How to use hyperfocal distance
- Choose your sensor size, then enter your focal length and aperture. A 24 mm lens at f/11 is preset.
- Read the hyperfocal distance card. Focus your lens at that distance (use live view and a known object, or the lens distance scale).
- Everything from half that distance to infinity will be acceptably sharp.
Type the hyperfocal distance in the focus distance box to see the near limit confirmed and the far limit shown as infinity.
The formula
Hyperfocal distance H = f² ÷ (N × c) + f, where f is the focal length, N the f-number and c the circle of confusion for your sensor. For full frame (c = 0.03 mm): 16 mm at f/8 gives about 1.1 m, 24 mm at f/11 about 1.8 m, 35 mm at f/11 about 3.7 m, and 50 mm at f/16 about 5.3 m. Smaller sensors use a smaller c, so for the same framing their hyperfocal distance is shorter.
Wide lenses and small apertures make hyperfocal focusing easy, which is why landscape and street photographers rely on it. Do not stop down beyond about f/11–f/16 on modern sensors, because diffraction softens the whole image. If the foreground is closer than half the hyperfocal distance, consider focus stacking. Also, focusing slightly beyond H is safer than slightly in front, which would leave the horizon soft.
FAQ
Is everything sharp at the hyperfocal distance?
Everything from half the distance to infinity is acceptably sharp. Sharpest focus is still at the focus point itself.
Does sensor size change hyperfocal distance?
Yes, through the circle of confusion. Pick your sensor in the first box.
Why not just focus on infinity?
Focusing on infinity wastes depth of field: the near limit is then the hyperfocal distance itself, not half of it.