Hyperfocal Distance Challenge

[flyguy]

Have been to Crater Lake, took shots across the lake, rim to rim is 5 to 6 miles at least; been to and photographed the Blue Mesa Loop vistas at Petrified Forest Nat. Pk.; been to the edge of the Colorado Escarpment along the Mogollon Rim; been to the trail head of the Hance Rapids Trail and to the Abyss Overlook, both on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon....where in the world is the hyperfocal focus point for a 28mm lens at f/8 aperture? All these locations have one thing in common, when you get near the edge there is nothing to lock onto except the horizon which at times seems to be beyond infinity!!! According to a chart I found on line the point of focus is less than twenty feet away. Really? How can that be when the horizon is anywhere from 5 to 6 miles away at the Crater Lake caldera and who knows how far away at the Abyss Overlook along the red bus route on the way to Hermit's Rest??? My 28mm f/2.8 prime is a Nikkor manual focus lens from film days; does that lens make it any easier to lock onto the hyperfocal focus point because it is manual focus? Confused!!!

 

[flyguy]

A different challenge at Crater Lake; there is a side trail to Pinnacle Valley; the pinnacles are awesome....the challenge with them is getting shots that are three dimensional rather than two dimensional. It is a real challenge to get separation between the pinnacles so you get a feel for the depth of the area. Visually you get the depth; optically, with a DSLR you definitely lose something.

 

[DRwyoming]

Confused!!!

Hyperfocal distance is a handy concept and can be useful when your scene demands maximum DoF but if you don't have super close elements along with distant elements then you don't really need to set your lens to hyperlocal distance at all. And if you have super close elements in your image along with very distant elements then focusing to the hyperfocal distance often doesn't get the job done anyway and either stopping way down and risking image softening diffraction or shooting and processing focus stacks can be a better bet.

FWIW, I rarely rely on hyperfocal tables, apps or markings on my older Nikon AIS lenses. For years I've used DoF Preview to assess DoF in the field but these days I'll often view the image in Live View, often zooming in to assess critical sharpness and adjust focus or aperture accordingly or set up for shooting a focus stack set if I can't obtain the desired DoF without stopping down excessively.

 

[gbodave]

" According to a chart I found on line the point of focus is less than twenty feet away. Really? ".

Here's one way.

The practical application of the technique starts around 6 minutes into the video.

 

[dabhand16]

Sounds like a job for focus stacking. Seen a lot of great images taken with this technique - and you don't need too many steps either.

Steve has got a tutorial on this on this:

Video Workshop - Focus Shift Shooting (Nikon) - Backcountry Gallery

Have you ever wanted to try Nikon’s Focus Shift Shooting and just weren’t sure where to start? Have you ever wondered… What is Focus Shift Shooting? How do I use it? How do I set the menu? How do I set the camera? How do I know what to do in the field? How do I know if I […]

backcountrygallery.com

And here is a short and free method:

The guy has several other videos on YouTube on this too.

 

[aolander]

"According to a chart I found on line the point of focus is less than twenty feet away. Really?"

Yes, everything from 1/2 the hyperfocal distance to infinity will be acceptably in focus. However, if you don't have any foreground elements at 10' (as in your example), you don't need to use hyperfocal distance. One method I've seen recommended is to focus at twice the distance of your closest object in the scene. You have to use a relatively small aperture to do this, however, e.g. < f/8 or so.

Double the Distance Method Explained

photographylife.com

 

[bleirer]

A good app and a good article below. But if your nearest target is already past infinity focus, just focus on that, hyperfocal distance results in a lot being 'acceptably' sharp but not critically sharp.

Advanced Depth Of Field (DoF) Calculator | PhotoPills

Get the total control over depth of field. This calculator allows you to use an adjusted Circle of Confusion to calculate the adjusted depth of field values according to your desired print size, viewing distance, camera sensor size and viewer’s visual acuity.

www.photopills.com

Depth of Field: The Definitive Photography Guide | PhotoPills

All you need to master depth of field (DoF): meaning, inspiring examples, tips, DoF calculator and charts, DoF app, DoF vs aperture (and sensor size, focal length, subject distance), hyperfocal distance, diffraction, macro photography, circle of confusion, bokeh, preview DoF button – including a...

www.photopills.com

[/QUOTE]

 

[aolander]

"past infinity focus"

No such thing.

 

[bleirer]

"past infinity focus"

No such thing.

"past infinity focus"

No such thing.

I get what you mean but in a certain sense there is. Infinity is the point where the light rays from the same distant point are finally parallel to each other entering the lens. Beyond infinity is where they start to diverge again in the opposite direction. I think lenses allow for beyond infinity to adjust for expansion due to temperature.. too much infinity for Buzz Lightyear I guess.

 

[bjanes]

Have been to Crater Lake, took shots across the lake, rim to rim is 5 to 6 miles at least; been to and photographed the Blue Mesa Loop vistas at Petrified Forest Nat. Pk.; been to the edge of the Colorado Escarpment along the Mogollon Rim; been to the trail head of the Hance Rapids Trail and to the Abyss Overlook, both on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon....where in the world is the hyperfocal focus point for a 28mm lens at f/8 aperture? All these locations have one thing in common, when you get near the edge there is nothing to lock onto except the horizon which at times seems to be beyond infinity!!! According to a chart I found on line the point of focus is less than twenty feet away. Really? How can that be when the horizon is anywhere from 5 to 6 miles away at the Crater Lake caldera and who knows how far away at the Abyss Overlook along the red bus route on the way to Hermit's Rest??? My 28mm f/2.8 prime is a Nikkor manual focus lens from film days; does that lens make it any easier to lock onto the hyperfocal focus point because it is manual focus? Confused!!!

The crucial question here is what is the distance to the nearest part of the scene that you want to be in acceptable focus? At f/8 with a 28 mm lens, the hyperfocal distance is about 12 feet, assuming a COC (circle of confusion) of 30 microns. Everything from half the hyperfocal distance (6 feet) to infinity would be acceptably sharp. I think the nearest point in your scene that needs to be in focus is much greater than 6 feet and you should not use hyperfocal focusing.

If the most important objects in the scene are essentially at infinity, then you should probably focus at infinity. See this discussion by Harold Merklinger. Also note that a circle of confusion of 30 microns is a pre world war II standard that has not been updated for modern sensors and lenses. See this discussion by George Douvos for suggested COF for a Nikon D800 camera. The suggestions also apply to other high resolution sensors.

Cheers,

Bill