Hyperfocus 500mm Lens

[JensPlusLens]

I bought a new 500mm lens because it has a DOF scale, something I use on almost any image I make but rarely seen on a lens of that length. Unfortunately, the lens will not hyperfocus no matter what I try. It's a manual lens, so autofocus cannot get in the way of what I am trying to do. I am starting to wonder if this procedure is not possible with long tele lenses and the DOF Scale on that lens is just for decorative purpose.

 

[RAZKY]

I bought a new 500mm lens because it has a DOF scale, something I use on almost any image I make but rarely seen on a lens of that length. Unfortunately, the lens will not hyperfocus no matter what I try. It's a manual lens, so autofocus cannot get in the way of what I am trying to do. I am starting to wonder if this procedure is not possible with long tele lenses and the DOF Scale on that lens is just for decorative purpose.

What's your definition of "hyperfocus"?

 

[480sparky37 37]

What distance are you setting the focus at?

 

[zombiesniper111 11]

I have the same question as RAZKY.

I would also caution you on the accuracy of any of the scales. They are really only a guide and not an absolute indication.

 

[Ozzie_Traveller]

What's your definition of "hyperfocus"?

G'day fellas

The term Hyperfocus, or more correctly termed 'Hyperfocal DIstance' is a well known and defined aspect for focussing a lens

When the lens is focussed at infinity, the DoF brings the in-focus area closer to you - and is shown to you via the Dof scale on the lens barrel

If you manually refocus the lens to a chosen closer distance, then your DoF points of focus becomes closer at one side and exactly at infinity at the other side, therefore giving you greater overall DoF that if you had simply focussed to infinity and used a smaller F-stop to create more DoF

Hope this helps
Phil

 

[RAZKY]

Hmm, Oz, I don't understand what that has to do with my question for the OP.

 

[Thiophilos]

Does anyone have some helpful information on this?

Sure.

But first come back and tell us how close the nearest foreground object is.

 

[zombiesniper111 11]

Okay I see where the possible problem is here.

because I like to hyperfocus my images so they are sharp from the nearest foreground object all the way to infinity.

The technical definition is the closest focusing distance that allows objects at infinity to be acceptably sharp.

So this is just getting the most of a frame in focus out to the infinity focus point. It is not necessarily going to get the closest foreground object in focus and in a landscape with a large DOF you shouldn't expect the whole image to be pin sharp.

Add to this that you haven't provided the exact lens there is no possible way anyone can help.
A $100 Amazon/Ebay 500mm lens is quite a difference from a Nikon/Canon/Sony 500mm prime.

 

[Golem]

I bought a new 500mm lens because it has a DOF scale, something I use on almost any image I make but rarely seen on a lens of that length. Unfortunately, the lens will not hyperfocus no matter what I try. It's a manual lens, so autofocus cannot get in the way of what I am trying to do. I am starting to wonder if this procedure is not possible with long tele lenses and the DOF Scale on that lens is just for decorative purpose.

Despite the technobable replies, in practice, lenses that long have NO DoF. And if youre using it on APSC it will have EVEN LESS :-(

The almost good (?!?) news is that theres essentially nothing to figger out or fuss over.

And as to your extra question, yes its just decorative, maybe trying for a "quality olde skoole" look ?

 

[zombiesniper111 11]

Despite the technobable replies, in practice, lenses that long have NO DoF. And if youre using it on APSC it will have EVEN LESS :-(

The almost good (?!?) news is that theres essentially nothing to figger out or fuss over.

And as to your extra question, yes its just decorative, maybe trying for a "quality olde skoole" look ?

What are you talking about? No DOF? That would equal no image. You make no sense at all.

Shot with my 500mm.

mountain by Trevor Baldwin, on Flickr

 

[480sparky37 37]

Despite the technobable replies, in practice, lenses that long have NO DoF.

All lenses have DOF.

In fact, a scene captured with a 500mm, the same scene captured with a 20mm (only much closer to the subject) at the same aperture will have identical DOF.

 

[JensPlusLens]

Some more testing revealed that this particular lens is a case of bad sample variation. The focus ring is out of line with the distance marks. An object 25 ft away is not sharp until the ring is rotated to the 30 ft mark. the difference is even larger at longer distances.
I returned the lens for a replacement.

 

[JensPlusLens]

What's your definition of "hyperfocus"?

The definition of "hyperfocus" or "hyperfocal distance" is the range within which the image will have acceptable sharpness. Focal length of the lens and the chosen aperture are the two main factors involved in this procedure. For example, my 28mm lens will render an image sharp from 3 feet to infinity at f/16. My 85mm lens will do the same from 22 feet to infinity.
This works best with manual prime lenses. Auto focus prime lenses can do it too, as long as auto focus is turned off. It can even be done with zoom lenses, but that's close to a nightmare, requiring numeric tables, or an app for the phone, to look up or calculate the proper settings.
It may sound like a lot of work, but once you have that lick down it will work from muscle memory, without even checking the viewfinder or monitor. It's definitely a lot faster than taking several exposures at different focal planes and assembling those on a computer into a single image.

 

[RAZKY]

The definition of "hyperfocus" or "hyperfocal distance" is the range within which the image will have acceptable sharpness. Focal length of the lens and the chosen aperture are the two main factors involved in this procedure. For example, my 28mm lens will render an image sharp from 3 feet to infinity at f/16. My 85mm lens will do the same from 22 feet to infinity.
This works best with manual prime lenses. Auto focus prime lenses can do it too, as long as auto focus is turned off. It can even be done with zoom lenses, but that's close to a nightmare, requiring numeric tables, or an app for the phone, to look up or calculate the proper settings.
It may sound like a lot of work, but once you have that lick down it will work from muscle memory, without even checking the viewfinder or monitor. It's definitely a lot faster than taking several exposures at different focal planes and assembling those on a computer into a single image.

"Hyperfocus" and "Hyperfocal Distance" are 2 totally unrelated subjects.

 

[JensPlusLens]

"Hyperfocus" and "Hyperfocal Distance" are 2 totally unrelated subjects.

Would you be so kind and explain the difference between the two?