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Glossary
- Hyperfocal distance: is the closest focusing distance at which everything from half that distance to infinity appears acceptably sharp in a photo.
- Focal Length: the focal length of a lens, measured in millimeters (e.g., 24mm, 50mm, 200mm), describes the distance between the lens's optical center and the camera's sensor when the subject is in focus. Focal length determines the lens's angle of view and magnification:
- Short focal lengths (e.g., 24mm) provide a wider angle of view and are often used in landscape and architectural photography.
- Longer focal lengths (e.g., 85mm or 200mm) offer a narrower field of view and greater magnification, making them ideal for portraits and wildlife photography.
- Aperture: the aperture of a lens refers to the opening through which light enters the camera, controlled by adjustable blades inside the lens. The aperture size is expressed in f-stops (e.g., f/2.8, f/5.6, f/16), where:
- A lower f-stop number (e.g., f/1.8) represents a larger opening, allowing more light into the sensor and creating a shallow depth of field (ideal for low-light or portrait photography).
- A higher f-stop number (e.g., f/16) indicates a smaller opening, which reduces light intake and increases depth of field (useful in landscapes).
Hyperfocal distance
The hyperfocal distance 𝐻 in photography refers to the closest distance at which a lens can be focused while keeping objects at infinity acceptably sharp. When the lens is focused at this point, everything from half the hyperfocal distance 𝐻 / 2 to infinity will appear in acceptable focus, maximizing the depth of field. This concept is especially useful in landscape photography, where you want as much of the scene as possible to be in focus.
Variables that affect Hyperfocal Distance
The hyperfocal distance depends on three main variables:
- Focal Length: The longer the focal length (e.g., a telephoto lens), the greater the hyperfocal distance, meaning you'll need to focus further away to achieve maximum depth of field. Conversely, shorter focal lengths (e.g., wide-angle lenses) have shorter hyperfocal distances, allowing more of the scene to be in focus.
- Aperture (f-stop): A smaller aperture (e.g., f/16) increases depth of field and brings the hyperfocal distance closer to the camera, while a larger aperture (e.g., f/2.8) reduces depth of field and pushes the hyperfocal distance further away.
- Circle of Confusion: This is a measure of acceptable sharpness in an image, often based on sensor size and viewing conditions. The circle of confusion is used to define what constitutes "acceptably sharp" focus and varies slightly depending on factors like print size and viewing distance.
Calculating the Hyperfocal Distance
The hyperfocal distance 𝐻 can be calculated with the following formula:
where:
- 𝑓 is the focal length of the lens,
- 𝑁 is the aperture (f-stop),
- 𝑐 is the circle of confusion for your specific sensor and desired level of acceptable sharpness.
By setting the focus at the hyperfocal distance, photographers can capture scenes with maximal depth of field, keeping both the foreground and background in clear focus.
How the app works
Before we can calculate the hyperfocal distance we need to specify the three main variables involved in the calculations: the sensor size of your camera to obtain the circle of confusion and the specs of the used lens to define the focal length and the aperture.
At My cameras you can save your camera specs. To find the size of your cameras sensor, you can:
- Check the Camera's Specifications: Look at the camera manual or the manufacturer's website, where sensor size is usually listed in the technical specifications.
- Search Online: Enter the camera model followed by "sensor size" into a search engine, and you'll typically find detailed information on sites like DPReview or camera review websites.
- Look for Common Size Labels: Cameras often fall into specific sensor categories, like "Full Frame" (36x24mm), "APS-C" (around 22x15mm or 23x15mm), "Micro Four Thirds" (17.3x13mm), or "1-inch" sensors (13.2x8.8mm). Knowing these labels can help identify the sensor size quickly.
At My lenses you can save your lenses specs.
- The focal length is typically printed on the lens barrel, such as "50mm" for a fixed lens or "18-55mm" for a zoom lens, where the range indicates its variable focal length.
- The maximum aperture is often displayed next to the focal length. For a prime lens, you might see “50mm 1:1.8,” where "1:1.8" represents the maximum aperture. For a zoom lens with a variable aperture, such as “18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6,” it indicates that the maximum aperture varies from f/3.5 at 18mm to f/5.6 at 55mm.
- The step increment defines the behavior of the sliders (focal length and aperure), whether they increase less or more in the calculator section
At the Calculator you can calculate:
- The hyperfocal distance in meters adjusting the focal length and the aperture of the lens.
- The hyperfocal aperture adjusting the focus distance in meters of the lens.
Example 1:
Calculation of the hyperfocal distance for the given data:
- Camera sensor: Full Frame (36mm x 24mm)
- Lens focal length: 50mm
- Aperture: f/8
The hyperfocal distance is: 10.50m. That mean's all objects from 5.25m (H/2) to infinity appear sharp and all objects less than 5.25m away appear out of focus.
Example 2:
Calculation of the hyperfocal aperture for the given data:
- Camera sensor: Full Frame (36mm x 24mm)
- Lens focal length: 50mm
- Hyperfocal distance: 15m
The minimum aperture needed is: fmin/5.6. That means you need a minimum aperture of f/5.6 so that all objects from 7.50m (H/2) to infinity appear sharp and all objects less than 7.50m away appear out of focus.