DOF measurements

[armando_m]

Ever wonder how much will be in focus using different apertures?
Here are a series of photos of a measuring tape taken from F1.8 to F22

All photos are hand held except the F22 ,
All photos with the same 35 mm lens
ISO manually set trying to keep the shooter speed above 1/30

Focus spot is between 7" .. 7 1/2" , 18cm .. 19cm , the closest distance this particular lens can be focused
being at the closest focusing distance exacerbates the effects of aperture on the DOF

Here are the results

F1.8 maybe 1/8 of an inch of good focus !


F2 slightly better than F1.8


F2.8 a bit over 1/4" of good focus


F4 maybe 3/8 of good focus


F5.6 maybe 1/2 inch of good focus


F8 about an inch of good focus


F11 slightly over 1" of good focus


F16 about 2" of good focus, exif stripped by noiseware


F22
the first inch or so in the image is out of focus
everything else except the last inch or so is in focus


I had fun with the series and hope it does help beginners understand the effect of aperture on the depth of field, or how much of the photo will be in focus

[Singletracklovr]

Great demo thanks I found it very informative and easy to understand.

[Old Timer]

Nice job on this armando. Sure never hurts to have a and illustration like this to help you remember that the f stop means more to a photo than just getting the exposure right.

[Singletracklovr]

Nice job on this armando. Sure never hurts to have a and illustration like this to help you remember that the f stop means more to a photo than just getting the exposure right.

Isn't that the truth.
For me it was the last thing I worried about and a major cause of fuzzy pictures. I kept blaming focus and poor camera handling.