Depth of Field Calculator

Depth of field is the range of distances in a scene that looks acceptably sharp. It runs from the near limit to the far limit, straddling the distance you focused on.

Aperture, focal length, and focus distance. A smaller aperture (larger f-number), a wider lens, or a more distant subject each widen the sharp zone; opening up, zooming in, or moving closer narrows it.

Once your focus distance reaches or passes the hyperfocal distance, the far limit extends to infinity and everything from the near limit outward stays sharp. The tool shows Infinity and marks the depth of field as unbounded.

Match it to your sensor. The presets use 0.029 mm for full frame, 0.018 mm for APS-C, 0.015 mm for Micro 4/3, and 0.011 mm for a 1 inch sensor. A smaller value is a stricter sharpness standard and shrinks the reported depth of field.

Depth of field is asymmetric. At normal distances roughly a third falls in front of the subject and two thirds behind, and the rear portion grows faster as you focus farther away.

It is the focus distance that keeps everything from half that distance to infinity acceptably sharp. Focusing there maximises depth of field for landscapes, which is why the tool always reports it.

It is captured through the circle of confusion. Smaller sensors use a smaller value, which is why the same focal length and aperture yield a shallower calculated depth of field on full frame than on Micro 4/3.

Focal length and circle of confusion are in millimetres, aperture is a unitless f-number, and focus distance plus every result are in metres. Results are shown to four significant figures.

No. The formula runs entirely in your browser as you type, so nothing is uploaded. A JSON API is also available if you want the same calculation in a script.