![]() ![]() The best foolproof method for finding the hyperfocal distance doesn't even require any calculations or charts and can be done completely in the moment prior to releasing the shutter. When you've put hard work and preparation into a shoot, you want to be confident that your images are in focus when you get home to process them. Even with a distance scale on your lens or in camera, it can be difficult to ensure that you are focused at the hyperfocal distance, as those scales are often calibrated poorly. Calculating the hyperfocal distance is one thing, but actually focusing your lens at that exact distance is a whole separate challenge. The typical method for finding hyperfocal distance involves using charts or calculators available online or with apps such as PhotoPills. Many photographers envy the sharp images of a high-resolution full frame camera, blaming their soft results on a smaller sensor or a cheap lens when in reality, most of their problems are probably due to poor focusing technique. The image featured above is sharp enough for large printing and was made with a "cheap" manual focus lens ( Rokinon 12mm f/2.0) and an APS-C camera ( Fujifilm X-T2). Instagram notwithstanding, many of us like to achieve maximum detail and clarity throughout our images, whether for the sake of making higher quality prints, or simply for the satisfaction of making a quality image that looks good at all sizes. For example, the image above required careful consideration to keep the close foreground pebbles in focus while also keeping the background within the focal plane, yet on social media, the file is compressed and downsized to the point where it wouldn't have mattered if I'd missed focus a bit. This means that focusing errors often go unnoticed and focusing successes often go unappreciated. ![]() In the age of digital media sharing, most photographers are sharing their images from their cell phones, with the assumption that the majority of their audience will be viewing from their cell phones as well. Many photographers abide by the rule of thumb to focus one-third of the way into the scene. This method works well enough, provided your aperture is small enough, your focal length wide enough, and assuming there are no close foreground objects that you would like to keep in focus. ![]()
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