If you are an enthousiatic photographer, you have probably heard of a “DOF calculator” also called a “depth of field calculator“. This tool is essential for photographers who want to control the depth of field in their images and create stunning, professional-looking shots. Understanding the concept of depth of field is crucial for any photographer, as it can greatly impact the final outcome of your images. In this blog, we’ll explore what depth of field is and how it can be controlled, as well as introduce you to the powerful DOF calculator tool available through Photopills. We’ll walk you through how to use the Photopills DOF calculator and also introduce you to the hyperfocal distance calculator. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a better understanding of how to control depth of field and how to use the DOF calculator to take your photography skills to the next level.
DOF Calculator | What is depth of field
Depth of field is one key element of creativity in photography and cinematography. It is defined as the area of an image which has an acceptable sharpness.
Photographers are referring to a narrow depth of field (shallow depth of field) when the sharpness around the focus is very limited or a deep or large depth of field when the image is in focus from the foreground to infinity. Landscape photographers are using wide angle lenses with a large aperture to maximize the depth of field
Photographers specialized in macro photography are struggling to obtain a large depth of field
In general depth of field is depending on several parameters:
Focusing distance: All parameters set equal, the closer you get to the subject to focus the smaller depth of field you will get.
Aperture: the smaller the aperture the narrower the DOF will be.
Type of lens: wide angle lenses will give more depth of field compared to a telephoto lens or a macro lens.
Camera type and sensor: with all other parameters being equal, APC sensors give a larger depth of field than full frame sensors, Also, when comparing two full frame cameras, such as the Nikon D850 and the Canon 5DMk4, the calculator will give you a slightly different depth of field which means that the type of camera has a small influence as well on the DOF.
HOW CAN I CONTROL MY DEPTH OF FIELD?
Landscape photographers are often using the best and largest aperture of their lens which can be f:16 or f:22.
On the opposite, with the same wide angle lens once the sun is set, and you want to capture the stars of even the milky way you do not need depth of field and the lens is used wide open i.e at f:2.8 or less if possible. Another way of maximising your depth of field is use to use the hyperfocal distance.
DOF CALCULATOR | PHOTOPILLS
In some occasions you might want to check your depth of field before taking pictures especially when using a new lens. In this case, photopills DOF calculator can comes handy.
If you are shooting an event with a 50 mm at f:1.8 on a full frame Canon camera such as the 5DMK4 your depth of field will be very limited at 13 cm shooting a person standing at 2 meters, the calculator gives you a zone of acceptable sharpness of only 6 cm in front of the focus point and 7 cm on the back.
With the same settings, if the main subject stands only at 1 meter, the DOF is only 4 centimeters!
Portraits shot at 1 meter will have a very shallow depth of field but focusing on the eyes can be challenging at times.
PHOTOPILLS DOF CALCULATOR | HOW TO USE IT
The first field to fill out is your camera model. If your camera is not listed, please choose the closest camera if the same brand with the same sensor size.
You enter then enter the focal length as written on your lens, the aperture you will used as well as an estimate of the main subject distance.
As results you will get the hyperfocal distance along with the hyperfocal near limit (see the next paragraph).
HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE CALCULATOR | PHOTOPILLS
Hyperfocal distance can be very useful in landscape and street photography to control your depth of field. For landscape photographers, it is useful in order to capture as much of the scene in sharp focus as possible (background and foreground).
For example if you shoot street photography scenes with Viltrox 13mm on a Fuji XT-100 at f:8, photopills hyperfocal distance calculator will give you a hyperfocal distance of 1.07 meter. If you set your focus manually at 1.07 meters, all your images will be reasonably sharp from 53 cm (hyperfocal near limit on the calculator) to infinity.
