[John]

Originally Posted by Tannin

I haven't really got to gips with depth of field mode on the 20D. I used it a little when I first got the camera, but not at all since then. I just set the ISO as high as I dare and stop it down as far as I can (given the available light), focus on an object that I guess is about the right distance away, and press the shutter. (Sometimes I bracket focus.)

It sounds like a very hit-or-miss method and ... guesss what .... the results are very hit or miss. Sometimmes I get a good result, sometimes it's a bin job. I sometimes wonder if I need to take the time to get more scientific about it, other times I think it's just a matter of developing an eye for it as my experience builds up. Perhaps the correct answer is a little of both.

I often toy with the idea of getting a tilt-shift lens, but I'm afraid that the reality is that I'm not good enough to get full advantage from the lenses I already have, so maybe buying yet another one is a little pointless at this stage.

Besides, by the time you combine modern 1.6 crop viewfinders (less light on the mirror = less clarity through the viewfinder than the old film cameras) with these stupid ground glass focus screens you get these days (whatever happened to the wonderful old split image screen?) it's very hard to be sure you are getting a good manual focus. Maybe I should get one of those third-party focusing screens.

(Oh, I have an angle finder, which is supposed to help, but don't seem to use it much. Maybe when the spring arrives and the wildflower season starts.)

Thank you Tannin.

John