Depth of Field Calculator
Enter your focal length, aperture and focus distance to see the near and far limits of sharpness, the total depth of field and the hyperfocal distance.
How to use the depth of field calculator
- Enter the lens focal length and aperture f-number.
- Enter the distance to your subject in metres.
- Set the circle of confusion for your sensor, then read the near limit, far limit and total depth of field.
Examples
50mm at f/8, focused at 3 m
focal = 50 mm, f/8, distance = 3 m, full frame
near 2.36 m, far 4.13 m, DoF 1.78 m
Wide lens past hyperfocal
focal = 24 mm, f/16, distance = 5 m, full frame
near 1.00 m, far infinity (sharp to infinity)
Frequently asked questions
What is depth of field?
Depth of field is the range of distances in a scene that appears acceptably sharp. It runs from the near limit to the far limit around your focus distance.
What controls depth of field?
Aperture, focal length and focus distance. A smaller aperture (larger f-number), a wider lens or a more distant subject all increase depth of field.
Why does the far limit sometimes say infinity?
Once you focus at or beyond the hyperfocal distance, the far limit reaches infinity and everything from the near limit outward stays sharp. The calculator flags this case.
What circle of confusion should I use?
Use the value for your sensor: roughly 0.029 mm for full frame, 0.018 mm for APS-C and 0.015 mm for Micro Four Thirds. Smaller sensors use smaller values.
Why is depth of field not centred on the focus point?
It is asymmetric. Roughly one third of the depth falls in front of the subject and two thirds behind, and the rear portion grows quickly with distance.
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