[allanmh]

My DA ltd. lenses all have a combined distance/aperture scale, and I have no idea how it works. I've tried to find out on this forum and in other places, but so far I'm out of luck.
Apparently it can't be used to set the hyperfocal distance, which would otherwise be an awesome feature.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[UncleVanya]

If your setting the camera to aperture preferred mode with either manual focus mode or have back button autofocus enabled, you should be able to use the scale to set hyperfocal. Line infinity up to the line that connects to the aperture number you have set the camera to.

[leekil]

In general, you set a certain aperture, like 8, in the camera, and then to set it for hyperfocal, turn the focus ring until infinity is at the 8 mark on the left. Or is there a caveat I am missing?

[pepperberry farm]

seems to cover it well:

Zone focusing - Ilford Photo%


plus, the camera body is forum-appropriate....

[allanmh]

Thanks very much! I'll try that out presently.

[othar]

Depth of field depends on the focus distance, focal lenght and the aperture you use. (depth of field increases when shooting with a wider focal lenght, when your focus point is further away and when you use a narrower aperture and it gets thinner with telephoto lenses, close focus or macro shots and when using the lens wide open).
The scale on the lens gives you an indication of the area that appear to be sharp in the image (for instance my Samyang 35mm lens should give you a sharp image in the area from ~0.7m to ~2.8m when focused at 1m at an aperture of f22 (hence 3 indicator markings: focus point in the middle and the furthermost areas in focus at a certain aperture)

The problem of those markings is, that they are usually meant for analog/film photography. Depending on your camera (Sensor/MP) your resolution with DSLRs is usually higher than the resolution of film, therefore the actuall depth of field is smaller than indicated on the lens.
If you are interested in hyperfocal distance shooting and the like, it is probably better to use a distance calculator in the internet where you can also input sensor size and resolution

[leekil]

The problem of those markings is, that they are usually meant for analog/film photography. Depending on your camera (Sensor/MP) your resolution with DSLRs is usually higher than the resolution of film, therefore the actuall depth of focus is smaller than indicated on the lens.
If you are interested in hyperfocal distance shooting and the like, it is probably better to use a distance calculator in the internet where you can also input sensor size and resolution

But on DA lenses, shouldn't the DOF scale be for APS-C sensors?

[othar]

But on DA lenses, shouldn't the DOF scale be for APS-C sensors?

I think sensor size is not important for depth of field (it is just important to calculate your sensor resolution for a certain MP-number).
The problem in Digital is, the MP count is not the same for all cameras, resolution is getting bigger with every camera generation, therefore if the markings are made for digital you would have to look at the first year of production and what MP number the flagship camera of the time had. Because of that I think the markings are still for film cameras

[leekil]

I don't think the resolution of the camera matters; just the film/sensor format and the amount of enlargement you do. Resolution is independent of the out-of-focusness. It's like the DOF is not affected on a film camera if you use really grainy fast film vs. smooth low-speed film.

[steephill]

Depth of focus is a different property from depth of field but they are often confused. You can think of them as complementary - depth of field is between the lens and the subject whereas depth of focus is between the lens and the sensor.

[othar]

I don't think the resolution of the camera matters; just the film/sensor format and the amount of enlargement you do. Resolution is independent of the out-of-focusness. It's like the DOF is not affected on a film camera if you use really grainy fast film vs. smooth low-speed film.

I don't agree, but maybe someone comes along who knows for sure

edit: I think it depends on what are you looking at:
When you compare 2 prints of the same size showing the same motive (only difference beeing the pixel count of the used camera) then you are correct: resolution shouldn't matter for DOF.
But I think it does when pixel peeping

[othar]

Depth of focus is a different property from depth of field but they are often confused. You can think of them as complementary - depth of field is between the lens and the subject whereas depth of focus is between the lens and the sensor.

You are correct, I was talking about depth of field, not depth of focus

[Pål Jensen]

Only the plane of focus is truly in focus. Whats outside is a various degree of out of focus. The DOF scale on the lens is based on whats looks sharp on a rather small print. You should choose the scale for 1-2 stops smaller aperture than the one you are shooting for digital. Eg. for large prints use the F:16 mark on the lens when shooting at F:8.

[othar]

Eg. for large prints use the F:16 mark on the lens when shooting at F:8.

I might be mistaken but I think you mean the f8 mark when shooting f16?

[Pål Jensen]

Yes