Hyperfocal Distance

[vegas2033]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new to photography and so far I really enjoy shooting landscapes. My problem is that my shots aren't as sharp as I would like (see attached picture). I did some research and downloaded the DOF Master. I understood the 1/3, 2/3 concept but still have a few questions.

- When the DOF master tells me to focus at 4.77 feet (sony a65, 24mm f/20), how can I be exact that my lens will be focused at 4.77 feet? I have a focus indicator on my lens but it only has value: 1.4, 2, 3, 10 and infinity.

- Once I set the focus to the desired value, will my viewfinder be clear or blurry?

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[TCampbell]

You estimate the focus distance. There's nothing you can do to get the camera precisely to the 4.77' distance.

However... your image doesn't actually have any elements which are merely 4.77' away. At f/20 just focus on something in the the image on the slightly nearer side of things and use that.

I suspect the reason your image is soft is likely due to the exposure time. To make those blurred light trails caused by the car headlights you'd need a long exposure time and a tripod. But tripods can easily vibrate. Hanging a weight on the tripod can help. Also a stiffer tripod will help. A heavy sturdy tripod will work much better than a lightweight tripod (light tripods tend to be a bit more "springy" and can cause vibrations unless they are on a very solid surface and protected from wind.)

 

[vegas2033]

Thanks for your response Tim. So technically since I don't have a foreground, I'd have to focus one the closest element in the picture (probably the building on the bottom right corner)?

You are right, I had a 30 seconds exposure and I was on a bridge with moving cars and the bridge that had a lot of vibrations.