Need help with Hyperfocal Distance or Depth of Field? Comment below! 👉 And check our super detailed Depth of Field guide: www.photopills.com/articles/depth-of-field-guide
Thank you SO much! So helpful. And finally getting into taking a better look at your App, which I got a couple of years back. Thanks for these videos, and the User Guide, which I've just downloaded. I can see myself making lots of use of this. AND I will share to my friends!
Or you manually focus on your most distant subject and once it comes into focus, you stop, and you have the hyperfocal distance. Why do calculations when you can visually see it in the camera? Obviously, wider lenses are better. So, 20-28mm FoV on full-frame gives you focus from front to back, no focus stacking, just like we did before digital photography.
Great video thanks. One small point: As a computer engineer, I often prefer precise meanings for words. Small differences in meanings can be a source of confusion for me. This is just a culture and language issue I am raising just to assist you, and I am not complaining at all! I love your videos! In the video, you say that we should focus a little bit 'behind' the hyper-focal distance line (i.e. the blue line). But depending upon the culture a person is familiar with, and with respect to the position of the camera -- 'behind' can mean either an area between the camera and the blue line, or an area on the other side of the blue line with respect to the camera. I had to go back and replay an earlier portion of the video, where you say 'greater than' the hyper-focal distance, and not to fall short. No worries. Just a small point
@@PhotoPills The best word to use for this example would be "beyond" the hyperfocal distance line. "Beyond" means to the far side of something. It is similar to "greater than" but is more specific to proximity. When talking about a measure of distance out to a specific point "behind" usually means less than that specific point (relative to the starting point, i.e. the camera)
That's a common mistake, and the result is getting blurred images. Because if you focus at a distance shorter than the hyperfocal distance, the background won't be sharp. It's always better to focus at a further distance than the hyperfocal :)
Excellent video! One of my questions was "how do I know where to focus once I know the hyperfocal distance then?". Glad you guys incorporated AR in the app!
Thank you JD! If your subject falls behind the hyperfocal distance we usually focus on the subject. This way it'll be tack sharp and also the background will be acceptably sharp :)
@@PhotoPills thanks! I assume an alternative could also be to fix this by moving closer/further to the subject depending on where the subject is vs hyperfocal distance?
You're such a great educator Rafael. Love your work and love your videos. Thank you so much for this one. Now I know I'll never get fuzzy MWs ever again. :) PhotoPills rules!
At least, an explanation that made sense. Both the theory of the hyperfocal distance as well as how to do it in practice with PhotoPills ! Brilliant work maestro !
Great video and love the AR option. In case it helps, may I make one suggestion - when focusing at hyperfocal distance or slightly beyond it, make sure you use the largest aperture on your lens e.g. f2.8 as this will be more accurate due to shallow depth of field. Otherwise focussing errors will get masked by larger depth of field given by a smaller aperture e.g. f8/f11 etc. Once focussing has been done at f2.8, for example, then stop down to your shooting aperture e.g. f8/f11/f16 etc. I do all this in Live View and zoom to 100% to check focus. Hope this helps
Thank You for the detailed explanation and instead of running away from this topic, know I am eager tot ry!!!. Question: Does the "acceptable" in focus includes moving objects? e.g. waves, surfers, airlines, etc Cheers
Great video...but I have a question. In a scenario where nothing is available in the focus point as suggested by photo pills app, then where to focus. Thanks in advance.
Hi,Rafa, I really liked this video. I now know how to set the Red Pin can you please explain how to set the Black Pin. I want to photgraph the Super Moon on Wednesday 26th and include a subject as well. Thank you once again for explaining Hyperfocal Distance and making it so easy. The PhotoPills App is a great tool.
Two questions: 1) Upon using the AR first time, it asks for the height the device is usually used at. How do I change this height later? 2) What to do if the focal length falls between two rows in the HF table, say 43 mm?
Hi! I never change the height of phone usage (1.35m for me). For the exact 43 mm, please use the Depth of Field calculator (Pills Menu) - DOF. There you can introduce any focal length and get the hyperfocal in the first row of the table of results.
I’m a bit confused regarding the crop factor and the hyperfocal table. Sometime I use Fujifilm lenses and sometimes vintage Helios 58mm lenses. Do I need to take into account the crop factor when using either of these lenses since one lens is designed for the APS-C Fujifilm XT5 and one is a standard 35mm film camera lens?
Great video and simplified beautifully! Only question I had was to confirm that the whole point of calculating the Hyperfocal Distance when we are taking star or milkyway landscapes is to get a sharp picture of the foreground for the stacking, correct? For the actual stars, we will be focusing on the stars themselves, correct?
Hi Irfan! We use the hyperfocal to get shoot a single exposure to capture the foreground and the stars acceptably sharp. If you want both sharp, then you need to take two exposures. On focusing on your subject and another one focusing on the Stars.
I didn’t fully understand the crop sensor thingie. I have a crop sensor camera. Let’s say the crop factor is x1.6. And I am shooting at 10mm (according to my lens). I need to use the distance in the table that is at 16mm? (1.6x10mm)
Great helpful video. But unfortunately the AR system only works in apple phone. If I want to install the photopills apps on my second phone which is apple then do I need to purchase it again?
Hi! The AR works on Android phones too. Does your phone include a compass sensor? Yes, if you change platforms you need to get a new license from Apple.
Quick questions, not on hyperfocal distance, but on Milky Way. Does the planner take into consideration daylight savings time? It appears it does because it's using GMT+7 and I am in GMT+8? Thank you so much.
That's the focal length of the device's camera. In phones that have more than one camera, the Augmented Reality views allow you to select the focal length to use.
