hyperfocal settings

Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to set
the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the limits of the
available depth of field. This feature was available on zooms as well as
fixed lenses. It is particularly useful for landscapes where you can have
the focal plane closer than infinity but get infinity in focus thus having
as much of the scene in focus as possible for any given aperture. How do I
do that with a lens that has no such focal limit markers on it? Why do lens
makers no longer put these markers on?

David

On 2013-06-20 17:12:59 -0700, "David Hare-Scott" said:

Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to
set the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the limits
of the available depth of field. This feature was available on zooms
as well as fixed lenses.
It is particularly useful for landscapes where you can have the focal
plane closer than infinity but get infinity in focus thus having as
much of the scene in focus as possible for any given aperture.

All still possible.

How do I do that with a lens that has no such focal limit markers on it?

Shoot in aperture priority mode, or shoot manual, and make the
hyperfocal DoF calculations yourself. There are calculators and charts
which can help in this.
There are apps available for smart phones and computers which will make
this easier for you.
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
http://dofmaster.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simp...301222730?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...enrg.dof&hl=en

http://www.nikonians.org/reviews?ali...and-calculator


Why do lens makers no longer put these markers on?

That is a question you will have to put to the lens manufacturers.

David


--
Regards,

Savageduck

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message ...

Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to set
the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the limits of the
available depth of field. This feature was available on zooms as well as
fixed lenses. It is particularly useful for landscapes where you can have
the focal plane closer than infinity but get infinity in focus thus having
as much of the scene in focus as possible for any given aperture. How do I
do that with a lens that has no such focal limit markers on it? Why do lens
makers no longer put these markers on?

David
In an emergency:

If you're using a DSLR, flip to manual focus and use your DOF preview.

Start with the horizon in focus, back off a bit till the image goes fuzzy,
then dial it back till the image becomes clear again.

For P&S cams that don't have a DOF preview, but which still have manual
focus, you can achieve a similar result with a sequence of picks.

Put the cam in manual focus, and manually focus to infinity.

Then, bring the focus back a bit and take a pic.

Check the result, if it's blurry, you've backed off too far, so focus a bit
farther out and recheck.

If it's clear, repeat the above step until you find the hyperfocal limit.

Of course, if your P&S cam doesn't have a manual mode, make sure you're in
an aperture priority mode (if possible), so the DOF is the same for each
picture.

If you play around with your cam enough, I'm sure you can find a way to make
it work...

Take Care,
Dudley

On 6/20/2013 8:12 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to
set the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the limits
of the available depth of field. This feature was available on zooms as
well as fixed lenses. It is particularly useful for landscapes where
you can have the focal plane closer than infinity but get infinity in
focus thus having as much of the scene in focus as possible for any
given aperture. How do I do that with a lens that has no such focal
limit markers on it? Why do lens makers no longer put these markers on?

David

If you don't have a calculator handy, try your DOF preview, if your
camera has one. Otherwise f16 focused at about 1/3 of infinity is a
decent rule of thumb. Since you are shooting digital, you can bracket
that setting.

--
PeterN

Savageduck wrote:
On 2013-06-20 17:12:59 -0700, "David Hare-Scott"
said:
Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to
set the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the
limits of the available depth of field. This feature was available
on zooms as well as fixed lenses.
It is particularly useful for landscapes where you can have the focal
plane closer than infinity but get infinity in focus thus having as
much of the scene in focus as possible for any given aperture.

All still possible.

How do I do that with a lens that has no such focal limit markers on
it?

Shoot in aperture priority mode, or shoot manual, and make the
hyperfocal DoF calculations yourself. There are calculators and charts
which can help in this.
There are apps available for smart phones and computers which will
make this easier for you.
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
http://dofmaster.com/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simp...301222730?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...enrg.dof&hl=en

http://www.nikonians.org/reviews?ali...and-calculator



Thanks for those.

As portable computing devices (except cameras) are against my religion I
will have to print some charts. One for each lens. And find the right one
and read it before the light changes or the subject moves. Groaaaaaaaan.

Why do lens makers no longer put these markers on?

That is a question you will have to put to the lens manufacturers.


This is crazy. Why do I have to carry a chart or a pocket computer to get
at this, the old analog solution was far more convenient and quick and
sufficiently accurate. So much for progress.

D

In article , David Hare-Scott
wrote:

As portable computing devices (except cameras) are against my religion

strange religion, one which is opposed to progress.

