[Rudeofus]

Hamster seems to be talking about miniature format, since he refers to fast lenses. In miniature format, one does indeed have something of a choice about how shallow depth of field might be. But in the larger formats, relatively shallow depth of field is more or less a given—depending on how long an exposure is feasible.

Is this really the case? I know of no medium or large format lens comparable (in terms of DOF) to the 50 F/1.0 or the 85 F/1.2 for "miniature format" as you call it. While it may be more difficult to get everything in focus with MF/LF, insanely shallow DOF may actually be more feasible with 35mm cameras.