DOF calculator

[misstwinklytoes]

I used to have a DOF and hyperfocal distance calculator on every lens/camera I owned. Now you have to get an app for your phone -- modern photography has regressed quite a bit.

Joe

Good one Joe! Looking at the DOF scales on lenses made in the 1950's and 1960's one can tell that the lens makers used to really put some care into designing the DOF scales...today a lot of lenses have...nothing!

And i wish they did. I'd much rather look at my lense than pull out my phone, type in information, wait, wait, wait and.....crash. restart phone and try again

WOw! You need a Droid! :lmao:

 

[Helen B]

Marking lenses is not easy for most zoom lenses and for prime lenses intended for use with different formats - though the latter is easier to arrange than the former, simply by using the marks for a different aperture from the one in use.

You don't have to use a phone if your lens isn't marked - you could use one of the slide rule type calculators, some of which have been around for decades.

Best,
Helen

 

[clanthar]

Here's an interesting addendum: About two months ago I found this adapter on Amazon:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Voigtlander-RETINA-Canon-Camera-Adapter/dp/B003GRN15U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1281210330&sr=8-2]Amazon.com: Voigtlander DKL RETINA Lens to Canon EOS Camera Adapter for 7D 550D 500D…[/ame]

for $45.00 that will let me mount old Retina (Schneider and Rodenstock glass from the '60s) on my Canon DSLR. I still had an old collection of those lenses stuck in a drawer and so I figured $45.00 what the heck and got one. I stuck it on the back of a 135mm Rodenstock Rotelar. Auto-focus doesn't work and I have to either use Av or M to set the exposure but otherwise it works great and as an added bonus I now have an accurate hyperfocal distance and DOF calculator right on the lens -- for me a great trade off against autofocus and P/Tv modes.

I was concerned about the design of the old glass used with a digital sensor but figured the $45.00 was worth the experiment. Sure enough the corners go a little soft and pick up some CA, but it's not as bad as I feared: maybe better than some of the Canon kit zooms.

Joe

 

[Idahophoto]

Awesome, thank you! I also miss the old markings on the lens you always knew you DoF with just a fast glance now its a PITA. I will defiantly be trying this out

 

[Helen B]

Just remember that the Retina lenses will have the DoF markings for full frame. If you use them on a crop sensor camera you may want to use different markings - for example if you use a 1.6 crop sensor, try using the markings for f/8 when the lens is set at f/11.

Best,
Helen

 

[jake337]

Good one Joe! Looking at the DOF scales on lenses made in the 1950's and 1960's one can tell that the lens makers used to really put some care into designing the DOF scales...today a lot of lenses have...nothing!

And i wish they did. I'd much rather look at my lense than pull out my phone, type in information, wait, wait, wait and.....crash. restart phone and try again

WOw! You need a Droid! :lmao:

i have a droid

 

[sam_justice]

Does anyone have the time to use a DOF calculator when doing photography? I've had a similar app for a while and have never used it, just crrack on and do what feels right!

 

[j-digg]

Does anyone have the time to use a DOF calculator when doing photography? I've had a similar app for a while and have never used it, just crrack on and do what feels right!

But what if what feels right to me usually isnt? hahaha... its a good reference to have if a shot is important to you.

 

[clanthar]

Does anyone have the time to use a DOF calculator when doing photography? I've had a similar app for a while and have never used it, just crrack on and do what feels right!

Point well taken. When in the field it's a pain to break out any secondary support device -- even a droid. I don't need an app; the math is simple: hyperfocal distance = focal length squared / by aperture * circle of confusion. Printed tables are easy to come by, but in all cases it's often too distracting and troublesome to put aside the camera to do the figuring, looking up, app loading etc.

This is a very old photo from an old 35mm slide. All I did was point the camera at the flowers and focus. Then I noted the focus distance and turned the lens focus ring until that distance and infinity were both inside the lens marking for f/16: Set f/16, set the shutter speed, frame and click.

When it was simple and elegant I did it often; now I rarely do. What would a modern digital camera do with the above shot? Focus on the flowers? That's a mistake. Focus on the mountains or trees? That's a mistake. Assuming the flowers are about 8 feet from me, using a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera the correct focus distance is 17 feet at f/16 which isn't even remotely close to 1/3 in by the way. The "1/3 in rule" is also usually a mistake.

Fortunately as we've dumbed down our technical requirements and capabilities we've dumbed down our expectations to match

Take Care,
Joe

 

[jake337]

I figure if you use a phone, slider, math in your head/calculator enough times(years) it will become second nature.