N-Photo - The Nikon Magazine - USA (2019-07)

SECTION HEAD

The

Mission

• See how setting the
  hyperfocal distance can
  maximize depth of field

Time

• One hour

Skill level

• Intermediate

Kit needed

• Lens with a focus
  distance scale

What is hyperfocal distance?

Matthew Richards shows how setting the hyperfocal

distance can enhance sharpness throughout your frame

Setting the focus distance of a lens

to the hyperfocal distance will give

you the greatest sharpness from

infinity to the closest possible

point in a scene. This makes it a

very popular option with landscape

photographers, when they want to

retain sharpness in everything

from foreground areas to the

distant horizon.

Two principal factors of

hyperfocal distance are the focal

length of the lens and its aperture

setting. With shorter focal lengths

or zoom settings, the hyperfocal

distance becomes shorter. You’ll

therefore be able to get more

foreground sharpness when using

a wide-angle lens. The hyperfocal

distance also decreases with

narrower aperture settings,

thanks to a larger depth of field.

Another factor that affects

hyperfocal distance is the size of

the image sensor. For any given

focal length and aperture setting,

a DX format camera with an APS-C

type sensor will have a much

shorter hyperfocal length than an

FX full-frame. Even after taking the

1.5x focal length multiplier or crop

factor into account, a DX camera

will still have a shorter hyperfocal

distance. For example, shooting

with a 16mm lens on a DX body

gives the same ‘effective’ focal

length as using a 24mm lens on an

FX body. Using both at an aperture

setting of f/5.6, the hyperfocal

distance would be 2.4m with a

DX camera, but 3.5m on an FX.

The final issue that affects

hyperfocal distance is the ‘circle

of confusion’. This equates to the

width of a pinprick of light when

reproduced in a shot. The smaller

the diameter, the sharper the

focus. At any focus setting, a lens

can only be perfectly focused for

one distance. So the circle of

confusion represents an

‘acceptable’ level of sharpness,

upon which depth of field and the

hyperfocal distance are based.

CORE SKILLS

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