Digital Rebel newbie question

[zakmckracken]

Hello

I'm a G2/G5 user since 2 years ago, but I decided to go SLR now.
I just bought a Digital Rebel 300D with the stock 18-55 lens that came with a 20D (USM version).

I didnt have time to play that much I just did a photoshoot in my garden, only on the AUTO mode.

However when I came home and saw the pictures I realized that no matter how much light there is, the camera takes pictures with a very shallow DOF (at least compared to my G5). Is this a problem with the camera ? Is it the lens ?

Again, this is my first time with a SLR so probably Im asking dumb questions , please help me out.

Thanks very much

[wolf]

The G series cameras have a very wide DOF compared to an SLR. Here (http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_dof.html) is a good read on DOF which should help you out a bit.

[Citizensmith]

Its not a problem as its something you have a great deal of control over. The appeture you have the camera set to affects the appeture. On Auto the camera will default to the lenses widest appeture (f/3.5 for instance) which will have the shallowest depth of field. Stop it down to f/8 and you'll have much more depth of field. The wide appetures are why a lot of folks like SLRs over P&S cameras. The shallow DOF you can achieve can be great for isolating a subject from its background.

[markubig]

i own a digital rebel. In the daytime, if you're not shooting anything that requires you to really stop motion (i.e. sports), then you should shoot Av mode. That way, you have control of the Depth of Field and let the camera pick the shutter speed accordingly. Or at least shoot in P Mode, so when the camera picks the shutter and aperture, you can still adjust the exposure to your liking.

When you shoot in the Auto Mode, you have no control over your exposure. I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that if you were shooting your garden in the daytime, the camera metered a lot of light and set a fast shutter speed, thus needing a larger aperture to get the right exposure. Anyone?

[zakmckracken]

Thanks very much guys for the help. It makes much more sense now. I was afraid the camera had issues because compared to G5 on AUTO this was like shooting in "portrait" mode

Thanks !

[lostdoggy]

During bright light situations, the slr in full auto will increase shutter speed and close the aperture (this will make the aperture opening smaller: larger number: increase DOF) There is a setting on the rebel that will give you maximum DOF for given light level, AUTO DOF. Ithink its the last step on the dial. I haven't test it out yet so not sure of the result. Depending on the amount of DOF you desire try taking multiple shots in AV mode start with F16 and work your way up or down depending on lighting conditions.