How to Use Depth of Field

Nathuado

Wanting to know how to use depth of field on the camera (in Daz Studio), so that a particular object is in focus.  I thought it might have been a matter of working out the distance between the camera and the object, but I find myself doing any number of test renders, changing the focal distance value each time, until my figure is in focus (this can take forever).  I'm thinking there must be a simpler way.  Is there a tutorial for this?

BeeMKay

1. http://flipmode3d.com/depth-of-field-daz-studio/
2. Use Perspective view while selecting the camera in the Scene tab. (Image shoplifted from http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/56928/iray-camera-wierdness-depth-of-field-take-note

kaotkbliss

That is probably the easiest-to-understand diagram I've seen for focal points in DS :)

Deke

Pictures are worth a lot of words and tutorials should use more of them.  I find DOF does boost render time. One work around if you're doing animation is to render in layers, comp in AE, and then add a blur effect to the layers you want softer.

IceDragonArt

There is a contest over in the newbie thread this month on Depth of Field.  Lots of good information there as well.    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/110451/sept-2016-new-user-contest-depth-of-field-wip-thread#latest

MarcCCTx

Note: you get different results in Iray and 3Delight. You want to tighten up the focal distance in Iray to get the same effect.

Nathuado

Thanks for that tutorial and other comments - just what I was looking for.