How to get DOF indoors?

I'm having trouble getting great DOF indoors and need advice. How do you, for instance, get all the people in a room, in focus. When I set my Aperture to f/11 of f/16 it slows the shudder WAAAY down - too slow to hand hold. Also, I can't set the aperture so small when using a flash. Is the only answer a tripod and slow shutter speeds to get everything in focus?

Why are P&S cameras so much better at getting DOF than DSLRS?

I hate having to up the ISO to 800 or 1600 to get DOF in a room with normal light conditions.

Any help would be appreciated.

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What lens are you using?

It doesn't matter if you are indoors or out, if there isn't enough light you either have to crank up the ISO, open the aperture or use a slower shutter speed (using a tripod)

P&S cameras, as far as I know have different size (smaller) sensors and because of this the lens focal length is shorter, which will give a greater DOF, but there is a trade-off in image quality because of the smaller sensor

You can use ISO 1600 and use some noise reduction software to help with the noise, but correct exposure will help a lot with high ISO noise, you certainly don't want to under expose.

On this shot I used my EF-S 17-85 f/4-5.6. I know this lens gets a lot of bad press, but I generally get very good sharp shots with it when using flash (430 EX) in manual mode.

I had the same problem when I tried to photograph a group of students sitting at their desks in a classroom. I wanted the whole room to be in focus, so I set my aperature at f/16, but this caused the shutter to be so slow, even with a tripod, I got a lot of blur from the students moving.

I suppose I will just have to crank up the ISO, huh?

Stupid question but I take it you did have the IS turned on?

If you do crank up the ISO I have found ISOX (PS action) from FM good for reducing noise.

If you use ISO 1600, f/8, and a flash, that should be sufficient, unless you're shooting in a cave. If you shoot higher than f/11, diffraction can occur. And with a tripod, there shouldn't be an issue. Just turn off the IS when using one.

Your shot doesn't look sharp at all. Maybe you didn't resharpen after downsizing.

You won't get everyone's head sharp and in focus. If you use a wide focal length and even as wide as f4 you'll have a large DOF. You can see everything as nothing will be blurred. Also focus 1/3 of the way from you to your subject. This will maximize DOF.

So don't? Life isn't perfect, so if you need a LOT of DOF, start with a tripod. Shoot lots & throw the ones where someone moves away.

Good advice, but why would you want to see the back of some bald guys head sharp, anyway? Or is this just an academic question?
I'd probably use f/4 - f/5.6 to throw him out of focus & draw the viewers attention to the front of the room.

Noise at a high ISO is much reduced IF you get the proper exposure, or maybe shoot RAW & chimp the exposure 1/2 stop past the right.

Hellashot wrote in post #2247857
Also focus 1/3 of the way from you to your subject. This will maximize DOF.

Yes, but the DOF will start just in front of you and the subject will be on the edge of being out of focus, or more likely OOF completely as the 1/3 is only a rough guide and at close ranges is inaccurate.

If you want to use that technique, focus 1/3 of the way between the nearest and furthest people in the room that you want to be in focus. So if you have someone 12 ft away and someone else 20 ft away, and want them both as sharp as possible, focus should be at around 15 ft. However, you still need enough DOF to cover them both, or they'll both be OOF.

In this case focusing 1/3 between you and the furthest subject would mean focusing at under 7 ft, so both would be OOF.

sandpiper wrote in post #2248058
Yes, but the DOF will start just in front of you and the subject will be on the edge of being out of focus, or more likely OOF completely as the 1/3 is only a rough guide and at close ranges is inaccurate.

If you want to use that technique, focus 1/3 of the way between the nearest and furthest people in the room that you want to be in focus. So if you have someone 12 ft away and someone else 20 ft away, and want them both as sharp as possible, focus should be at around 15 ft. However, you still need enough DOF to cover them both, or they'll both be OOF.

In this case focusing 1/3 between you and the furthest subject would mean focusing at under 7 ft, so both would be OOF.

Look at his picture. His "subject", the speaker, is quite small. You aren't going to see a lot of detail on the person no matter what. The poster needs to learn indoor photography skills. He's too afraid to go to high iso to use smaller appeture.

What is important to this shot is showing there is people in the audience and that there is a speaker.

Something like this: 28mm, iso3200, f4, 5D
http://albums.photo.ep​son.com …510&a=32355299&​p=75006341

John,

These are the issues photographers have been dealing with for centuries, and unfortunately there's no free lunch. Each method of getting good exposure in low light (slow shutter, wide aperture, high ISO) has its drawbacks.

The answer to your question lies in finding the best compromise, and as Frank suggested, sometimes taking several shots to get one keeper. But you should keep in mind:

1) The digital noise from high ISO settings tends to disappear in prints smaller than 8x10. Don't be afraid to crank the ISO up if you need to.

2) The aperture you need to get the majority of the image acceptably sharp may be wider than you think, especially with wide lenses. Play around with some DOF calculators like the ones at http://dofmaster.com to get a better idea of what's realistic.