Depth of Field Calculator

Use the calculator below to estimate near and far focus limits, total depth of field, and the hyperfocal distance for any combination of focal length, aperture, sensor format and subject distance. Built for everyday studio and product photography on full-frame and Canon APS-C cameras, with metric and imperial units.

PhotoRobot Depth of Field Calculator

Estimate near & far focus limits, total DoF and hyperfocal distance.

Settings

Sensor format

Focal length 50 mm

Slider covers the typical studio range (16–300 mm). For wider or longer lenses, type any value (4–1200 mm) into the field above.

Aperture f/16

Subject distance 100 cm

Results

Total depth of field

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Near limit —

Far limit —

In front of subject —

Behind subject —

Hyperfocal distance —

Circle of confusion —

Standard thin-lens DoF model: H = f²/(N·c) + f. Values may differ slightly from real lenses due to diffraction, focus breathing and individual lens design.

What is hyperfocal distance — and why does it matter for studio work?

Hyperfocal distance (H) is the closest distance at which a lens can be focused while still keeping objects at infinity acceptably sharp. Focus exactly on H and depth of field stretches from H/2 all the way to ∞ — the trick landscape photographers use to keep both the foreground and the horizon sharp.

For studio and product photography it's mostly an indicator: as long as your subject distance is far smaller than H (which it usually is — H grows with focal length squared and shrinks only with aperture), DoF stays symmetric-ish around the subject. When the subject distance approaches H, the far limit runs to infinity and the calculator will show ∞.

Practical takeaway for product/jewellery work: focus on the front-most detail you need sharp and use the "Near limit" / "Far limit" rows above (or the Depth of Field Chart in the next article) to confirm the rest of the object fits inside DoF.