Blurred Background

[HarryG]

I am just getting to taking pic's with my digital camera. I saw some of the Hummingbird pics and I am trying to get the same effect. I have lowered my aperature (F 2.8) and the shutter speed is fairly high. I have a Fuji E550. Can this camera give me the effect that I want?

[Steve Foss]

Harry, it depends on the power of the lens. An aperature of f2.8 with a 400mm lens gives you a much shallower depth of focus than f2.8 with a 50mm lens. So it's easier to achieve an out-of-focus background/foreground (called bokeh) with the 400 at that setting than the 50. What lens are you using?

And the option, if your lens depth-of-focus is too deep even at f2.8 to give you the bokeh you want, is always to make sure the background is as far away as it can get. That puts it farther behind the focus plane and will add to the blurr.

[HarryG]

I am using the lens that it came with. It is not very big. I may need to add that at a later time. I will work on keeping the background as far away as I can. I was impressed with the hummingbird pictures so I thought I would do some research on the subject.

Thanks for the info.