Depth of Field Calculator

Depth of field is the zone that looks sharp around the point you focus on. It depends on sensor size, focal length, aperture and focus distance. Enter yours to get the near and far limits, the total depth and the hyperfocal distance — the focus point that makes everything from half that distance to infinity sharp.

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Depth of field

Result

Near limit

2.73 m

Far limit

3.33 m

Total depth of field

60 cm

27 cm in front, 33 cm behind

Hyperfocal distance

29.8 m

focus here for sharp from 14.9 m to ∞

Circle of confusion 0.03 mm for this sensor.

To scale (log distance)

0.3 m0.5 m1 m2 m5 m10 m20 m50 m100 mnear 2.7 mfar 3.3 mfocus 3 mH 29.8 m

How to read the result

The near and far limits bracket the sharp zone; the diagram draws them on a log scale so close-focus and landscape cases both fit. Roughly a third of the depth of field sits in front of the subject and two thirds behind at portrait distances; at the hyperfocal distance the far limit reaches infinity.

Circle of confusion

“Acceptably sharp” is defined by the circle of confusion — the largest blur spot that still looks like a point on an 8 × 10 print viewed at arm’s length: 0.030 mm on full frame, 0.020 mm on APS-C, 0.015 mm on Micro Four Thirds, under 0.01 mm on phones. Bigger prints or closer viewing shrink it and with it the depth of field.

All eight calculators live on the camera calculators page.

Questions people ask

What is hyperfocal distance?

The focus distance at which everything from half that distance to infinity is acceptably sharp. Landscape photographers focus there instead of at infinity to keep the foreground sharp. It is f² ÷ (N × c) + f, where f is focal length, N the aperture and c the circle of confusion.

Why is depth of field so deep on an iPhone?

Because the lens is tiny: the 24 mm-equivalent main camera is really about 6.9 mm, and depth of field scales with the square of the actual focal length. Portrait mode simulates a shallow depth of field with a depth map instead.

How do I get a blurrier background?

Longer focal length, wider aperture (smaller f-number), closer to the subject, and more distance between subject and background. Of the four, subject distance and focal length have the biggest effect.

How much of my photo will be in focus at f/1.8 on a 50 mm lens?

At 3 m on full frame, about 40 cm (2.82–3.21 m). Depth of field grows with distance and aperture number and shrinks with focal length; enter your numbers at https://whitebalancer.com/tools/depth-of-field-calculator for the near and far limits and a to-scale diagram.

What is the hyperfocal distance for my lens?

Focus there and everything from half that distance to infinity is sharp. It is f² ÷ (N × c) + f — 29.8 m for 50 mm at f/2.8 on full frame, 5.3 m at f/8 on 24 mm. https://whitebalancer.com/tools/depth-of-field-calculator computes it for any sensor.

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