| Total DoF | – |
| Focus Range | – |
| Front / Behind | – |
| Hyperfocal | – |
| Subject Separation | – |
How to Use the Depth of Field Calculator
Depth of field (DoF) is the range of distance in a photograph that appears acceptably sharp. It is one of the most useful concepts to understand if you want more control over how your photos look.
A shallow depth of field can isolate a subject from its surroundings, creating a soft, blurred background. A deeper depth of field keeps more of the scene in focus and is often useful for landscapes, architecture, street photography, and travel photography.
This Depth of Field Calculator shows you how your camera settings affect the area that will appear in focus. Enter your sensor format, focal length, aperture, and subject distance to see the estimated depth of field, focus range, front-to-behind distribution, hyperfocal distance, and subject separation.
1. Select Your Sensor
Start by selecting your camera's sensor format. The calculator currently supports Full Frame, APS-C, and Micro Four Thirds.
Sensor size affects depth of field because different sensor formats use different circles of confusion when calculating acceptable sharpness. When comparing cameras at the same framing, a smaller sensor generally produces greater depth of field than a full-frame camera at an equivalent field of view.
If you use a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless camera, select Full Frame. If you use an APS-C camera such as many Sony, Canon, Nikon, or Fujifilm models, select APS-C. For cameras using the Micro Four Thirds format, select Micro Four Thirds.
The sensor setting is particularly important when comparing results between different cameras, so make sure it matches your camera before interpreting the results.
2. Enter Your Focal Length and Aperture
Next, enter the focal length of your lens in millimetres. For example, enter 24 for a 24mm lens, 50 for a 50mm lens, or 85 for an 85mm lens.
Focal length has a significant effect on depth of field and subject separation. Longer lenses tend to produce a narrower depth of field when the subject distance and framing conditions are comparable. They can also make it easier to isolate a subject from the background.
Then enter your aperture, such as f/1.4, f/2.8, f/5.6, or f/8.
A wider aperture means a smaller f-number and generally produces a shallower depth of field. For example, shooting at f/1.4 will usually give you much less depth of field than shooting at f/8.
This is why portrait photographers often use wide apertures when they want the subject to stand out against a soft background, while landscape photographers may stop down to f/8 or f/11 when they want more of the scene to remain sharp.
3. Enter Your Subject Distance
The final input is subject distance. Enter the approximate distance between your camera and the subject in metres.
This setting can have a surprisingly large effect on depth of field. The closer your subject is to the camera, the shallower the depth of field becomes. Moving farther away generally increases the area that appears acceptably sharp.
For example, a 50mm lens at f/1.4 focused at 1 metre will produce a much shallower depth of field than the same lens and aperture focused at 3 metres.
Once you enter your settings, the calculator updates the results automatically.
Understanding the Results
The calculator provides several results to help you understand what your camera settings mean in practical terms.
Total DoF shows the total depth of field around your point of focus. Depending on the result, it is displayed in centimetres or metres.
Focus Range shows the approximate nearest and farthest distances that fall within the calculated depth of field. For example, a result of 2.86 m–3.15 m means that approximately this range around your subject should appear acceptably sharp.
Front / Behind shows how the calculated depth of field is distributed in front of and behind the focus distance. The distribution is not always exactly 50/50. At closer focusing distances, the depth of field is often distributed differently around the subject.
Hyperfocal Distance is the distance at which you can focus to maximize the depth of field while keeping objects from approximately half that distance to infinity acceptably sharp. Hyperfocal distance is particularly useful for landscape, street, and travel photography when you want to maximize the amount of the scene that appears in focus.
Subject Separation provides a practical estimate of how strongly your settings are likely to isolate the subject. It ranges from Deep Focus through Moderate Separation and Strong Subject Separation to Creamy Bokeh.
This last result should be treated as a visual guideline rather than an exact measurement of background blur. Actual bokeh also depends on the distance between the subject and the background, the lens design, and the characteristics of the background itself.
How Aperture, Focal Length, and Distance Change DoF
The easiest way to understand depth of field is to experiment with one setting at a time.
Try entering 50mm, f/8, and 3 metres. You will get a relatively large depth of field and a result closer to deep focus.
Now change only the aperture to f/1.4. The depth of field becomes much smaller, and the calculator will show stronger subject separation.
Next, change the focal length from 50mm to 85mm while keeping the other settings the same. The depth of field becomes considerably narrower, and subject isolation becomes stronger.
Finally, try changing the subject distance. Move from 3 metres to 1.5 metres and compare the result. You will see how focusing closer can dramatically reduce the depth of field.
These comparisons are useful when planning portraits, travel photographs, product photography, architecture, or any situation where you need to decide how much of the scene should appear sharp.
Keep in mind that depth of field is not a hard boundary between sharp and blurry. The transition from apparent sharpness to blur is gradual, and what looks acceptably sharp can also depend on viewing distance, image resolution, and output size. The calculator therefore provides an estimate based on standard depth-of-field calculations rather than predicting exactly how every photograph will look.
Frequently Asked Questions
Depth of field is the range of distances in a photograph that appears acceptably sharp. A shallow depth of field produces a narrow focus range and a more blurred background, while a deep depth of field keeps more of the scene in focus.
Yes. A wider aperture, represented by a smaller f-number such as f/1.4 or f/2, generally produces a shallower depth of field. Smaller apertures such as f/8 or f/11 generally increase the depth of field.
Yes, but the relationship depends on how the photograph is framed and how far the camera is from the subject. Longer focal lengths are commonly used to create stronger subject isolation, especially for portraits and telephoto photography.
No. Depth of field describes the range that appears acceptably sharp. Background blur describes how objects outside that range appear visually. The amount and character of background blur also depend on background distance, lens design, aperture shape, and other factors.
Hyperfocal distance is a focusing distance that maximizes the usable depth of field, extending the acceptable focus range from approximately half that distance to infinity. It is especially useful when photographing landscapes and scenes where you want both foreground and distant objects to appear sharp.
Different calculators may use different circle-of-confusion values, sensor assumptions, rounding methods, or definitions of acceptable sharpness. Make sure you are using the same sensor format, focal length, aperture, and subject distance when comparing results.
No. It estimates depth of field and subject separation rather than measuring the exact appearance of bokeh. Background distance is particularly important: a background several metres behind the subject will usually appear much more blurred than a background immediately behind it, even with identical camera settings.
For strong subject isolation, start with a relatively wide aperture such as f/1.4–f/2.8, use an appropriate focal length, and keep the subject relatively close to the camera while maintaining some distance between the subject and the background. Use the calculator to compare different combinations before shooting.