Free tool · no sign-up · works offline

Depth of field
calculator.

Set your format, lens and stop, and see exactly where focus falls off — near limit, far limit, total depth of field and the hyperfocal distance. For directors of photography, ACs and stills shooters.

mm
ƒ/
m
Total depth of field
—
Sharp from near to far limit
Hyperfocal distance —
Near limit —
Far limit —
In front of subject —
Behind subject —

Uses the standard circle of confusion for the chosen format. "Acceptably sharp" depends on viewing size — treat it as a reliable guide, not a guarantee.

These calculators live in the apps, too.

Set Math puts depth of field and fifteen more camera calculators in your pocket, free. DOPro adds a real director's viewfinder with lens presets, so you can see the frame and the focus falloff on set.

Set Math — free DOPro viewfinder
How depth of field works

Four things set the focus zone.

Change any one and the sharp zone grows or shrinks. The calculator does the arithmetic; this is the intuition behind it.

Aperture

Stopping down (higher ƒ-number) deepens the focus zone; opening up throws more out of focus. The biggest, fastest lever you have.

Focal length

Longer lenses render a shallower zone at the same framing; wider lenses hold more in focus.

Subject distance

The closer you focus, the thinner the sharp zone. Depth grows quickly as the subject moves away.

Format & circle of confusion

Bigger sensors tolerate a larger blur spot, which shifts the numbers. That's why the format picker matters.

Questions

Depth of field, answered.

How is depth of field calculated?

From focal length, aperture, subject distance and the circle of confusion for your format. The hyperfocal distance is focal² / (aperture × circle of confusion) + focal; the near and far limits come from that and the subject distance, and depth of field is the gap between them.

What is the circle of confusion?

The largest blur spot that still reads as sharp for a format. Roughly 0.030 mm for full frame, 0.020 mm for Super 35 and APS-C, 0.015 mm for Micro Four Thirds. Larger formats tolerate a larger spot, which changes the result.

What is hyperfocal distance?

The focus distance at which everything from half that distance to infinity is acceptably sharp — the setting that maximises depth of field for a given lens and stop.

Is this accurate for my exact camera?

It uses standard circle-of-confusion values per format, which match most cameras closely. For on-set use with a viewfinder and lens presets, DOPro and Set Math build these tools into the apps.