hyperfocal distance


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jeanie

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May 19, 2005
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Newbie ques again.

how do i set hyperfocal distance on my lens?
is it really necessary for landscape shots?

assuming i'm shooting mount Fuji with a flowery foreground.
what aperture should i generally use?f8 or f11 right?cos i read somewhere the higher the f, the less sharper your image becomes.

thanks for advice
 

Actually the higher the f number.. the range in focus is larger.. so more things should be sharp (in focus).. :)
 

Newbie ques again.

how do i set hyperfocal distance on my lens?
is it really necessary for landscape shots?

assuming i'm shooting mount Fuji with a flowery foreground.
what aperture should i generally use?f8 or f11 right?cos i read somewhere the higher the f, the less sharper your image becomes.

thanks for advice

so u are trying to get everything into focus?? use f22... this and hyperfocal is not the same, but somehow u can achieve the same effect...

it has to depend how close is the flowery foreground... hyperfocal is the point near the infintiy mark on your lens

hopefully it correct.. :embrass:
 

Actually the higher the f number.. the range in focus is larger.. so more things should be sharp (in focus).. :)

i think you misunderstood my ques or maybe i didnt ask correctly.

i understand DOF.and f22 is best for front to back sharpness wrt a lens, but if you stop down to f22, your pic will not be as SHARP as f8 or f11 when you blow up the details.
every lens has a point in which their aperture is gives the sharpest result.and usually it's not towards the end of either f stop.

correct me if i'm wrong old birds.
 

Newbie ques again.

how do i set hyperfocal distance on my lens?
is it really necessary for landscape shots?

assuming i'm shooting mount Fuji with a flowery foreground.
what aperture should i generally use?f8 or f11 right?cos i read somewhere the higher the f, the less sharper your image becomes.

thanks for advice

Check this out:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/hyperfocal-distance.htm

Yes, when the aperture is very small, diffraction sets in and cause a little softness in the photo. Different lens behave differently, but this is generally true.
 

so u are trying to get everything into focus?? use f22... this and hyperfocal is not the same, but somehow u can achieve the same effect...

it has to depend how close is the flowery foreground... hyperfocal is the point near the infintiy mark on your lens

hopefully it correct.. :embrass:
erm no that's not correct at all. hyperfocal distance is not the mark next the infinity spot on any lens. it's a technique, not a specific position & it varies from lenses to lenses and the focal distance required.

bit tricky to explain, but here's a good link with diagrams...
http://www.great-landscape-photography.com/hyperfocal.html
 

Perhaps, you are referring to the diffraction limiter of the lens. This is true, esp., if you shoot digital.

In lay mans term, you could call it the point of diminishing return. Most lens' ideal lies around, f/8 &/or f/11... in that sense, you are right. But you still need to know (if you are interested to stretch the limit) of the hyperfocal to maximize sharpness of your subject/pic.



i think you misunderstood my ques or maybe i didnt ask correctly.

i understand DOF.and f22 is best for front to back sharpness wrt a lens, but if you stop down to f22, your pic will not be as SHARP as f8 or f11 when you blow up the details.
every lens has a point in which their aperture is gives the sharpest result.and usually it's not towards the end of either f stop.

correct me if i'm wrong old birds.
 

so u are trying to get everything into focus?? use f22... this and hyperfocal is not the same, but somehow u can achieve the same effect...

it has to depend how close is the flowery foreground... hyperfocal is the point near the infintiy mark on your lens

hopefully it correct.. :embrass:

Actually...

you dun get away with it by using f22 all the time. Do note that using the minimum aperture the lens offer can also lose sharpness. There is something called diffraction which occurs for the DSLRs, some are at f13, some at f16.

Also the hyperfocal distance is the distance which will allow the foreground and background to be in focus at the same time. This can be done with calculations.

Some sites which were provided in previous threads :

Depth Of Field Calculator

DOFMaster - Depth of Field Calculators
 

i just read that and i think his cambridge angmor too chiem for me to understand.i need singlish.:bsmilie:
Aiyoh... like that how?

This is one of the most comprehensive explanation I can find. Which part you don't understand? Let's see how I can help explain.
 

the link posted by larry is easier to understand.

ok, here's my query.given a scene of mount fuji and a fore ground of flowers.
before i put my dslr to my eye, is it possible to SET the hyperfocal distance right away on the lens?
OR do i have to focus on mount fuji(infinity), then adjust back to the hyperfocal distance, then find out how many feet/meters(let's say,distance A) in front of me will be sharp TO infinity and focus on that?(distance A)

i apologise if my ques sounds stupid.:dunno:
 

So how do you do a hyperfocal using current DSLR lenses? Anyone has any ideas? Can we do the following?