I will have to print some charts. One for each lens. And find the right one
and read it before the light changes or the subject moves. Groaaaaaaaan.

or just let the camera do it for you.

for instance, some cameras can pick the f/stop needed to keep
everything in focus, based on the distance measured at each autofocus
point.

Why do lens makers no longer put these markers on?

That is a question you will have to put to the lens manufacturers.

This is crazy. Why do I have to carry a chart or a pocket computer to get
at this, the old analog solution was far more convenient and quick and
sufficiently accurate. So much for progress.

lenses have been moving away from physical aperture rings, so where
would these markings go?

zoom lenses are almost always a two ring design (not push-pull) and
there's no way to put the markings on such a lens.

"RichA" wrote in message
...

On Thursday, June 20, 2013 8:12:59 PM UTC-4, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to set

the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the limits of the

available depth of field. This feature was available on zooms as well as

fixed lenses. It is particularly useful for landscapes where you can have

the focal plane closer than infinity but get infinity in focus thus having

as much of the scene in focus as possible for any given aperture. How do
I

do that with a lens that has no such focal limit markers on it? Why do
lens

makers no longer put these markers on?



David

Be careful doing hyperfocal anything with high-resolution digital cameras.
What passed as "in-focus" in the old film days probably won't today and will
look blurred. I'd halve the hyper-focal distance these days. If it was 20ft
(depth of focus) on an old lens, consider it 10ft until otherwise
determined. Using DOF preview with a DSLR isn't as easy at it sound since
the image goes darker and just like with an EVF, the "screen" in the camera
becomes more grainy.

For you sighted blokes, no problem ...

Set to where you think you've got it; take a test pic; check the pic on
screen, zoom in if necessary.

Adjust accordingly...

Scales would be nice, but not necessary ...

Take Care,
Dudley

RichA wrote:


Be careful doing hyperfocal anything with high-resolution digital cameras. What passed as "in-focus" in the old film days probably won't today and will look blurred.

Indeed. Back in 2009, there were already "interesting" limits to detail,
resolvable only via focus STACKING!

http://www.josephholmes.com/news-med...precision.html
http://www.josephholmes.com/news-sharpmediumformat.html

BugBear

David Hare-Scott wrote:
Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to set
the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the limits of the
available depth of field. This feature was available on zooms as well as
fixed lenses. It is particularly useful for landscapes where you can have
the focal plane closer than infinity but get infinity in focus thus having
as much of the scene in focus as possible for any given aperture. How do I
do that with a lens that has no such focal limit markers on it? Why do lens
makers no longer put these markers on?

DOF depends on not only the focal length and aperture. It also
depends on enlargement and viewing distance.

With 35mm film most people used around 4x6 inch or a little
larger (and if they went much larger, they knew what they did)
and the sensor size was known.

With digital you get variable sensor sizes (the same lens may
be used on FF, APS-crop and 4/3rds sensors, so the same print
size means different enlargements) and more and more people
using larger and larger display sizes (be it a 12x18 inch
print or 100% view).

If you had a CoC on the sensor of 0.03mm, that means on print
0.125mm (FF on 4x6 inch) or 0.75mm (4/3rds on 12x18 inch).
You'll easily see that at the same viewing distance one will
be vastly easier visible than the other.

Then comes the fact that people tend to inspect larger prints
of good photos more closely ...

So in the end, there's no marking a lens maker could reasonably
use that's valid for most circumstances: either you stop down
much more than you need or stuff will not be in focus enough.

-Wolfgang

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 10:12:59 +1000, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Once upon a time lenses had guide lines on them that you could use to set
the lens so that the selected region was in focus within the limits of the
available depth of field. This feature was available on zooms as well as
fixed lenses. It is particularly useful for landscapes where you can have
the focal plane closer than infinity but get infinity in focus thus having
as much of the scene in focus as possible for any given aperture. How do I
do that with a lens that has no such focal limit markers on it? Why do lens
makers no longer put these markers on?


1) I understand that hyperfocal for film doesn't translate so well to
digital

2) Many lenses today can fit full and crop cameras, complicating the
issue

3) You can easily take a number of pictures, focussed around 1/3rd of
the way in, with a bit of exposure bracketing to give different DOF's
(you know where abouts you are going to start on a landscape anyway).

Otherwise I can't think of any good explanations. I never have been
able to get anything useful out of DOF preview.

--
AnthonyL