On 13 Jan 2003 09:16:37 GMT, Ric A <rglfa2-news@srcf.ucam.org.com> wrote:

>Jeff Cook <jeff@cookstudios.com> wrote:

>> Depth of field means there's acceptable distance in front of and behind

>> the subject you're focused on. Okay, when you're focused on infinity,

>> you're wasting all the acceptable focus BEHIND infinity (go with me

>> here). So, if you instead pull the focus closer so that only the far

>> edge of the acceptable focus ends *at* infinity, then you gets lots of

>> closer things in focus that wouldn't have been otherwise.

>that's the most correct answer i've read - others explained the importance

>of considering DOF and aperture - which to begin with is more important

>than knowing what hyperfocal focusing does

>

>as jeff says, i see it as a way of getting more things in focus by putting

>the main subject at the far end of the focused area.

As I point out above, this is the quick way to a

soft-looking image. Since more distant subjects tend

to have "smaller visual scale" than nearer subjects,

even-splitting of resolution using standard DOF and

hyperfocal techniques results in less-sharp looking

distant subjects than close ones. It's best to fudge

the focus toward the distant side (and stop down more

than DOF tables suggest) for really sharp looking

photos with great DOF (assuming that reasonable

diffraction limits are not exceeded...).