Get hyperfocal distance and the near/far limits of acceptable sharpness for any focal length, aperture, sensor size and focus distance. Perfect for landscape work.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Checked against what this tool computes on
| Aperture | Hyperfocal | Near limit | Far limit | Total DOF |
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Hyperfocal H = f² / (N × c) + f, where f = focal length, N = aperture, c = circle of confusion. Near limit = (H × s) / (H + (s − f)). Far limit = (H × s) / (H − (s − f)); negative means infinity.
Focus at the hyperfocal distance for maximum DOF: everything from H/2 to infinity is acceptably sharp.
Hyperfocal distance is computed as H = f squared / (N x c) + f, where f is focal length, N the f-number and c the circle of confusion for your sensor. Near and far limits come from the standard depth-of-field pair: near = (H x s) / (H + (s - f)) and far = (H x s) / (H - (s - f)), with s your focus distance. When that far denominator falls to zero or below, the tool prints infinity.
The Sensor (CoC) dropdown is the setting most people overlook, and it feeds c directly: 0.030 mm for full frame, 0.020 mm for APS-C Nikon / Sony, 0.019 mm for APS-C Canon, 0.015 mm for Micro Four Thirds, 0.011 mm for 1-inch, plus 0.038 and 0.044 mm for medium format. Focal length, aperture and focus distance default to 24 mm, f/8 and 3 m, switchable to feet.
Circle of confusion is a convention rather than a measurement. These values work out to roughly the sensor diagonal divided by 1,440, which assumes a modest enlargement viewed at a normal distance. Pixel-peep at 100% and your usable depth of field will be noticeably shallower than the table suggests. The comparison rows also run f/2.8 through f/22 whether or not your lens offers them, and diffraction is not modelled, so the gain at f/22 is overstated.
Focus at the hyperfocal distance shown and everything from half that distance to infinity falls within the acceptable-sharpness limits. At the default 24 mm, f/8, full frame, that means focusing about 2.42 m away for sharpness from roughly 1.21 m onward.
Once your focus distance reaches or exceeds the hyperfocal distance, the far limit is unbounded. The tool detects that H - (s - f) has dropped to zero or below and prints the infinity symbol rather than an implausibly large number.
The presets are 0.020 mm for Nikon and Sony APS-C and 0.019 mm for Canon APS-C, reflecting their slightly different sensor sizes. Smaller sensors take a smaller circle of confusion because the captured image must be enlarged more to reach the same print size.
The table shows depth of field still growing at f/22, but it does not model diffraction, which softens the entire frame at small apertures. On most modern lenses f/8 to f/11 is the practical limit before diffraction cancels out the extra depth.
No. Focusing at infinity throws away the near half of your available depth of field. Focus at the hyperfocal distance instead and you keep infinity acceptably sharp while gaining everything from half the hyperfocal distance forward, which the tool shows for you.
Hyperfocal distance is derived from focal length, aperture and a circle of confusion — the largest blur circle that still reads as sharp. The selectable values here (0.044, 0.038, 0.030, 0.020, 0.019 mm) correspond to different sensor sizes, and they encode an assumption about print size and viewing distance.
That makes hyperfocal tables precise about something inherently subjective. A tighter circle of confusion is the honest choice for modern high-resolution sensors and for images viewed at 100% on screen, and it produces a noticeably longer hyperfocal distance than the traditional figures.
Focusing at the hyperfocal distance puts everything from half that distance to infinity within the acceptable-blur criterion — but infinity is at the very edge of it, meaning distant mountains are acceptably sharp rather than genuinely sharp.
When the distant subject is the point of the photograph, focusing somewhat beyond the hyperfocal distance trades near-field sharpness you do not need for distant sharpness you do. Focus stacking removes the trade-off entirely where the scene is static.
Stopping down further is not a free fix. Diffraction softens the whole frame past a certain aperture, and on a small sensor that point arrives early — beyond roughly f/8 to f/11 on many formats, the depth of field gained costs more sharpness than it buys.
The standard or formula behind this tool, so you can check it rather than take it on trust.
Hyperfocal distance is derived from a circle of confusion, which is a decision about how much blur counts as sharp.
That makes it precise about something inherently subjective. Focusing at the hyperfocal distance puts infinity at the edge of acceptable rather than genuinely sharp, which is why many landscape photographers focus slightly beyond it.
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