I don’t do astrophotography (yet!). I just want to make sure that I can get some flowers close and low in my foreground sharp, as well as the trees in the distance. My camera is tilted slightly down. So say the flowers are 2 feet away and I’m at 24mm. Am I safest at f22? Or if I’m concerned about diffraction would I pull further away, like 3ft from my nearest foreground element to use f13? This is all very new to me, as you can tell. Also, could I use the manual focus peaking and focus at a flower at the hyperfocal distance?
In the DoF calculator (focal length) you will have to select TC 0.71x and set as aperture the aperture already taking TC into account. That is, if it is f/2.8, it will be f/2.2.
Hi Rafael, can you answer this please as I think Im over thinking things here.... A vid i watched on YT,about photographing the MW,the photographer said to set your focus to infinity on the camera then fine tune using live view and focus assist sighting a far away star and getting it as sharp as possible, Is using the Hyperfocal length just another way of achieving the same thing ? Hope that made sense to you Bard as it's confused me due to the focus ring being in a different position,Im not grasping how they can be the same. Sorry for the mind blower and thanks for all the vids you put out there.
Focusing on a Star will make sure stars look crispy and sharp (in focus), but you'll lose a bit of focus in the foreground (subject). Focusing on your subject (if it falls behind the hyperfocal distance) will make your subject crispy and sharp, but the stars will not be as sharp, they'll appear acceptably sharp. It's all a matter of taste. Try both methods and choose the one you like the most.
I'd recommend you to use autofocus. If you use manual and the lens doesn't have a distance scale (or it's not calibrated, and that's the most common thing), you just need to rotate the focus ring until your reference placed at the hyperfocal distance is out of focus. Then rotate back the focus ring until it gets in focus. The idea is to place the near focus plane past the reference and then place it before the reference. This way you'll be sure your are focusing at a slightly further distance than the hyperfocal.
Hi Rafael! Thank you for another outstanding video. I'd like to share a hurdle I'm having with the hyperfocal data in the app. I've been using it for years now and it's always worked well with my APS-C sensor (Nikon D5200). However, I recently upgraded to the FF Nikon Z 5 and I found on the field that the hyperfocal distance recommended by the app seemed inaccurate as neither the foreground nor the background were properly in focus. I did some tests today at home and found that with 24mm focal distance and f/8, I need to increase the app hyperfocal distance by at least 60cm (from the recommended 2.43m to at least 3.03m) for it to have infinity in focus. Naturally, this also increases the hyperfocal near limit, but not by what the app states (14 cm) but by about 30cm. I understand your general tip that we should give ourselves some safety room while using the hyperfocal distance, but 60 cm at these setting seems too much. Is it possible that the app is incorrect?
There's no problem with the app, but with how you check your photos :) DoF depends on the concept of Circle of Confusion, and this circle depends on the viewing distance, print size, sensor size, visual acuity, etc. You are probably checking your photo at 100% on your desktop computer, so it's like checking a super big print from a super close distance. In this case your CoC need to be way smaller than the standard one. If you need that sort of sharpness, wither because you want to check the photos at 100% or you want to print them in big format, you need to use a Circle of Confusion that's 2.5 times the camera's pixel pitch. You can send us an email to info@photopills.com if you need help setting this value :)
Hi Eric! You can use the app in French, but all our videos and guides are in English and Spanish. We'd love to have them in French too. Maybe with the help of AI we'll be able to do it one day!
I’m using a Canon FD 50,F1.2 Lens via an adaptor onto a Sony A7iii. Will the adapter affect the hyperfocal distance? If so, what should I do to get the correct hyperfocal distance? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Hi! The adapter doesn't probably change the focal length, so the Canon 50mm will keep being a 50mm on Sony. So nothing special, just use 50mm as the value to calculate the hyperfocal distance
GREAT explanation, Rafael and an outstanding app...heads and tails above the others, especially with the AR mode! Just to clarify...I shoot a Nikon D7500, which is an APS-C sensor. In the video, you said that when choosing a focal length, use the ACTUAL focal length, not focal length x crop factor. So if my camera lens is set at a focal length of 35 mm, I need to figure from an actual 35mm, not 35mm x 1.52 crop factor (53.2mm), correct? I'm assuming that by inputting my camera model, that takes the crop factor into account already? Stay safe and healthy! :-)
@@PhotoPills Cool! One other thing I forgot to ask...are there any "variances" to be aware of between lenses? In other words, the calculator would show the same HFD for a 35mm (just as an example) prime lens vs. selecting 35mm on a tele lens (like a 18-55mm)?
Raffa - Super useful and I love discovering all the functionality built into my PhotoPills app. I do a fair amount of beach Sunrise / Sunset long exposure photography using Sony A7iii and FE 16-35 2.8 GM lens, using ND filters and usually shooting at F20 / F22. Even though knowing about and basically understanding hyperfocal distance, my typical approach has been to manually focus until the farthest detail (horizon or farthest tree / building) is in focus. This has ended up with good sharpness even of very close beach objects (shells / rocks) at 1 - 2m from sensor, but I'm guess that by focusing so far away past the hyperfocal distance I am losing some close up sharpness. So here's my question, I typically will shoot a number of shots from the same tripod position, adjusting focal distance through the 16mm to 35mm range of the lens. at f22, hyperfocal distance is 1.85m @35mm but only 0.39m at 16mm. So am I better off just manually focusing once at say 1.85m or maybe 2m and not worrying about it when I zoom out to 16mm? I would ensure that I am always focused out past the hyperfocal distance distance for the full range of the lens. I guess this same question would apply to most adjustable focal length lenses.
