Why doesn’t changing aperture blur the background on a Fujifilm FinePix S4000?
Asked 12/31/2011
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I’m a beginner trying to understand aperture and background blur on my Fujifilm FinePix S4000. I compared two photos shot at the same focal length (7mm), one at f/4 and one at f/10, but the background looks almost the same in both. I expected the lower f-number to give me more blur. Is this because of the focal length, the camera’s small sensor, or how this camera handles aperture? What settings or shooting approach should I use if I want more background blur with this camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
20
There is NO difference at ALL because the physical aperture has not changed.
The Fuji Finepix S4000 simulates a small aperture using an ND filter. When you stop-down the ND filter slides into the optical path. The Aperture written in the EXIF data is adjusted to reflect the transmittance of the ND filter, but note that since the size of the opening has not changed Depth-Of-Field does not change either.
Not only do such cameras have very small sensors and extensive depth-of-field but they are also extremely prone to diffraction. If the aperture were actually stopped down to F/10, images would get quite blurry.
Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1620
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On the S4000, changing from f/4 to f/10 may not change depth of field the way you expect. According to the community answers, this camera simulates the smaller aperture with an ND filter rather than greatly reducing the physical aperture, so the EXIF changes but the actual opening may not. That means background blur may stay essentially the same.
Also, at 7mm you’re using a very short focal length, which naturally gives very large depth of field—so most of the scene stays in focus regardless.
To get more background blur, the practical approach is:
- use the widest aperture available
- zoom in to a longer focal length
- move closer to your subject
- keep the background as far behind the subject as possible
Compact superzoom cameras with small sensors generally make strong background blur harder than larger-sensor cameras do, so your camera has limits here.
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