Depth of Field Calculator
📚 Learn More About Depth of Field
How to Use the Depth of Field Calculator
This calculator has two modes. Use Plan the Shot when you're on location and need to achieve a specific depth of field. Use Preview Depth of Field to explore what your current settings will produce.
Plan the Shot
Start here when you know how much depth of field you need and want to know how to get it:
- Select your camera sensor: Choose from Full Frame, APS-C, Micro 4/3, or Medium Format options
- Enter focal length: The lens you're shooting with in millimeters
- Enter your desired depth of field: How much of the scene needs to be sharp, in your preferred units (inches is the default — useful for macro and close-up work)
- Choose what to find:
- Find my distance — enter the aperture you want to use; the calculator tells you how far to stand from your subject
- Find my aperture — enter your distance to the subject; the calculator tells you what aperture to set
- Show all combinations — see every aperture/distance pair that achieves your target depth of field
Preview Depth of Field
Use this mode to explore or confirm what your settings will produce before you shoot:
- Select your camera sensor
- Enter focal length
- Set aperture: Choose your f-stop value (wider apertures = shallower DOF)
- Enter distance to subject: In your preferred units
- View results: See near/far focus limits, total DOF, hyperfocal distance, and a visual diagram of your focus range
Use the hyperfocal distance result to maximise depth of field for landscape photography. Save calculations you want to refer back to using the Save button.
Understanding Depth of Field Concepts
Mastering depth of field is essential for creative photography. Understanding these concepts will help you make informed decisions about focus and sharpness:
What is Depth of Field?
Depth of Field (DOF) is the zone of acceptable sharpness in front of and behind your focus point. Objects within this zone appear sharp, while those outside gradually become blurry.
DOF is not a hard boundary - sharpness gradually decreases as you move away from the exact focus point. What we call "in focus" is actually "acceptably sharp" to the human eye.
Creative control: Shallow DOF (blurred background) isolates subjects. Deep DOF (everything sharp) works for landscapes.
Circle of Confusion (CoC)
The Circle of Confusion is the maximum blur spot that still appears sharp to the human eye. It's the technical definition of "acceptably sharp" and depends on sensor size and intended viewing distance.
Smaller sensors have smaller CoC values, which is why they appear to have more depth of field at equivalent focal lengths compared to larger sensors.
Example: Full frame CoC ≈ 0.030mm, APS-C ≈ 0.019mm. This affects how much of your image appears sharp.
Hyperfocal Distance
The hyperfocal distance is the closest focus distance where everything from half that distance to infinity appears acceptably sharp. It's the secret to maximum depth of field.
When you focus at the hyperfocal distance, you maximize the area of sharpness in your image - perfect for landscape photography where you want both foreground and background sharp.
Landscape tip: Focus at the hyperfocal distance to get everything sharp from near to far without increasing your aperture.
How Aperture Affects DOF
Aperture (f-stop) is one of the most powerful controls over depth of field:
- Wide apertures (f/1.4, f/2.8): Shallow DOF, blurred backgrounds, subject isolation
- Medium apertures (f/5.6, f/8): Moderate DOF, sharp subject with some background blur
- Narrow apertures (f/16, f/22): Deep DOF, most of scene sharp
Each stop change (f/8 to f/11) significantly increases depth of field, but reduces light by half.
How Focal Length Affects DOF
Longer focal lengths create shallower depth of field at the same aperture and subject distance. This is why telephoto lenses excel at background blur.
- Wide-angle (24mm, 35mm): Extensive DOF, ideal for landscapes
- Standard (50mm): Natural perspective, moderate DOF
- Telephoto (85mm, 200mm): Shallow DOF, beautiful background blur
Portrait tip: 85mm at f/1.8 creates beautiful subject separation with creamy background blur.
How Sensor Size Affects DOF
Larger sensors produce shallower depth of field at equivalent framing. This is why full frame cameras are prized for portraits with blurred backgrounds.
To get the same field of view, smaller sensors need shorter focal lengths, which naturally increases depth of field. This is why smartphone cameras struggle to blur backgrounds despite wide apertures.
Key insight: Full frame at 50mm f/2.8 gives much shallower DOF than APS-C at 35mm f/2.8, even though both produce similar framing.