After reading about astrophotography my understanding is that to get the sharpest picture of the Milky Way I should use manual focus and focus at infinity by making a bright star as small and crisp as possible. If I want a foreground object to be in the photo, say a church, should I use the hyperlocal distance and just focus somewhat behind it to get the church and the stars in focus or try and pinpoint focus on the stars?
The lens can only focus 100% at one distance. The distance you choose will affect the sharpness of the image. There is no wrong or right way to focus.... only what works for you. You can focus at the stars and then take another picture focusing on your subject and blending them together. Or you can focus at the stars, if you're subject is a bit far way, then probably you can get it sharp enough. If your subject is behind the hyperfocal distance, then focus on your subject to get it sharp, and the stars will be "acceptably sharp" too. It all depends on what you like. The hyperfocal is just one more tool you can use at your advantage depending on the situation and your needs :)
One of the problems with landscape Photography is to incorporate the foreground and infinity in your shot. Whether a fence in woodland or rocks at a seascape, the Photopills app makes this calculation on the run. Often I change position regularly so a quick recalculation makes it much easier.
I was only able to get the blue line once and when I went outside to see exactly how to use it the blue line still didn't show up are you connecting your phone to your camera?
Just to clarify about the near limit - if I want to take a picture of the moon with a foreground, if I focus on the moon/infinity, will anything behind the near limit also be 'acceptably sharp'? So for example if the hyperfocal distance is 1km I can focus on both the moon and a subject 500m away? Or would the subject need to 1km or further to be sharp as well as the moon?
Does the Hyperfocal distance work if I use from the beginning the "Manual focus mode" rather than the automatic one? How can I control it with the manual focus?
Awesome video. Thanks! I know the hyperfocal equation uses the "circle of confusion" and this is set at the standard 0.03mm in Photopills for my Z6 (great camera!). Where exactly does that 0.03mm come from? Is there ever a scenario (e.g. large print) where we would want to use a smaller value or does that really represent the limit for the camera? Thanks again!
You're going deep into the DoF. Love it! You can use the Advance option in the DoF calculator in PhotoPills to adjust the Circle of Confusion. I believe you'll find the answer here: www.photopills.com/articles/depth-of-field-guide#step5
It comes from the fact that it is 1/1200 of the width of the sensor. That means it equals roughly one megapixel resolution. This is good for small prints.
Thanks for the video. Let me see if I understood: when aiming to get the foreground subject and the whole background in sharp focus, I should use this technique, right? Regarding the distance, I do have a minimum distance between me and the subject, but I don't have a maximum distance, am I right? Like at 3:24 your minimum distance is 1.16 meters, but there is no problem if you'd stay 5 meters away, right? Thank you very much (=
I have a question. I used the PhotoPills Hyperfocal Table to identify my hyperfocal distance and its showing 2.43 meters. Will it hurt if i focus at 3 meters or 4 meters? I'm only asking because what if i don't have anything interesting on my foreground thats at 2.43 meters. I'm assuming that even if I focus on 3, 4, 5 meters, i'll still have beyond that to infinity in focus, correct? Thank you.
It's even better. Take into account that if you focus at a closer distance than the hyperfocal distance you won't have acceptable sharpness to infinity, but a finite Depth of Field. That's the reason we usually recommend to focus half a meter or a meter further away than the hyperfocal distance. You'll only lose a couple of centimeters in the near plane, but your photo will be sharper. You can even test how DoF changes when you focus at that distances. Use the 3rd button, the subject distance button. Set 3, 4 or 5 meters and see how the Dof near limit changes. But you'll always have sharpness to infinity, as the focusing distance is always greater than the hyperfocal distance.
@@PhotoPills Hi Rafael, I think he means the blue circle line indicating the hyperfocal length, with the tree and the measure. It happens to me too, f.e. indicating 4,82mt while the real distance is about 2,5mt. How could it happen? Thanks
@@AngeloTullio I think i had similar issue, only because i was measuring while seated, but when i stood up to my camera level, and re-used the AR feature, it showed me the correct distance. I hope this helps.
@@Khajakkodian Wow, thanks so much! Doing the measurement stood up it goes a lot better! It's not so precise (about 20-30cm difference) but it's ok! Thanks a lot
@@AngeloTullio Ah! The first time you use an augmented reality view, the app ask you at what height you usually use the device. That's the height you have to hold your device for the DoF Ar to be accurate. You can change the height value in the My Stuff section of the main menu > Settings
I hope to attempt a full moon photograph using a crop sensor camera and a 600mm lens at f/8. The hyperfocal distance in km is 2.3. In English units, that is 7,863 feet, 10 inches. That is over a mile away. I am beginning to think that I should simply set the focus at infinity. I will be about 1,008 feet from a hilltop which the moon will be rising over. There is nothing between my shooting position and the hilltop to determine hyperfocal distance. I suppose I could go to some location where I might be able to see a mile and a half and focus and then go to my shooting location and set the camera up . . .
Yes, of course. Go to My Stuff > Settings and check the "Device usage height" setting. This is the height from the ground that you are holding your device .
Obviously I'm a little late to the party, but one thing that confuses me is why many hyperfocal distance calculators also ask for the object distance as input. In the Hyperfocal Table example here, that parameter is not specified. Can you please help clarify this difference? Thanks!
Theoretical results don't match reality: Tried it on a 14mm F1.8 Sony Full Frame lens: need on F1.8 around 84m to "first infinity (infinity symbol displayed, but can go even further to infinity)" to get sharp images. With the calculated hyperfocal distance of 3.68m set, I get far away (e.g. 20m to infinity) everything not sharp. Any ideas?
