None of my lenses have a scale That makes it more difficult, but not impossible. You can measure the hyperfocal distance using a tape measure. For full accuracy, you need to do this from the ‘focal plane’ (the camera sensor) rather than the front of the lens, but your camera should have a focal plane marker near the viewfinder. Look for a small circle with a line through it. You could also invest in a laser measuring tool, or buy a second-hand lens with distance markings. Alternatively, just guesstimate! The viewfinder looks blurred when my lens is focused at the hyperfocal distance. What’s going on? The image in the viewfinder is always at the lens’s largest, brightest aperture. The lens is only switched to the aperture you’ve set when you take a picture. However, most digital SLRs have a DoF Preview button, usually near the lens mount. This temporarily sets the lens to the f/stop you’ve dialled in, enabling you to see what will be sharp in the image. The viewfinder gets darker as the aperture gets smaller, though, so it’s better to use the camera’s Live View function. Live View makes it easy to set the near-as-dammit hyperfocal distance. Focus on the furthest part of the scene you want to be sharp before pressing the DoF Preview button, then manually pull the focus closer until the nearest part of the scene you want to appear sharp slides into focus. Being able to magnify the image on the Live View screen means you can focus with precision and check both the background and the foreground for sharpness.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 02:29:08 +0000
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