1. Set manual function
2. Set f-stop to 8 or 11
3. Manual focus to infinity then turn it back so that the desired foreground becomes clear
4. Press the depth of view button to see if the background is in focus as well
5. if background is not in focus then adjust the manual focus towards infinity point

That work? Must try it somehow when I get back tonight.
 

So how do you do a hyperfocal using current DSLR lenses? Anyone has any ideas? Can we do the following?

1. Set manual function
2. Set f-stop to 8 or 11
3. Manual focus to infinity then turn it back so that the desired foreground becomes clear
4. Press the depth of view button to see if the background is in focus as well
5. if background is not in focus then adjust the manual focus towards infinity point

That work? Must try it somehow when I get back tonight.

actually, will aperture priority work instead of manual?since all you have to worry is aperture rite?
 

the link posted by larry is easier to understand.

ok, here's my query.given a scene of mount fuji and a fore ground of flowers.
before i put my dslr to my eye, is it possible to SET the hyperfocal distance right away on the lens?
OR do i have to focus on mount fuji(infinity), then adjust back to the hyperfocal distance, then find out how many feet/meters(let's say,distance A) in front of me will be sharp TO infinity and focus on that?(distance A)

i apologise if my ques sounds stupid.:dunno:


2 ways you can get about setting hyperfocal distance...

1st way: if your lens have a DOF markings like in the link Larry posted, set ur infinity mark to the DOF marking corresponding to the aperture u r using...

2nd way: use the hyperfocal distance calculator at the bottom of the link of Scaglietti's post and then set the focussing distance accordingly...

well, this all works provided u have distance marking on ur lens... and of course in manual focussing mode...

basically hyperfocal distance is maximising your lens's DOF... which means it's the setting where the DOF is the greatest...
 

the link posted by larry is easier to understand.

ok, here's my query.given a scene of mount fuji and a fore ground of flowers.
before i put my dslr to my eye, is it possible to SET the hyperfocal distance right away on the lens?
OR do i have to focus on mount fuji(infinity), then adjust back to the hyperfocal distance, then find out how many feet/meters(let's say,distance A) in front of me will be sharp TO infinity and focus on that?(distance A)

i apologise if my ques sounds stupid.:dunno:

Strictly speaking no.

There is one component that you need to take into consideration: print size and view distance.

Let me explain DOF first.

In a photo, there is only 1 plane that will be in focus. Moving away from this plane, the blurness will increase with the distance from this plane of focus. Human eye has limited resolution. When the blurness is very small, our eye will still register this small blurness as in focus. Therefore, when the print is big or distance is close, our eyes can detect more blurness. (Think big poster appearing focus when far, but blur when close.) This range of distance from the plane of focus where object appear focused to our eyes is the DOF.

Therefore, factors affecting DOF is:

1. Final pictue - print size & view distance (in calculators that doesn't require you to input this, they already made an assumption on the print size and viewing distance, usually 8x10in print at 1ft viewing distance)

2. Sensor or film size

3. Aperture

4. Lens focal length

5. Distance of subject

Now, back to your question "is it possible to SET the hyperfocal distance right away on the lens?"
The answer is no, unless you have already in your mind the the print size/viewing distance, and you can do a mental DOF/hyperfocal distance calculations.

My suggestion is to use the link I posted to make the calculations and print a copy of the hyperfocal distance chart and keep it with you.
 

the link posted by larry is easier to understand.

ok, here's my query.given a scene of mount fuji and a fore ground of flowers.
before i put my dslr to my eye, is it possible to SET the hyperfocal distance right away on the lens?
OR do i have to focus on mount fuji(infinity), then adjust back to the hyperfocal distance, then find out how many feet/meters(let's say,distance A) in front of me will be sharp TO infinity and focus on that?(distance A)

i apologise if my ques sounds stupid.:dunno:

Let's see.

it all depends on the focal length of the lens used on the camera and also the distance of the subject which you want to be in focus.

I did a simple calculation of using a Nikon D100 or D200 and a lens focal length of 24mm at f22. And the subject, well.. let's put it at 300m away.

For such a senario, you should have infinite DOF, so your worry would be the foreground. And according to the calculations, you should focus at 1.3m away to get all the foreground and background in focus.

The values remain even when I choose the subject distance to 100m.

Only when you change the aperture to a larger one, say f16. Would you get a slight difference. 100 or 300m distance, you'd need 1.82m as hyperfocal distance.

And yes jeanie,

aperture mode is all you need.
 

basically hyperfocal distance is maximising your lens's DOF... which means it's the setting where the DOF is the greatest...

errr... not correct. Hyperfocal distance is the minimum distance at which the upper limit of the DOF is infinity.
 

Please also note that DOF marking on lenses are usually for 35mm format and based on assumed print size and viewing distance (usually 8x10in print at 1ft viewing distance). For DX format, the DOF is different.
 

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