Hyperfocal Distance Explained

The hyperfocal distance is the nearest point you can focus on while keeping everything out to infinity acceptably sharp. Focus there and your depth of field runs from half that distance to the horizon - the largest sharp zone a given lens and aperture can produce. It is the classic landscape technique for front-to-back sharpness without focus stacking.

How to use it

Find the hyperfocal distance for your focal length and aperture, then set focus to that distance - using a focus scale, live view magnification, or by focusing on an object at roughly that range. From half the hyperfocal distance onward, everything will be sharp. Focusing at infinity instead throws away the near half of your depth of field and leaves the foreground soft.

What changes it

Wider lenses and smaller sensors bring the hyperfocal distance closer, so more of the scene is sharp. Stopping down shortens it further, though only to a point before diffraction softens fine detail. Because the figure depends on the circle of confusion, always calculate it for your own sensor rather than trusting a generic value.

A quick field method

If you cannot set an exact distance, a reliable shortcut is to focus roughly one third of the way into the scene at moderate apertures - it lands close to the hyperfocal point for many wide-angle shots.