Distance Scale

[yehosaphat]

Got a question here... Anyone can explain the distance scale on the lens and how to use that?

I believe it is related to taking landscape shots and wanting everything in the composition to be sharp using a large f stop. How do you focus using the distance scale? I believe in the past there are DOF scale but not now in the regular canon lens right?

 

[zj2000]

Ok, let me use ur 50mm 1.2 as an example... you see those inscriptions outside the distance window? 16, 11, 8, 8, 11, 16..... those will give you an idea of the dof... say if you shoot at f16, u look in to your distance window and see what the 16 on the left and on the right is pointing at, if the one on the left is pointing at 3.5 meters and the one on the right is pointing at infinity, this mean everthing from 3.5m to infinity is in focus

 

[yehosaphat]

Ok, let me use ur 50mm 1.2 as an example... you see those inscriptions outside the distance window? 16, 11, 8, 8, 11, 16..... those will give you an idea of the dof... say if you shoot at f16, u look in to your distance window and see what the 16 on the left and on the right is pointing at, if the one on the left is pointing at 3.5 meters and the one on the right is pointing at infinity, this mean everthing from 3.5m to infinity is in focus

I see... if I focus at f11, I should look at the '11' mark at both the left and right side is it??

So does the centre mark mean anything?

I realised that the distance marking change if i focus near and far. If the left says 3.5m does that mean my subject is at 3.5m away or further than 3.5m?

Thanks!

 

[Michael]

as the name indicates, the distance scale gives you the distance where your focus. It is really that simple. 3.5m means that your focus plane is at 3.5m...

 

[yehosaphat]

But if say my subject is at 3.5m away, and the distance scale says 3.5m, how far infront of the subject will it be in focus?

And for say the 17-40 lens, there is only 1 marking instead of the 50mm. What does that mean?

 

[zj2000]

But if say my subject is at 3.5m away, and the distance scale says 3.5m, how far infront of the subject will it be in focus?

And for say the 17-40 lens, there is only 1 marking instead of the 50mm. What does that mean?

Look at the inscriptions, if you shoot at f8, 11 or 16 then u can use the markings on the right and left as a guide. Any other aperture you won't be able to tell from the distance window.....

For zoom lenses you won't get any markings so you'll only know how far your lens is focussed at and not the dof....