online focusing distance chart or calculator

[stump4545]

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are there any charts online which would show f stop and subject distance and acceptable focus before and after subject.

 

kind of like, if my subject it exactly 8ft away and i am shooting at 1.4f what is the acceptable focus range like 7.5--9ft etc...

 

i don't know if they have an online calculator for that as it would be easier in a way then trying to read off the lens barrel sometimes.

 

thanks a lot

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[schmolinski]

Take this buddy:

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

There also exist smartphone calculators.

[pico]

An esteemed member of this group asked for the same for the same reasons recently. He made a good point. It is very hard to read the lens' scale. However, it may be similarly difficult to set the distance. See the bottom of the chart below for the Hyperfocal distance.

 

Depth of Field Table

 

Enter focal length and camera, print the page. Or save and edit it down to a reasonable number of rows.

 

And there are more but none quite as versatile.

[Lindolfi]

Here's one I wrote in Java for online use:

 

Graphic Depth of Field Calculator

[stump4545]

thanks a lot. that dofmaster is especially neat.

 

wow, shooting at50mm at F1 at 5ft has to b spot on maybe give or take about an inch.

 

thanks

 

perfect.

[stump4545]

interesting,

 

what i did notice if that for noct shooters at f1 compared to lux shooters at 1.4 for subjects with distances under 10ft the zone in focus is really simliar.

 

i guess that would make the noct about the same difficulty to focus as the lux.

 

i though that f1 would yield a much smaller sharp focus area then the lux.

[Gerard]

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If you carry your phone with you, download the DoF Calc app. It's ideal.

[Tenebrous]

Assuming I have downloaded the referenced iPhone apps:

 

DoF Calc has a preset for the Leica M9 but only displays in meters. I can do the conversion to feet math, but when the DoF is very shallow I'd better be right on. (yes, I wish I could reprogram my brain to full metric too)

 

DOFMaster does not have a preset for the M9 (it has the M8 and M8.2). It does have CoC choices.

 

My opinion is that the GUI (user interface) for the DoF Calc app is cleaner and a bit more flexible. The DoF display can be toggled for near/far limit and distance in front and behind the subject.

 

But, at least for me. Since I don't have a studio requirement, the focus ring on my lenses give me a good enough range estimate.

 

YMMV

 

Alex

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello stump4545,

 

Many old photo manuals from before World War II thru the 1970's have pages & pages of depth of field tables for many different lenses.

 

If you find an old photographic instruction book, like an old Leica Manual or some other brand's manual, even tho the equipment is not up to date the depth of field tables are the same. A 50mm lens @ 5.6 has the same depth of field whether 70 years old or made today.

 

Depth of field is usually about 1/3d in front of & 2/3d's behind the plane of focus except as the image : object ratio begins to approach 1 : 1. Then it is more or less the same in front of & behind the plane of focus.

 

There are some exceptions sometimes w/ some floating element designs. Some floating element designs tend to be sharper in the focussed image plane (A higher degree of correction.) while their zones of sharpness in front of & behind that plane fall off faster than traditional optical designs. That can mean effectively less depth of field.

 

Another thought: If you were to get an old photographic manual from years ago the parts that had to do w/ focussing, lighting (the concepts - not the technology), exposure & the like would be the same. Many older books spent more time w/ this because w/o automation people sometimes had to spend more time & do more things to take the same picture than they do today.

 

Also: Many people take depth of field tables w/ a grain of salt. Sometimes even manufacturers change them, ie: Look @ the chrome & black M versions of the F 3.4, 21mm Super Angulon. The earlier chrome version shows considerably greater depth of field on its scale than the later black version.

 

Many people use depth of field tables in books or on their lens as a guide & then stop down two (2) stops more. Not uncommon.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[giordano]

If you find an old photographic instruction book, like an old Leica Manual or some other brand's manual, even tho the equipment is not up to date the depth of field tables are the same. A 50mm lens @ 5.6 has the same depth of field whether 70 years old or made today.

 

This is only true if you make the same size prints as 70 years ago.

 

Depth of field is usually about 1/3d in front of & 2/3d's behind the plane of focus except as the image : object ratio begins to approach 1 : 1. Then it is more or less the same in front of & behind the plane of focus.

 

This is a common misunderstanding. At 1:1 magnification (c. 0.2m with a 50mm lens) depth of field is equally distributed in front of and behind the plane of focus. At the hyperfocal distance (c. 15m with a 50mm lens at f/5.6 and the usual, 80 year old, assumptions about print size and viewing distance), DOF extends 7.5m in front of the focal plan but to infinity behind it. With a 50mm lens at f/5.6 the 1/3:2/3 "rule" holds only at distances around 5m. But at f/11 the relevant distance is about 2.5m, while at f/2.8 it is about 10m.

 

In short, the 1/3:2/3 "rule" is either useless or too complicated to remember any time depth of field really matters. If the lens has a DOF scale, it's always a better guide.

 

Many people use depth of field tables in books or on their lens as a guide & then stop down two (2) stops more. Not uncommon.

 

This compensates for the higher resolving power of modern lenses, films and sensors and the larger prints we tend to make these days.

[tobey bilek]

Leica Camera has these on their site if you look up details on the specific lenses offered.