Interesting idea. It would take the equivalent of the stitch software to make panoramas but in the depth direction. I wonder how many "in-focus" slices a camera would have to take to get enough info for the software to create an images with a ".1 m to infinity" DOF. Obviously, it would depend on the FL and aperture, although I'm sure the sharpness would oscillate since the DOF is not an "all or nothing" phenomena. The software would be complicated but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.
This is true as things are at the moment, but I don't see why this couldn't be changed - particularly if companies are trying to come up with new things to sell cameras in the future, and if people are convinced they need this sort of thing. I think most of these types of limitations, such as DOF, can be overcome by computers - like maybe something that focuses in and out quickly to record a scene at a myriad of different focal points which can then be interpreted (interpolated) by software...or increasing sensitivity so much that depth of field is enormous (and can then be foreshortened by various types of blurring software). I can almost guarantee that everything is going to go post-production in this way. RSW _________________________________________________________________ Join the worldÆs largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com Steven Desjardins Department of Chemistry Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 24450 (540) 458-8873 FAX: (540) 458-8878 [EMAIL PROTECTED]