Working with hyperfocal
distance
What is hyperfocal distance
An important element of landscape photography is ensuring that all of the key
elements within your composition are sharp. This can often include foreground
objects that are a matter of meters from your camera, as well as background
elements that can be kilometres away. One way to ensure that the entire frame
is in focus, ‘acceptably sharp’, is to ensure that the depth of field extends from
the foreground to infinity. To do this, you need to focus at the ‘hyperfocal
distance’. For a given focal length and Aperture, there will be a distance where
setting your point of focus will result in the entire scene being within the depth
of field.
How you set it per tradition
For many photographers the best way to optimize the point of focus is visually.
Try first focusing on the most distant object within your scene, then manually
adjust the focusing point as close as possible while still retaining an acceptably
sharp background.
Many use a rule of thumb, which states that you should focus roughly 1/3 of
the way into your scene in order to achieve maximum sharpness throughout.
While this is sometimes helpful, it is rarely optimal; the precise distance
actually depends on many factors, including subject distance, Aperture and
focal length.
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Working with hyperfocal distance
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XF IQ4 Camera System Manual |
