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Hyperfocal…..
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Ok,
bit of a risk,
and without looking anything up,
let’s see how close I can get-Hyperfocal distance describes a lens extension
which will render all points acceptably sharp between a near focus point and infinity
for a given aperture.How’s that then?
j
In laymans terms, hyperfocal distance is the point in the frame (distance from the sensor/film/focal plane) that when focused on, with the correct aperture will give good front to back focus.
I don’t think a lot of people use it too much any more. A more common technique is to stop down the lens and simply focus 1/3 of the way into the frame. Perhaps it’s less accurate but normally gives good enough results. Another method is infinity focusing where you again stop down the lens and then focus on a point furthest away (infinity). One thing to watch out for is the difference between digital and film. With digital our sensors (not lenses) become defraction limited around f11 so if you’re looking for front to back tack sharp pictures, be careful stopping down much more than this.
Diffraction limited discussed:
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=2671&highlight=diffraction+limited
ok, more of a definition than an explanation-
Manual focus lenses used to have very handy little marks either side of the focus mark,
usually colour coded for the aperture scale-These would give a visual reference to the hyprefocal distance-
everything between these marks would be acceptably sharp.With infinity placed to the outer mark,
you could read the hyperfocal distance from the centre mark,
and the near focus limit from the inner mark.Digital lenses,
or rather, autofocus lenses,
usually don’t have these marks,
as far as I know,
which makes hyperfocal distance rather less intuitive.I realize this doesn’t actually explain it,
but maybe it starts to?I dunno-
j
Been shoveling lots of photos lately, not much time spent here, but whilst I have my shovel in me hand, here’s a couple of threads I, err, unearthed :roll: :
Hyperfocal focusing
and
Depth of Field – QuestionHope it helps in this discussion ;)
Just a word of warning.
Most articles on hyperfocal focusing do not apply very well to modern cropped sensor digital cameras and large print sizes.
I would never trust the DOF markings on my lenses. Always focus a fair way beyond the hyperfocal focus point to ensure everthing is sharp.
The best up to date article I’ve read on the matter was over at Luminous landscape. the article gave some excellent real life examples.
Andy
amcinroy wrote:
Just a word of warning.
Most articles on hyperfocal focusing do not apply very well to modern cropped sensor digital cameras and large print sizes.
I would never trust the DOF markings on my lenses. Always focus a fair way beyond the hyperfocal focus point to ensure everthing is sharp.
The best up to date article I’ve read on the matter was over at Luminous landscape. the article gave some excellent real life examples.
Andy
The marks are nothing more than a visual guide-
As with all things to do with depth of field and focus,
your final enlargement is what will determine ‘acceptable’ sharpness.Small sensors have a built in advantage,
in that, for most (distant) subjects,
magnification is reduced, (compared to larger sensors and film)
and the smaller the image,
the more depth of field will be available to you.j
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