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03/25/2003 02:29:56 PM · #1 |
How about a challenge involving hyperfocal distance. Where the objective is to produce a picture that gives a feeling of distance, a feeling of near or far.
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03/25/2003 03:06:38 PM · #2 |
Yikes, that sounds so hard... but... it also means there will be a lot of pictures like the leading lines ones, and the perspective ones.. Let us wait a while before doing this one :)
a good idea though.
Can you explain what hyperfocal is for all the people who don't know? I'm very vague on the meaning.
-da |
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03/25/2003 03:24:25 PM · #3 |
Sure can hyperfocal distance sounds really hard but it can be done even with a low end camera.
The subject of the picture would be some kind of a view that stretches as far as the eye can see. To acheive this you use the greatest depth of field you can.
There are a few different ways to acheive this. You can set your lens for the smallest aperture and focus on infinity.
On cameras where you can't set the aperture tye the landscape mode cause it has the greatest depth of field. If your camera doesn't have that then you try to focus on an object that is about 10 feet away but want to make sure there are object both closer and farther away than what you are focusing on.
Here is a link that explains how to do it a little better
//www.wildthingsphoto.com/tips/tip9809.htm
There is also a link on that page for an example of it. |
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03/25/2003 11:06:29 PM · #4 |
| I think we're going to have a difficult time with hyperfocal distance as a challenge.... How can you determine if it was used? This will easily become a challenge free for all (and get it as sharp as you can). I can't imagine trying to score Hyperfocal distance |
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03/25/2003 11:19:22 PM · #5 |
| Hyperfocal distance is going to put a large area both near and far into focus by the use of dof. You can tell if it was used simply by how much of the foreground and background are in focus and what is out of focus. |
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03/26/2003 11:59:11 AM · #6 |
Been spending too much time in the forums...thought you were proposing a "hyper-vocal" challenge and thought I'd have a chance for a ribbon...
Seriously, I'm not completely sure I understand this, but have a couple of shots in mind I think would work... |
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03/26/2003 12:48:01 PM · #7 |
Perhaps 'distance' would be a better title? That would open up to whole range of techniques - both shallow and deep dof shots, mist/fog and other natural distancing effects, perspecives, etc. etc.
Ed
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03/26/2003 12:56:32 PM · #8 |
Hyperfocal distance is the minimum distance you can focus at and still have infinity in focus. If you manually focus at 5 meters, infinity should still be in focus, but if you manually focus at .5 meters, infinity will surely be out of focus. Somewhere in between is the hyperfocal distance where all will be in focus.
This is done with the smallest aperature f8, f16, or f22 that your camera has. Some camera's hyperfocal distance is 1.4 meters, some 2 meters, etc. There are calculators on the web that sometimes work, but trial and error might be the best way to find your camera's hyperfocal distance. Hyperfocal distance is different for every camera model and lens. It depends on the min and max focal length of your lens and some other factors.
If you know your camera's hyperfocal distance, you set the focus manually at that distance, say 1.4 meters, manually set the aperature to the smallest, and then adjust shutter speed to the correct exposure for the scene.
As already explained, you use it to have something 'near' in focus as well as everything else in focus out to infinity.
My first attempt resulted in infinity being out of focus. I haven't had time to try again.
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03/26/2003 01:00:16 PM · #9 |
Well then, I think the simplest thing would be to borrow Isaac's Fuji A101 with its two lens settings (macro and mountains) -- everything should be in focus! That should leave the effectiveness dependent only on the quality of the composition...
Thanks for the explanation.
Message edited by author 2003-03-26 13:00:58. |
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03/26/2003 01:09:37 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by goodtempo:
Hyperfocal distance is the minimum distance you can focus at and still have infinity in focus. If you manually focus at 5 meters, infinity should still be in focus, but if you manually focus at .5 meters, infinity will surely be out of focus. Somewhere in between is the hyperfocal distance where all will be in focus.
This is done with the smallest aperature f8, f16, or f22 that your camera has. Some camera's hyperfocal distance is 1.4 meters, some 2 meters, etc. There are calculators on the web that sometimes work, but trial and error might be the best way to find your camera's hyperfocal distance. Hyperfocal distance is different for every camera model and lens. It depends on the min and max focal length of your lens and some other factors.
If you know your camera's hyperfocal distance, you set the focus manually at that distance, say 1.4 meters, manually set the aperature to the smallest, and then adjust shutter speed to the correct exposure for the scene.
As already explained, you use it to have something 'near' in focus as well as everything else in focus out to infinity.
My first attempt resulted in infinity being out of focus. I haven't had time to try again. |
Ever think of getting a job in teaching, you just explained it much better than what my text book did =o) |
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03/26/2003 01:17:35 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by OneSweetSin:
Ever think of getting a job in teaching, you just explained it much better than what my text book did =o) |
The pay is lower than freelance photography... |
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03/27/2003 07:35:05 AM · #12 |
| Here's how to get the most out of hyperfocal distance. This technique really is not effective with most digital cameras because of the lack of markings on the lens barrel. Those of you with dslr's will find this easier. Hyperfocal distance is the nearest point of sharp focus when your camera is focused at infinity. You can use any f stop you'd like, as this technique will help you get the best of your depth of field at any f stop. So, everyone let's set our cameras to manual focus.. focus at infinity, and look through the viewfinder. Where is the nearest point of sharp focus? Let's pretend it's that tree 1/3 of the way into our picture... We estimate it's at 10 feet away. The way dof works is that it ranges from that close point way out back to infinity and some of the extra dof spills out beyond infinity. What hyperfocal distance is essentially doing is taking the dof that is going beyond infinity (because it's being wasted) and moving it into your image range (i.e. closer to you than the sharp tree was... so closer than 10 feet for example). So now we take our lens and look at the markings. There'll be things like 3.5 ft, 5ft, 10ft, 14ft... whatever they may be.. Now we refocus our lens to the hyperfocal distance (so 10 feet on the lens barrel). It's important that you dont try to adjust it in the viewfinder because you might skew the results! Not like we're wasting film here) So now your lens is focused to the hyperfocal distance (which was 10 feet). Now you take the picture. Now the closest point of sharp focus is 1/2 the original distance.. so 5 feet. If you need more sharpness, use a smaller f stop.. it works for all of them |
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