chaseb Loc: Casa Grande, AZ

I have this new Canon Rebel T5 (NOT T5i!). My previous experience with an SLR dates back to my old Pentax. I had very good luck with the Pentax, but got sidetracked to a couple of Point & Shoot cameras that did a good job, but I now want to be able to do things like selective focus, etc.

First, I want to be able to use the T5 more or less in a P&S mode. I have tried "A", "P", & "Sv" modes, to (1) see a picture in the monitor screen, then(2) shoot it, but the auto focus takes so long to set up that by the time the shutter goes, the picture is gone! How do I use this lovely camera to take such pictures????

Second, I have tried some experiments with selective focus, but so far, the out of focus parts of the picture are sufficiently in focus, that they don't really do what I want. I used a model with the 18-55 mm lens, shooting in the "Av" mode. I could not get the lens (labelled "1:3.5-5.6 IS II" ) to the f3.5 setting. The lowest it would go was 4.0. In one shot I had the camera on a tripod, about 6-8 ft from the subject, ISO 100 and shutter speed was 1/125th. and it went to 6.7!

Third, I wonder if even the 3.5 is not just an ordinary lens, not suited for real pronounced Depth-of-field demonstrations?

I have seen a lens on eBay "Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM" lens. Do I have to go to lens like this, at f1.4, about 3' from the subject to get the kind of selective focus I am looking for, where the background is fuzzy really, REALLY out of focus?

ronwande Loc: Hendersonville NC

The dual F/stop specification means that the lens will go to F/3.5 at 18mm but only F5.6 at 55mm.

I'm sure you will get more comments / info from others here.

tsilva Loc: Arizona

Ron is correct. This lens maximum f/stop varies with it's focal length.

f/stop is only one factor that influences dof. Check this video out to see how everything works together -

http://youtu.be/OUYuUs1aaCU

Remember though, you will not get the same quality bokeh from the kit lens that you would get with a better lens.

Have fun shooting and show us your results!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

A detailed user guide should have come with the camera, but if not, below is a downloadable pdf. This should help with your questions about the speed of the auto-focus. You might want to adjust how many points are being selected for focus. On my T3i, I just use one.

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/2/0300014592/03/eos-rebelt5-1200d-im4-en.pdf

Regarding depth of field (how much of your background is out of focus), you might want to consider purchasing another lens. If budget is tight, you can purchase a used kit lens, 55-250 mm, for as little as $130 at B&H.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=canon+55-250&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&usedSearch=1&Top+Nav-Search=

I used the kit 55-250 for a couple of years and the out of focus backgrounds, particularly for flowers, were my favorite thing about the lens :)

Since then I have upgraded with two better lenses from B&H, both from the used dept. The company has a great reputation, btw.

chaseb Loc: Casa Grande, AZ

Thank you so much for the insight on focus depth of field question. I guess I should have known that, but somewhere in all the studying I never ran across it.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the response! :lol:

ThomasS Loc: Colorado

I'm not familiar with the T5, but with the right lens you should have no trouble getting the background out of focus. Select AV on the camera, not one of the fully automatic modes, and you should be able to select the 3.5 you are looking for. That 50mm 1.4 will definitely give you what you are looking for.