It can happen 2 things: 1- You are focusing at a shorter distance than 3.68m, so the infinity will be blurred. To be on the safe side, always focus at a slightly further distance, or even half a meter more. You won't notice it in the foreground and you'll have the infinity in focus. 2 - You are looking the image at 100% close to your monitor. If this case it's like watching a huge print from a super close distance. If that's what you need, then you need to create a custom camera with a custom circle of confusion. Look for the pixel pitch of your camera and multiply it by 2.5. That's the circle of confusion you should use. For example, If you use the Sony a7R II. It has 42MP and a pixel size of 4.51 µ (0.00451mm). If we multiply this value by 2.5 it gives us a circle of confusion of 0.011mm instead of the 0.03mm that's used by default for full frame cameras. You can use the adavanced DoF calculator in PhotoPills with that CoC or you can create a custom camera with this CoC too.
its been days i'm looking for an explanation that might help me. NAAADDAAA I just want to know how to calculate the minimum focused distance for a given camera, I DONT CARE ABOUT INFINITY, i want juste a good focus on 15 cm. before buying my camera, how do i know (how to calculate) if it will be able to focus at 15 cm distance ? PS: its for industrial use, i want to buy a camera for Raspberry, but i don't know what to chose. I'll be really really really grateful for you.
What is this man saying??? After struggling through and wading through the accent I cant even figure out what he was saying.Why would he be SO SO UNCONSCIOUS of his inability to converse and especially TEACH/INFORM in a language that is not his. I,consciously would not try this inflated trick in his native language.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Need help with Hyperfocal Distance or Depth of Field? Comment below!
👉 And check our super detailed Depth of Field guide:
www.photopills.com/articles/depth-of-field-guide
I finally understood how to measure, calculate and use the Hyperfocal Distance.
Thank you PhotoPills.
Awesome!
finally..explained so even i can under stand it. Thanks
Awesome!
Thank you SO much! So helpful. And finally getting into taking a better look at your App, which I got a couple of years back. Thanks for these videos, and the User Guide, which I've just downloaded. I can see myself making lots of use of this. AND I will share to my friends!
Thanks so much for watching and your support!!
Or you manually focus on your most distant subject and once it comes into focus, you stop, and you have the hyperfocal distance. Why do calculations when you can visually see it in the camera? Obviously, wider lenses are better. So, 20-28mm FoV on full-frame gives you focus from front to back, no focus stacking, just like we did before digital photography.
Thank you for a clear explanation of how to get to the numbers AND how to use them. You increased the value of PhotoPills to me. 😄
Awesome! Thanks so much Sherry!
Great video thanks. One small point: As a computer engineer, I often prefer precise meanings for words. Small differences in meanings can be a source of confusion for me. This is just a culture and language issue I am raising just to assist you, and I am not complaining at all! I love your videos! In the video, you say that we should focus a little bit 'behind' the hyper-focal distance line (i.e. the blue line). But depending upon the culture a person is familiar with, and with respect to the position of the camera -- 'behind' can mean either an area between the camera and the blue line, or an area on the other side of the blue line with respect to the camera. I had to go back and replay an earlier portion of the video, where you say 'greater than' the hyper-focal distance, and not to fall short. No worries. Just a small point
Thanks for the feedback! So "greater than" is more accurate than "behind", right?
@@PhotoPills The best word to use for this example would be "beyond" the hyperfocal distance line. "Beyond" means to the far side of something. It is similar to "greater than" but is more specific to proximity. When talking about a measure of distance out to a specific point "behind" usually means less than that specific point (relative to the starting point, i.e. the camera)
I have watched two videos before understanding how easy this concept is. Seems like you got the point across with clarity. Thank you!
Thanks so much!
Best explanation and example of measuring hyper focal distance. Thank you.
Thanks so much!
I was so concerned of stumbling around with a tape measure, finally straight forward and practical advice!
That's a common mistake, and the result is getting blurred images. Because if you focus at a distance shorter than the hyperfocal distance, the background won't be sharp. It's always better to focus at a further distance than the hyperfocal :)
Finally, an easy way to find the hyperfocal distance in the field instead of guessing.
Thanks so much Bruce!
Excellent short tutorial on the subject, very usefull for astrophotography. Thx for posting
Thank so much!
This is the only video I have found that gives a simple and easy to understand explanation of the hyperfocal distance. Thank you The Bard!
Thank you Patrick!!
Thank you for this explanation. I had no idea I could use AR to see the proper location to focus. Many thanks!
Sweet!
Perfectly explained, especially with the AR. Thank you!!
Thanks so much!
UY Rafa que haríamos sin ti!! Gracias!!
hahaha
Great video, really very helpful, thank you!
Thank you Paul!
Brilliant tutorial - thank you
Thank you Sarah!
Thank you so much. It is the first time I've understood an explanation of hyperfocal distance.
Thank you John!
Excellent video! One of my questions was "how do I know where to focus once I know the hyperfocal distance then?". Glad you guys incorporated AR in the app!
Thank you JD! If your subject falls behind the hyperfocal distance we usually focus on the subject. This way it'll be tack sharp and also the background will be acceptably sharp :)
@@PhotoPills thanks! I assume an alternative could also be to fix this by moving closer/further to the subject depending on where the subject is vs hyperfocal distance?
Muchas gracias a Photopills, hoy compré la aplicación y ya me ha permitido entender el concepto de distancia hyperfocal. Gracias
Muchas gracias Jorge!
Wow After years of hearing about it I now know how to do it Thanks
Awesome!
