Hyperfocal distance unsure how 2 ubderstand

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shane1980

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Shane dennigan
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Hi,

I'm trying to understand hyperfocal distance but kinda confused I see David noton has a chart on his website but I don't follow it

Any advise or pointers to sites or how to understand charts?
 
Not sure what charts you mean


Essentially hyperfocal distance is the point at which for any given aperture (therefore total depth of field) the level of acceptable focus extends as far forward as possible and back as far as possible without wasting any distance. Bear in mind that (due to some physics) the limit of acceptable focus extends further beyond the focal point than infront

I find it easiest to think of it like this:

C = camera
X = focus point
() = limits of acceptable focus

f2.8 close
C--(-X--)-------


f2.8 far
C-------(-X--)--


f8 midle
C---(--X----)---


f16 focusing near
C(-X------)-----
Notice how at the front of the image (nearer the camera) you are losing some of your limits of acceptable focus because of focusing too close


f16 far
C--------(--X-)
hear you are focusing too far so are losing some of your limit beyond


f16 Hyperfocal distance
C---(---X------)
some of your foreground will still be out of focus but you have maximised how much is in focus.


With landscape photography you will want everything to infinity to be in focus so you sacrifice some of your foreground in order to extend to infinity. The hyperfocal distance minimises how much foreground you lose



There are several websites with different DoF and hyperfocal distance calculators or even printable tables. These tables allow you to look up the hyperfocal distance for a given focal length lens for your camera type (the crop ratio on bodies is important as these affect depth of field)

have a look at http://www.dofmaster.com/
 
Last edited:
Ricky, thats a fantastic demonstration. Its really helped me get my head around it.

Thanks
 
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