Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

Photography By Jim M. Goldstein

Photo Term Series #17: Hyperfocal Distance

One of the most essential pieces of knowledge to understand in order to attain sharp images, particularly for landscapes, is the principle of hyperfocal distance.

Phil Davis put it best in Photography, 1972

“When the lens is focused on the hyperfocal distance, the depth of field extends from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.”

The general tip to burn into your memory is focus 1/3 of the way into your photo with a smaller aperture setting to maximize your depth of field.

Hyperfocal Distance
image courtesy of DOFMaster

A great online resources to reference when researching hyperfocal distance for your gear is DOFMaster’s Depth of Field Calculator. In addition Vividlight Photography also has a great article on this subject What is Hyperfocal Distance and Why Should I Care? were they provide an Excel or PDF Hyperfocal Distance Chart that can be put in your camera bag.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wildflower View landscape photo by Jim M. GoldsteinView more photos of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

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1. the_wolf_brigade - June 30, 2008

I think I have been doing this subconsciously already, but up until now I’ve been working on the theory that the DoF equals to twice as much in the background as exists in the foreground – I guess this is more applicable in wider apertures and less critical for landscapes though.

[Reply]

2. Jim Goldstein - June 30, 2008

@the_wolf_brigade. Your logic is correct for smaller apertures, but to keep you on track this is particularly relevant to landscape photography. Thanks for the comment

[Reply]

3. Phil - June 30, 2008

Thanks for this simple reminder of an important fundamental!

[Reply]

4. the_wolf_brigade - June 30, 2008

I thought as much. Definitely going to try this out as soon as I can to see if I can improve the sharpness in my shots.

[Reply]

5. photographyVoter.com - July 5, 2008

Photo Term: Hyperfocal Distance…

Jim defines the term “Hyperfocal Distance” for us in this quick and educational series for photography speak….

6. Link Roundup 07-05-2008 - July 5, 2008

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7. Link Roundup « PixelCore - July 6, 2008

[...] Photo Term Series #17: Hyperfocal Distance JMG-Galleries Jim defines the term “Hyperfocal Distance” for us in this quick and educational series of photography speak. [...]

8. 今日列表 | News on Photography - July 15, 2008

[...] 需要获取超焦距的时候 [...]

9. 10 ???? ???? ????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? - ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? - January 22, 2009

[...] ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ????? ??? ????????? ????? Hyper Focal Distance ???? ????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ??? [...]

10. Photo-Chimp.com - Photography in Alaska and around the World » Blog Archive » Hyperfocal in Hoonah - August 16, 2009

[...] A different (and better) explanation of hyperfocal distance here. [...]

11. Three Ways to Control Depth of Field - March 9, 2010

[...] choose your camera, focal length, f-number, and subject distance. The calculator outputs your DOF, hyperfocal distance, and circle of [...]

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