Last week I wrote a feature called Depth of Field 101. Taking those techniques a step further, you have what’s called hyperfocal distance. Hyperfocal distance is the focus setting where you will get the maximum depth of field on a lens. When using the hyperfocal setting, everything will be sharply focused from half the hyperfocal distance out to infinity. The hyperfocal distance setting is different for every lens focal length and aperture, but easy to look up.

A 50mm lens at f/22, for instance, has a hyperfocal distance of 12-feet. If you set the lens’ focus at 12-feet, you will have focus from 6-feet to infinity.

Why would you need to know about hyperfocal distance??… It can be a very useful thing to know if you are ever in a speed-related situation, for instance, such as shooting a sporting event from the sidelines, or Nascar. It can be useful for remote trigger shots or landscapes where you want as much as possible to be in focus. Shooting children? This will give you the best chance of getting as much as you can in focus while the kids are running around.

Perhaps you are shooting a self portrait in front of the Grand Canyon and want to make sure that everything is in focus. How do you set your lens? Easy, you manually focus your DSLR’s lens to its hyperfocal distance and remote trigger the shot. You will probably also want to choose a small aperture (such as f/16 or f/22). If you are shooting a race or sporting event, you might not have time to manually or electronically set the focus. Choose a focal length for the shot, look up your hyperfocal distance, set the focus on your lens and snap away.

This shot could have used some hyperfocal action. The foreground is out of focus and the shot would have been more effective had there been focus leading your eye down the path.

HYPER FOCAL DISTANCE AND DEPTH OF FIELD

Hyperfocal distance is directly connected to depth of field. Depth of field refers to the area in front of and behind the subject that remains in focus. The longer the lens is, the shallower the focus. F/stop can also determine depth of field. The more open the f/stop (such as f/2.8 or f/4), the more out of focus the background will be. Understanding how to control your depth of field is an important step to becoming a good photographer, whether you use a point-and-shoot or a more sophisticated camera.

When you set the focus on a lens, the depth of field gives focus 1/3 in front of the subject and 2/3 behind the subject. Huh, you say? Focus on your subject. If your lens and f/stop allow you a total of 3-feet of depth of field, then 1-foot of that sharp focus will occur between your camera and the subject, and 2-feet of the sharp focus will be behind the subject in the background. Hyperfocal distance is the setting that gives you sharp focus from infinity to the closest area possible for that particular lens.

FOR POINT AND SHOOT USERS

With point-and-shoot cameras, being aware of the properties of depth of field can help you to manipulate the camera into maximum focus. If your foreground is more important than your background for the shot, you might choose not to focus directly on your subject but somewhere slightly closer. Choose an area between the subject and the important foreground area, aim your point-and-shoot there and press the shutter button down half-way (keep holding it down!). This will lock the focus in place and you can then recompose your shot, and press the button the rest of the way down. You’ll probably need to experiment a bit, but this technique can buy you additional focus area.

HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE AND MOVIE CAMERAS

Hyperfocal distance was critical to me when I worked as a camera assistant in film production on commercials, television shows and movies. I did a lot of work with stunts and crash cameras, and heard the words, “FIRE IN THE HOLE!” pretty regularly. With stunts, the camera assistants must stand far away from the cameras and often cannot pull focus according to the movement in the scene. We had to figure out the best focus setting for the camera to capture the stunt, set it, and hide behind something so we didn’t get clobbered. Using hyperfocal distance was crucial. It would ensure that the maximum focus for that lens would be in place and capture focus for the entire shot.

HOW TO DETERMINE A LENS’ HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE

Many camera lenses have markings on the lens barrel for hyperfocal distance. Check your lenses to see if yours are marked.

Here is how to read the hyperfocal distance on your lens. The bottom set of numbers is your f/stop setting (meaning your aperture/exposure setting). The top set of numbers is the measurement of feet (blue numbers) and meters (yellow numbers) for focus distance. The bottom set of numbers is your F/Stop setting.

It’s the MIDDLE set of numbers that will tell you hyperfocal distance. First, determine your exposure (set your f/stop). Next, look at the middle set of numbers and you’ll see f/stop settings on the right and left of the orange focus mark. Set your focus ring so that the distance you need to be in focus falls between the two f/stop readings. In this image, the hyperfocal distance is set to about 12-feet (3-meters). At an exposure of f/8, the area that will be in focus is between the two 8’s on the middle ring, or 7.5-feet to 15-feet. If you want more of your image to be in focus, change your aperture to f/22, and you will have focus from 5-feet to infinity.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A PRE-MARKED LENS

If you don’t have a pre-marked lens, you can determine a lens’ hyperfocal distance using a mathematical formula. Rather than doing the math, I prefer to look at a chart. I found a great free interactive chart for download here. Look up your lenses and print out the charts. Keep your charts with you in your camera bag; you never know when they will come in handy.

If you’re more of a gadget person, you can purchase a Kelly Wheel. This is a handheld circular depth of field calculator you can buy for the low low price of $72.00. I’m more apt to go the less expensive (free) route described above.

Be aware that there are different scales for different formats of cameras. The hyperfocal distance for a medium format still camera or a 16mm motion picture camera will be different. The information I am giving here is based upon 35mm film or DSLR cameras.

For more on hyperfocal distances, visit DOFMaster, who gives wonderful illustrations and technical tips on manipulating depth of field.