Does a digital camera use depth of field like an SLR I was finally able to take decent pics using Shep Paines advice then I went digital A Fine Pix A205 by Fuji with a 2.0 mega pixel quality but the shots look like crap- wassup?

It would depend on if your digital camera has settings for things aperture priority. On yous SLR you could probably adjust the f-stop to give greater depth of field. Some cameras can do this, others can't.

Read the instructions for your camera, you are looking for a manual or aperture mode that allows you to set the f stop. F8 is often the smallest available on most consumer digital cameras

When dealing with depth of field there is a rule of thumb that professional photographers use. It is call rule of thirds.

In order to get your subject in full focus you focus at a point one third in. The depth of field will fall one third forward and two thirds back. You should shift your point of focus to make sure. Also you f stop is crucial depending on the focal length of your lens. A 35 mm will give more depth of field set at F5.6 than a 85mm set at the same F5.6

Hope this helps

Bizzphotos

While this is a handy rule of thumb, it does not apply to close up photography (true macro) where it becomes more 50/50.

The best rule of thumb however, is if you want it in focus, focus on it! It always looks better to have the things in the background blurry, rather than the object at the front.

If you pull back a little, and frame your subject a little more loosely, you will get a better depth of field. This is a trade off though, since you waste pixels and have to crop on the computer, but most cameras have the mega pixels these days to handle it as long as you don't go to extremes.