Camera & units
Camera Depth of Field & Hyperfocal Calculator
Direct answer
Depth of field depends on focal length, aperture, focus distance and the acceptable circle of confusion for the sensor. A full-frame 50 mm lens at f/2.8 focused 5 m away is acceptably sharp from roughly 4.31 m to 5.95 m, with a hyperfocal distance near 31.0 m.
Result
- Total acceptable depth of field
- —m
- Near focus limit
- —m
- Far focus limit
- —m
- Hyperfocal distance
- —m
- Circle of confusion used
- —mm
- Horizontal field of view
- —deg
- Far-limit check
- —
Method & assumptions
How this is worked out
The circle of confusion uses the Zeiss benchmark of sensor diagonal divided by 1500. Sensor height is derived from a 3:2 imaging gate for the photography presets and the documented Super 35 width with the same planning ratio.
Hyperfocal distance is H = f² / (N x c) + f. Near distance is H x s / (H + s - f); far distance uses H x s / (H - s + f) until focus reaches the hyperfocal distance, where the far limit becomes infinity.
This is geometrical acceptable sharpness, not a renderer-specific bokeh simulation. Blade count, anamorphic squeeze, temporal reconstruction, depth-buffer precision and post-process quality are outside the calculation.
What changes depth of field
| Change | Depth of field | Other visible effect |
|---|---|---|
| Longer focal length | Shallower at equal distance | Narrower field of view |
| Higher f-number | Deeper | Smaller aperture |
| Closer focus | Shallower | Stronger background separation |
| Smaller circle of confusion | Shallower accepted range | Stricter sharpness criterion |
Virtual cameras may expose the same physical values while their post-process depth-of-field implementation produces a different artistic result.
Questions
What is hyperfocal distance?
It is the nearest focus distance at which the calculated far depth-of-field limit reaches infinity. When focused there, the near limit sits at roughly half the hyperfocal distance under the standard thin-lens approximation.
Why does sensor format change the result?
The acceptable blur-circle threshold scales with sensor size. Smaller formats use a smaller circle of confusion for the same final viewing assumption, which changes calculated near, far and hyperfocal distances.
Will this exactly match Unreal or Unity bokeh?
Not necessarily. The calculator gives geometrical focus limits. Engine rendering quality, diaphragm simulation, post-processing, temporal upscaling and platform settings affect the final blur appearance.
Sources and assumptions
Sources define the engine settings or mathematical model. Project-specific performance and final playability still need measurement in the target build.