Depth of Field Calculator
Find out how much of your scene will be acceptably sharp, and which hyperfocal distance suits a landscape, from your sensor size, focal length, aperture and focus distance
Camera & Lens Settings
Must be longer than the focal length. Switching the unit converts the value.
Focus at 10.9 m and everything from 5.44 m to infinity stays acceptably sharp
Airy disc about 10.7 µm, smaller than the 28.8 µm circle of confusion: diffraction should not visibly soften the image at this standard.
Estimate from thin-lens geometry. Real lenses, focus accuracy and viewing size shift where sharpness ends, so treat the limits as a planning guide, not a guarantee.
How to Use This Depth of Field Calculator
- Choose the sensor format of your camera body. For a phone or any other sensor, pick Custom size and type the width and height from the spec sheet.
- Enter the real focal length printed on the lens, or tap a common value. With a zoom lens use the setting on the barrel.
- Set the aperture you plan to shoot at. Tap a common f-number or type any value.
- Enter the distance to your subject in meters or feet. Switching the unit converts what you typed.
- Read the sharp zone, near and far limits and how much of it lies in front of and behind the subject. For landscapes, press the hyperfocal button and check that the near limit is close enough for your foreground.
Worked Example: A 50 mm Lens on Full Frame
Full frame, 50 mm, f/8, focused at 5 m, with the default standard (sensor diagonal 43.27 mm ÷ 1500 = 28.8 µm circle of confusion). The hyperfocal distance is 10.9 m. The sharp zone starts at 3.43 m and ends at 9.21 m, so total depth of field is 5.77 m: 1.57 m in front of the subject (27%) and 4.21 m behind it (73%).
Press the hyperfocal button and the focus point moves to 10.9 m. The sharp zone now runs from 5.44 m to infinity, but a subject at 5 m would sit in front of that zone, which is the trade-off of hyperfocal focusing.
Methodology
Hyperfocal cheat sheet, plus one portrait lesson
Hyperfocal distances for full frame with the default standard. Focus at the value in the third column and everything from the fourth column to infinity is acceptably sharp.
| Lens (full frame) | Aperture | Focus at (hyperfocal) | Sharp from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 mm | f/8 | 2.52 m | 1.26 m |
| 24 mm | f/11 | 1.84 m | 92.0 cm |
| 35 mm | f/8 | 5.34 m | 2.67 m |
| 35 mm | f/11 | 3.90 m | 1.95 m |
| 50 mm | f/8 | 10.9 m | 5.44 m |
| 85 mm | f/5.6 | 44.8 m | 22.4 m |
Read down the table: closing a 24 mm lens from f/8 to f/11 pulls the hyperfocal point in from 2.52 m to 1.84 m, while longer lenses push it far out, so at 85 mm and f/5.6 nothing nearer than 22.4 m is covered.
Case: Marta photographs her niece 2 m away with an 85 mm lens on full frame. At f/1.4 the tool shows a sharp zone of only 4.28 cm (1.98 m to 2.02 m), so a small head tilt can leave one eye soft. At f/2.8 the zone doubles to 8.57 cm (1.96 m to 2.04 m); at f/5.6 it reaches 17.2 cm (1.92 m to 2.09 m). She picks f/2.8: both eyes stay sharp and the background is still well blurred.
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Frequently asked questions
What is hyperfocal distance and how do I use it? ▼
It is the focus distance at which the far limit reaches infinity. Focus there and everything from half that distance to infinity is acceptably sharp. With a 24 mm lens at f/8 on full frame, H is about 2.52 m, so focusing at that distance keeps everything from 1.26 m to infinity sharp by the default standard. Because the horizon sits right at the blur limit, some photographers focus a little beyond H to make distant detail crisper, at the cost of moving the near limit outward.
How do I enter a phone camera or another unusual sensor? ▼
Choose Custom size and type the real sensor width and height from the spec sheet, then the real focal length, not the equivalent. Many phone makers publish only the 35 mm equivalent; divide it by the crop factor to get the real focal length. Phone sensors are tiny and their real focal lengths short, so hyperfocal distances are very short and most of a scene is sharp at any aperture.
Why do other calculators show slightly different numbers? ▼
Mostly because of the circle of confusion. Some use the sensor diagonal ÷ 1500, others ÷ 1730, and others fixed values such as 0.030 mm for full frame, which gives a slightly deeper zone than 28.8 µm. Some also write H as f²/(N·c) without the extra f term, a difference of one focal length. Compare tools with the same standard, and switch to Strict when you plan big prints.
Does a longer lens reduce depth of field? ▼
At the same subject distance and aperture, yes: depth of field falls roughly with the square of the focal length. On full frame with a subject 2 m away at f/2.8, an 85 mm lens gives a sharp zone of only 8.57 cm (1.96 m to 2.04 m). But if you step back to keep the subject the same size, the difference between lenses mostly disappears: at equal framing, depth of field is set mainly by aperture and sensor size.
How do I get a landscape sharp from front to back? ▼
Use a wide lens, stop down to about f/8 to f/11, focus at the hyperfocal distance and check that the near limit covers your foreground. Avoid very small apertures: at f/22 the Airy disc is about 29.5 µm, already larger than the 28.8 µm default on full frame, so diffraction softens fine detail. When a foreground is very close, geometry alone cannot help and focus stacking several frames is the usual solution.