That’s great. Can’t wait to try that out in a couple of days….
Fantastic! Thank you Michael!
Excellent, always very clear
Thank you!
So awesome that you take the time to explain everything so well! Thanks for all the things you have taught me!
Thank you!
You're such a great educator Rafael. Love your work and love your videos. Thank you so much for this one. Now I know I'll never get fuzzy MWs ever again. :) PhotoPills rules!
Thank you Dee!!
oh fantastic this makes so much more sense love photoPills app
Thank you Melanie!
At least, an explanation that made sense. Both the theory of the hyperfocal distance as well as how to do it in practice with PhotoPills ! Brilliant work maestro !
Thank you!!!
Fantastic video, at last I finally get it
Thank you so much!
Great video and love the AR option. In case it helps, may I make one suggestion - when focusing at hyperfocal distance or slightly beyond it, make sure you use the largest aperture on your lens e.g. f2.8 as this will be more accurate due to shallow depth of field. Otherwise focussing errors will get masked by larger depth of field given by a smaller aperture e.g. f8/f11 etc. Once focussing has been done at f2.8, for example, then stop down to your shooting aperture e.g. f8/f11/f16 etc. I do all this in Live View and zoom to 100% to check focus. Hope this helps
Thanks for sharing the tip!
Extremely helpful
Thank you Taylor!
Simple and clear!
Thank you DJ! Antarctica awaits!!
As always, well done. Thanks
Thank you!
Another brilliant explanation, thanks for sharing your knowledge,
Thank you Pete!
Thank You for the detailed explanation and instead of running away from this topic, know I am eager tot ry!!!. Question: Does the "acceptable" in focus includes moving objects? e.g. waves, surfers, airlines, etc Cheers
Hi Carlos! In addition to depth of field, shutter speed is what controls how moving objects appear in the frame.
@@PhotoPills Hi! Thank You for the swift response. Thought that would be more complex w\ moving objects. Apologies for the earlier typo. Cheers
I love PhotoPills !!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!
Awesome guide, thanks a lot
Thank you Arto!
Well explained...thank you !!
Thanks Carl!
Thank you for the video!!! I love your app.!!!
Love it!
Great video...but I have a question. In a scenario where nothing is available in the focus point as suggested by photo pills app, then where to focus. Thanks in advance.
No matter the direction you focus. There is always something where to focus :)
Thank you. Great stuff.
Thanks Joe!
Hi,Rafa, I really liked this video. I now know how to set the Red Pin can you please explain how to set the Black Pin. I want to photgraph the Super Moon on Wednesday 26th and include a subject as well. Thank you once again for explaining Hyperfocal Distance and making it so easy. The PhotoPills App is a great tool.
Hi Jay! Check this video: ruclips.net/video/VL-V_o_zyO4/видео.html
Nicely explained thank you 😊👍
Thanks Mark!
superb once again
Thank you!
Two questions:
1) Upon using the AR first time, it asks for the height the device is usually used at. How do I change this height later?
2) What to do if the focal length falls between two rows in the HF table, say 43 mm?
Hi! I never change the height of phone usage (1.35m for me). For the exact 43 mm, please use the Depth of Field calculator (Pills Menu) - DOF. There you can introduce any focal length and get the hyperfocal in the first row of the table of results.
Good explanation, thanks
Thanks!
I’m a bit confused regarding the crop factor and the hyperfocal table. Sometime I use Fujifilm lenses and sometimes vintage Helios 58mm lenses. Do I need to take into account the crop factor when using either of these lenses since one lens is designed for the
APS-C Fujifilm XT5 and one is a standard 35mm film camera lens?
if you need to crop the final image, then yes, you need to take into account the crop factor. If the lens fills all your sensor, then you don't.
Excellent app and videos! Keep on!
Thank you!!
Great video and simplified beautifully! Only question I had was to confirm that the whole point of calculating the Hyperfocal Distance when we are taking star or milkyway landscapes is to get a sharp picture of the foreground for the stacking, correct? For the actual stars, we will be focusing on the stars themselves, correct?
Hi Irfan! We use the hyperfocal to get shoot a single exposure to capture the foreground and the stars acceptably sharp. If you want both sharp, then you need to take two exposures. On focusing on your subject and another one focusing on the Stars.
I didn’t fully understand the crop sensor thingie. I have a crop sensor camera. Let’s say the crop factor is x1.6. And I am shooting at 10mm (according to my lens). I need to use the distance in the table that is at 16mm? (1.6x10mm)
Hey! When you set the camera, PhotoPills will automatically take crop factor into account. In the table you should check the 10mm row.
@@PhotoPills ooooh okay! I misunderstood. Thanks!
Great helpful video. But unfortunately the AR system only works in apple phone. If I want to install the photopills apps on my second phone which is apple then do I need to purchase it again?
Hi! The AR works on Android phones too. Does your phone include a compass sensor?
Yes, if you change platforms you need to get a new license from Apple.
@@PhotoPills Thnx for the response. Unfortunately in my phone compass is not supported.
@@dipanjanmukherjeephotography Ouch!
Thank you!
Thank you!
My gears are sony a6000 + manual lens laowa 15mm f4. How to use those formula?
If I used filter, it will be same way??
Thanks before
The filter doesn't have any impact on the hyperfocal distance value. Give it a try!
Quick questions, not on hyperfocal distance, but on Milky Way. Does the planner take into consideration daylight savings time? It appears it does because it's using GMT+7 and I am in GMT+8? Thank you so much.
Hey! Yes, the Planner it takes daylight saving times. It always shows the local time.
Does this technique also work to make portraits in front of important buildings?
