to see the same wireframe target that Poser uses. It's a lot easier to see, though it lacks any help on the fstop settings. Or, they could make the green focal range marker infinitely link and multiple pixels thick on the non-render camera views.
And no, framing my camera and moving it into position doesn't work for me. DOF is usually the last thing I setup in a scene.
The DoF controls are usually more than just lines.
This is the method closest to actual photography to do it. Set preview window to iRay, and adjust the f-stop and focal distance with the sliders. It's not the method that always gives perfect results, but there's a charm to that as well.
Selecting the target and then pressing ctrl-F is more akin to modern digital cameras perhaps, if you're going for that experience.
This is because you're using the Left and Top views. The actual focal distance indicator is a green "+" sign. But from Top or Left, you're seeing it on edge. so it just looks like a line. It's easier to see from a perspective view.
Another tip for my fellow photographers, don't get hung up on the "f-stop" value for DOF calculations. Since the f-stop on the camera object only affects depth of field, not exposure, you will often find you're using very wild values. The point is to get the look that you want, not necessarily to accuratley simulate your SLR camera.
There are some visual aids in Studio that can make the whole process easy, and you don't have to switch views.
1. Add a camera and select it in the viewport and in the scene tab. You must be looking through the camera to see what happens next.
2. Place your camera about where you want it and frame the shot with Focal Length and Frame Width.
3. On the cameras tab, under Display->Camera View, set Near & Far DOF Plane Visibilities to ON. Change the DOF Overlay Color and Opacity if you want.
4.In the Camera section, set F/Stop to 0.0, and set Depth of Field ON. You will see the DOF Overlay planes (Near and Far together, since F/Stop is 0).
5. Adjust the Focal Distance so that the DOF Planes cut across the scene where you want to set the focus.
6. Now adjust F/Stop to spread the DOF Planes. You will only see the Near plane, but you can set it's Visibility to OFF to see the Far Plane. Fine tune to your liking, and turn OFF the Near and Far planes when you're done.
7. Render!
F-stop 0 is a good trick. Probably better than the default f-stop if you know you're going to want a particular field of focus. It also makes the point of focus easier to see since the near and far panes will show exactly where your camera is looking.
I find it easier to get the marker the correct distance using the left or top views. It's not just that it's thin, it's that it's too small.
I did a video too.