Depth of Field Calculator
Calculate the depth of field, near/far focus limits, and hyperfocal distance for any lens, aperture, and sensor combination.
Results
What is it?
Depth of field (DoF) is the range of distance in a scene that appears acceptably sharp in a photograph. It depends on lens focal length, aperture (f-number), focus distance, and sensor size. A wide aperture (e.g. f/1.4) creates shallow DoF for portraits; a narrow aperture (e.g. f/16) creates deep DoF for landscapes.
How to use
Enter your focal length (mm), aperture (f-number), and focus distance. Select your camera sensor size — this determines the circle of confusion (CoC), a threshold of acceptable sharpness. The calculator returns the near and far limits of sharp focus, total depth of field, and the hyperfocal distance. A far limit of 9999 means infinity.
Example scenario
A photographer uses a 50 mm lens at f/2.8 on a full-frame camera, focused at 3 m. Near limit ≈ 2.67 m, far limit ≈ 3.42 m — a DoF of about 0.75 m. Stopping down to f/8 extends DoF to roughly 2.2 m for the same focus distance.
Pro tip
The hyperfocal distance is the closest focus point at which infinity remains acceptably sharp. Setting focus to the hyperfocal distance maximises depth of field — everything from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity will appear sharp. Landscape photographers routinely use this technique.