Sure!
Thank you so much for wearing shorts prior to engaging A/R
Thanks!!
Hi there , what indicate the 26 number down left in the app aprox 4,40 min out in the video , I see app is set on 14mm focal length
That's the focal length of the device's camera. In phones that have more than one camera, the Augmented Reality views allow you to select the focal length to use.
So what’s the difference between the DoF and the hyper focus tables? I watched another video and he used the DoF table
You can use both :)
I don’t do astrophotography (yet!). I just want to make sure that I can get some flowers close and low in my foreground sharp, as well as the trees in the distance. My camera is tilted slightly down. So say the flowers are 2 feet away and I’m at 24mm. Am I safest at f22? Or if I’m concerned about diffraction would I pull further away, like 3ft from my nearest foreground element to use f13? This is all very new to me, as you can tell.
Also, could I use the manual focus peaking and focus at a flower at the hyperfocal distance?
For these kind of images where you have a cool subject so close, I'd recommend you to use the focus stacking technique :)
Can I use the distance scale on my camera lens to get the subject distance and the hyperfocal distance?
In the DoF calculator (focal length) you will have to select TC 0.71x and set as aperture the aperture already taking TC into account. That is, if it is f/2.8, it will be f/2.2.
@@PhotoPills thank you for the quick response to my question 👌
Hi Rafael, can you answer this please as I think Im over thinking things here.... A vid i watched on YT,about photographing the MW,the photographer said to set your focus to infinity on the camera then fine tune using live view and focus assist sighting a far away star and getting it as sharp as possible, Is using the Hyperfocal length just another way of achieving the same thing ?
Hope that made sense to you Bard as it's confused me due to the focus ring being in a different position,Im not grasping how they can be the same.
Sorry for the mind blower and thanks for all the vids you put out there.
Focusing on a Star will make sure stars look crispy and sharp (in focus), but you'll lose a bit of focus in the foreground (subject). Focusing on your subject (if it falls behind the hyperfocal distance) will make your subject crispy and sharp, but the stars will not be as sharp, they'll appear acceptably sharp. It's all a matter of taste. Try both methods and choose the one you like the most.
This is really good stuff! Shall I use autofocus or manual focus when focusing on hyperfocal distance? I think I will try manual.
I'd recommend you to use autofocus. If you use manual and the lens doesn't have a distance scale (or it's not calibrated, and that's the most common thing), you just need to rotate the focus ring until your reference placed at the hyperfocal distance is out of focus. Then rotate back the focus ring until it gets in focus. The idea is to place the near focus plane past the reference and then place it before the reference. This way you'll be sure your are focusing at a slightly further distance than the hyperfocal.
A question not related, is there a way to synchronize plans and POI from iPhoto to iPad?
Go to My stuff>Settings Synchronize data (with iCoud)
PhotoPills I’ll try that, thanks
PhotoPills it worked
Hi Rafael! Thank you for another outstanding video. I'd like to share a hurdle I'm having with the hyperfocal data in the app. I've been using it for years now and it's always worked well with my APS-C sensor (Nikon D5200). However, I recently upgraded to the FF Nikon Z 5 and I found on the field that the hyperfocal distance recommended by the app seemed inaccurate as neither the foreground nor the background were properly in focus. I did some tests today at home and found that with 24mm focal distance and f/8, I need to increase the app hyperfocal distance by at least 60cm (from the recommended 2.43m to at least 3.03m) for it to have infinity in focus. Naturally, this also increases the hyperfocal near limit, but not by what the app states (14 cm) but by about 30cm. I understand your general tip that we should give ourselves some safety room while using the hyperfocal distance, but 60 cm at these setting seems too much. Is it possible that the app is incorrect?
There's no problem with the app, but with how you check your photos :) DoF depends on the concept of Circle of Confusion, and this circle depends on the viewing distance, print size, sensor size, visual acuity, etc. You are probably checking your photo at 100% on your desktop computer, so it's like checking a super big print from a super close distance. In this case your CoC need to be way smaller than the standard one. If you need that sort of sharpness, wither because you want to check the photos at 100% or you want to print them in big format, you need to use a Circle of Confusion that's 2.5 times the camera's pixel pitch. You can send us an email to info@photopills.com if you need help setting this value :)
@@PhotoPills Thanks for your quick reply! That makes sense. I will proceed to adjust the CoC size. All the best!
bonjour PhotoPills a t il une traduction en français ...Merci
Hi Eric! You can use the app in French, but all our videos and guides are in English and Spanish. We'd love to have them in French too. Maybe with the help of AI we'll be able to do it one day!
@@PhotoPills merci pour votre réponse rapide mais sur Play store il est impossible de la télécharger. Comment faire..🤔
I’m using a Canon FD 50,F1.2 Lens via an adaptor onto a Sony A7iii.
Will the adapter affect the hyperfocal distance?
If so, what should I do to get the correct hyperfocal distance?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Hi! The adapter doesn't probably change the focal length, so the Canon 50mm will keep being a 50mm on Sony. So nothing special, just use 50mm as the value to calculate the hyperfocal distance
What height should be phone to get correct line of hyperfocal distance in AR? Thanks
Go to My Stuff>settings and check that the "Device usage height" is around 1.35m.
GREAT explanation, Rafael and an outstanding app...heads and tails above the others, especially with the AR mode!
Just to clarify...I shoot a Nikon D7500, which is an APS-C sensor. In the video, you said that when choosing a focal length, use the ACTUAL focal length, not focal length x crop factor. So if my camera lens is set at a focal length of 35 mm, I need to figure from an actual 35mm, not 35mm x 1.52 crop factor (53.2mm), correct? I'm assuming that by inputting my camera model, that takes the crop factor into account already?
