Depth of Field is Wrong 5.4 // Cinematographer Weighs In

Epic. Why do I have to put my lens F-Stop at something insane like 0.01-0.03 in order to see ANY depth of field in my cinematics? This is wild. It looks nearly like a tilt shift lens, which makes all my renders look like miniatures.

If I’m on an 80mm lens at 1.2, I should get some beautiful fall off both near the camera, and very far away from the camera, if I’m focusing somewhere in the focal planar area before we get to the hyperfocal distance (or the distance where everything is in focus if you focus on that or beyond).

Instead I’m over here defying the laws of optics, and what is happening is that all of my WEATHER elements are getting messed up entirely, so I can’t see any particulate at all because now my f/stop is so thin in order to see any effect on the landscape at all, that the rain itself isn’t showing up.

Please. For the love. Make the depth of field either more controllable with post-process/lens settings, or at the least make the lens lengths work like actual lens lengths. Those hyperfocal distances are easily accessible online, easy to code in. You have so many “Camera Back” settings, so many options for the sensor/film size, and then we’re just left out to dry with lenses. The whole point is to have a controllable depth of field. You even have Iris Blade numbers! Why control the bokeh at all if the depth of field is so wildly off.

Best/
A Cinematographer

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