Hi all. I have been asked to shoot a friends model railroad. For the shoot, I plan on doing mostly up close shots of his trains as they roll through the scenery. In some cases, I may be following the train as it travels around the layout (it is very extensive and the scenery is well done).
My question is this: Is there anyway I can broaden the area of focus to include as much distance in front of the train as in back of it. So far, I can keep the lead engine in focus as it moves, but there is a very narrow margin for error before I loose focus and the engine become blurry. Can I increase the depth of the focus?

I have a Sony SR11.

Thanks.
Mike

1) try shooting in aperture priority mode, wherein you are setting the aperture at f7 or even f8... that will give you the greatest depth of field, but at the extremes, there is resolution loss in the lens... hopefully the sony won't go under 1/60th of a second shutter speed.

2) use manual focus, on a mid-way point of the tracks... zoom in, set focus in autofocus mode, then immediate switch to manual focus for the shot.

if you post it on the 'net, send us a link!

Thanks O. I'll try your suggestions.

Mike

With the SR11 you won't see the f stops though, but what OSV says is correct, close the iris and you increase the DOF. Also have the camera close but on a wide shot. Those things combined with the relatively small image sensor these things have, and you will be fine. You can also try the Spot Focus feature, which allows you to touch the area in the viewfinder for what you want the camera to focus on.

OK, will give it all a shot. Thanks.

Mike

OK, will give it all a shot. Thanks.

Mike

OK, so how, with my SR11, do I adjust the iris?

Mike