Stay safe and healthy! :-)
Hi Neil! No, you have to use 35mm :) As we know the camera type we can work out all numbers.
@@PhotoPills Cool!
One other thing I forgot to ask...are there any "variances" to be aware of between lenses? In other words, the calculator would show the same HFD for a 35mm (just as an example) prime lens vs. selecting 35mm on a tele lens (like a 18-55mm)?
@@neilmackey9626 No, no difference. It's the same focal length. It doesn't matter if one is a zoom lens and the other one a prime lens.
He said the actual focal length. This should be obvious. Ignore all crop factors.
Raffa - Super useful and I love discovering all the functionality built into my PhotoPills app. I do a fair amount of beach Sunrise / Sunset long exposure photography using Sony A7iii and FE 16-35 2.8 GM lens, using ND filters and usually shooting at F20 / F22. Even though knowing about and basically understanding hyperfocal distance, my typical approach has been to manually focus until the farthest detail (horizon or farthest tree / building) is in focus. This has ended up with good sharpness even of very close beach objects (shells / rocks) at 1 - 2m from sensor, but I'm guess that by focusing so far away past the hyperfocal distance I am losing some close up sharpness.
So here's my question, I typically will shoot a number of shots from the same tripod position, adjusting focal distance through the 16mm to 35mm range of the lens. at f22, hyperfocal distance is 1.85m @35mm but only 0.39m at 16mm. So am I better off just manually focusing once at say 1.85m or maybe 2m and not worrying about it when I zoom out to 16mm? I would ensure that I am always focused out past the hyperfocal distance distance for the full range of the lens. I guess this same question would apply to most adjustable focal length lenses.
That's right! By focusing at 2m then you make sure you're also getting infinity acceptably sharp when you use a shorter focal length than 35mm :)
❤
Can anyone explain this point (@2:25) more carefully ?? i use Sony A6000 with Sigma DN19mm and samyang 14mm
Select the Sony A6000. And in the table decide the focal length and aperture you wish to use for the photo to get the hyperfocal distance.
After reading about astrophotography my understanding is that to get the sharpest picture of the Milky Way I should use manual focus and focus at infinity by making a bright star as small and crisp as possible. If I want a foreground object to be in the photo, say a church, should I use the hyperlocal distance and just focus somewhat behind it to get the church and the stars in focus or try and pinpoint focus on the stars?
The lens can only focus 100% at one distance. The distance you choose will affect the sharpness of the image. There is no wrong or right way to focus.... only what works for you. You can focus at the stars and then take another picture focusing on your subject and blending them together. Or you can focus at the stars, if you're subject is a bit far way, then probably you can get it sharp enough. If your subject is behind the hyperfocal distance, then focus on your subject to get it sharp, and the stars will be "acceptably sharp" too. It all depends on what you like. The hyperfocal is just one more tool you can use at your advantage depending on the situation and your needs :)
@@PhotoPills Thank you
thank you very much. Perfekt, now i understand :-)
Great! Thank you!
One of the problems with landscape Photography is to incorporate the foreground and infinity in your shot. Whether a fence in woodland or rocks at a seascape, the Photopills app makes this calculation on the run. Often I change position regularly so a quick recalculation makes it much easier.
Thanks so much!
Will the blue line always be visible when you're outside? thank you
Yes!
I was only able to get the blue line once and when I went outside to see exactly how to use it the blue line still didn't show up are you connecting your phone to your camera?
Okay, I was totally doing it wrong I needed to set up the Bluetooth and now everything is working. thanks
Just to clarify about the near limit - if I want to take a picture of the moon with a foreground, if I focus on the moon/infinity, will anything behind the near limit also be 'acceptably sharp'? So for example if the hyperfocal distance is 1km I can focus on both the moon and a subject 500m away? Or would the subject need to 1km or further to be sharp as well as the moon?
Yes, everything falling behind the near limit should be "acceptably " sharp.
Does the Hyperfocal distance work if I use from the beginning the "Manual focus mode" rather than the automatic one? How can I control it with the manual focus?
Yes, of course! All you need is to make focus (manually or with the automatic mode). It works the same way.
Awesome video. Thanks!
I know the hyperfocal equation uses the "circle of confusion" and this is set at the standard 0.03mm in Photopills for my Z6 (great camera!).
Where exactly does that 0.03mm come from? Is there ever a scenario (e.g. large print) where we would want to use a smaller value or does that really represent the limit for the camera?
Thanks again!
You're going deep into the DoF. Love it! You can use the Advance option in the DoF calculator in PhotoPills to adjust the Circle of Confusion. I believe you'll find the answer here: www.photopills.com/articles/depth-of-field-guide#step5
It comes from the fact that it is 1/1200 of the width of the sensor. That means it equals roughly one megapixel resolution. This is good for small prints.
Thanks for the video. Let me see if I understood: when aiming to get the foreground subject and the whole background in sharp focus, I should use this technique, right? Regarding the distance, I do have a minimum distance between me and the subject, but I don't have a maximum distance, am I right? Like at 3:24 your minimum distance is 1.16 meters, but there is no problem if you'd stay 5 meters away, right?
Thank you very much (=
Yes!
I have a question. I used the PhotoPills Hyperfocal Table to identify my hyperfocal distance and its showing 2.43 meters.
Will it hurt if i focus at 3 meters or 4 meters?
I'm only asking because what if i don't have anything interesting on my foreground thats at 2.43 meters.
