Hyperfocal Focusing

[drummercow]

Hi All,

Was reading a bit about taking pictures of landscapes and one thing that came up was the issue of hyperfocal focusing.

To my understanding, its setting your aperture at its largest possible value, but still having everything in the frame in sharp focus.

Problem is, that I dont understand how to determine this aperture value...

Possibly, it might be because I've got a wrong understanding of the concept of hyperfocal focusing...

Help Pls?

 

[gooseberry]

To my understanding, its setting your aperture at its largest possible value, but still having everything in the frame in sharp focus.

No, the theory is to obtain the maximum depth of field for a given focal length, aperture (and circle of confusion), by setting the lens focus to the hyperfocal distance for that setting.

Have a look here for more info and a guide for what the hyperfocal distance is for various focal length and aperture settings

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/guides/dof/hyperfocal1.html

 

[drummercow]

Ah... ok ok thanks gooseberry

 

[SniperD]

hyperfocusing is very good in street photography coz you can judge distance and focus without looking into the viewfinder. Rangefinders work like that.

 

[hongsien]

Not only rangefinders lah! Every lens works this way....its just a perception of sharpness. Take a lens and you see the distance scale: along the distance scale there is usually some markings for the different apertures. If you use F8, turn the focusing ring till the infinity sign is opposite that marking that corresponds to F8, and your lens is set its hyperfocal length for that aperture (everything from infinity to a certain distance is sharp within the circle of confusion).

Hong Sien

 

[student]

Not only rangefinders lah! Every lens works this way....its just a perception of sharpness. Take a lens and you see the distance scale: along the distance scale there is usually some markings for the different apertures. If you use F8, turn the focusing ring till the infinity sign is opposite that marking that corresponds to F8, and your lens is set its hyperfocal length for that aperture (everything from infinity to a certain distance is sharp within the circle of confusion).

Hong Sien

Hong Sien is absolutely correct. It is independent of the type of camera - rangefinder or SLR. That is the way to use hyperfocal focussing.

In case that is not clear enough, I will illustrate with my 35mm lens which in front of me. Say I choose to use f8. On this lens, there is a series of markings starting with 16 (the smallest aperture on this lens) on the LEFT. As the markings go to the RIGHT, the markings are 11, 8, 5.6, 4, 2 and an arrow sign. Then as I continue to move right, the markings are 2, 4, 5.6, 8, and 11. The numbers corresonding to the apertures. As Hong Sien indicated, when I want to use f8 , I move the focussing barrel so that the infinity mark, which is on the RIGHT side of the barrel, are in line with the number 8 on the earlier markings on the RIGHT side. Then I look at the number 8 on the LEFT side, and it correspond to about 8 feet. Meaning when I set it this way, at f8, the image will be "sharp" from 8 feet onwards.

It seems more confusing to write than doing. Take a lens (a prime lens) and test it out. With zoom lenses, it is a little more difficult to determine hyperfocal focussing. Some members may be able to advise you with zoom lenses.

However if I may be a little more technical. Actually not all that is within that range of distance is actually in focus. In actual fact, for ANY lens, only one plane is in sharp focus. When one talks about depth of field, it is talking about acceptable sharpness, because or normal viewing the sharpness is adequate.