I'm assuming that even if I focus on 3, 4, 5 meters, i'll still have beyond that to infinity in focus, correct?
Thank you.
It's even better. Take into account that if you focus at a closer distance than the hyperfocal distance you won't have acceptable sharpness to infinity, but a finite Depth of Field. That's the reason we usually recommend to focus half a meter or a meter further away than the hyperfocal distance. You'll only lose a couple of centimeters in the near plane, but your photo will be sharper.
You can even test how DoF changes when you focus at that distances. Use the 3rd button, the subject distance button. Set 3, 4 or 5 meters and see how the Dof near limit changes. But you'll always have sharpness to infinity, as the focusing distance is always greater than the hyperfocal distance.
@@PhotoPills Amazing. Thank you so much.
When using f16 , 50 mm , Hyperfocal distance comes to 5.25 m. But blue circle appears to be much closure , may be at 1.5 m .
Hi Tapan! What is the "blue circle"?
@@PhotoPills Hi Rafael, I think he means the blue circle line indicating the hyperfocal length, with the tree and the measure. It happens to me too, f.e. indicating 4,82mt while the real distance is about 2,5mt. How could it happen? Thanks
@@AngeloTullio I think i had similar issue, only because i was measuring while seated, but when i stood up to my camera level, and re-used the AR feature, it showed me the correct distance. I hope this helps.
@@Khajakkodian Wow, thanks so much! Doing the measurement stood up it goes a lot better! It's not so precise (about 20-30cm difference) but it's ok! Thanks a lot
@@AngeloTullio Ah! The first time you use an augmented reality view, the app ask you at what height you usually use the device. That's the height you have to hold your device for the DoF Ar to be accurate. You can change the height value in the My Stuff section of the main menu > Settings
este video hay subtitulado pero el otro está desactivo
Cosas de youtube...
amazing tool :))
Thank you!!
I hope to attempt a full moon photograph using a crop sensor camera and a 600mm lens at f/8. The hyperfocal distance in km is 2.3. In English units, that is 7,863 feet, 10 inches. That is over a mile away. I am beginning to think that I should simply set the focus at infinity. I will be about 1,008 feet from a hilltop which the moon will be rising over. There is nothing between my shooting position and the hilltop to determine hyperfocal distance. I suppose I could go to some location where I might be able to see a mile and a half and focus and then go to my shooting location and set the camera up . . .
Just focus on the moon in this case :)
Thanks a lot
Thanks!!
Kanka teşekkür ederim, eyvallah.
:)
I tried it, but the result is not so good.
By the way, does the height when using the device in the settings affect the hyperfocal?
Yes, of course. Go to My Stuff > Settings and check the "Device usage height" setting. This is the height from the ground that you are holding your device .
I wish I saw this video years ago!
Thanks so much!
Obviously I'm a little late to the party, but one thing that confuses me is why many hyperfocal distance calculators also ask for the object distance as input. In the Hyperfocal Table example here, that parameter is not specified. Can you please help clarify this difference? Thanks!
I suppose they do that because they also calculate the depth of field info. Hyperfocal distance does not depend on focus distance.
@@PhotoPills Thank you. That makes sense and clears up a point of confusion for me. Much appreciated!
Theoretical results don't match reality: Tried it on a 14mm F1.8 Sony Full Frame lens: need on F1.8 around 84m to "first infinity (infinity symbol displayed, but can go even further to infinity)" to get sharp images. With the calculated hyperfocal distance of 3.68m set, I get far away (e.g. 20m to infinity) everything not sharp. Any ideas?
It can happen 2 things:
1- You are focusing at a shorter distance than 3.68m, so the infinity will be blurred. To be on the safe side, always focus at a slightly further distance, or even half a meter more. You won't notice it in the foreground and you'll have the infinity in focus.
2 - You are looking the image at 100% close to your monitor. If this case it's like watching a huge print from a super close distance. If that's what you need, then you need to create a custom camera with a custom circle of confusion. Look for the pixel pitch of your camera and multiply it by 2.5. That's the circle of confusion you should use. For example, If you use the Sony a7R II. It has 42MP and a pixel size of 4.51 µ (0.00451mm). If we multiply this value by 2.5 it gives us a circle of confusion of 0.011mm instead of the 0.03mm that's used by default for full frame cameras. You can use the adavanced DoF calculator in PhotoPills with that CoC or you can create a custom camera with this CoC too.
It is acceptable sharp, not razor sharp. If it is not acceptable to you you have to adjust it.
its been days i'm looking for an explanation that might help me. NAAADDAAA
I just want to know how to calculate the minimum focused distance for a given camera, I DONT CARE ABOUT INFINITY, i want juste a good focus on 15 cm.
before buying my camera, how do i know (how to calculate) if it will be able to focus at 15 cm distance ?
PS: its for industrial use, i want to buy a camera for Raspberry, but i don't know what to chose.
I'll be really really really grateful for you.
That depends on the lens, not the camera. Check the lens specs and you'll see the minimum focus distance
@@PhotoPills thank you for your answer.
The size of sensor doesn't matter ?
Nice! :)
Thanks!
I can't place your accent, but your hands say you're Italian.
Spanish!
So unnatural gestures... Very distracting.
Thanks for the feedback Luka! I'll try no to move that much..
What is this man saying??? After struggling through and wading through the accent I cant even figure out what he was saying.Why would he be SO SO UNCONSCIOUS of his inability to converse and especially TEACH/INFORM in a language that is not his. I,consciously would not try this inflated trick in his native language.
If you prefer to read: www.photopills.com/articles/depth-of-field-guide
Setting playback speed to 0.75 helped me understand. He explained it perfectly.