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As photographers, we all know that depth of field is da bomb! and yeah we know your camera has that little Depth of Field preview button but for some of us that’s just not enough. Personally just the thought of doing algebra makes my eyes bleed so I rely on calculators when I’m blessed with the time to preplan a shoot. Call me lazy if you want but I can spin the dials on my iPhone faster than I can add…

8-25-2009 9-20-18 AM

See it made your eyes bleed too didn’t it! (Digital Wedding Forum Inc. takes no responsibility for loss of blood, life or cognative ability should one attempt to complete the actual equation)

(DOF) is the portion of a scene that appears sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on either side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions. – wikipedia DOF

Almost every single photographer relies on DOF as one of their in camera tricks. To better understand the how and why means you’re in better control of what your camera “sees”. There is enough information packed into the links below that your brain will start to resemble the “circle of confusion“.  Enough blah blah blah here’s my lists:

Top 5 DOF Calculators for the iPhone

  1. Photobuddy by Ambertation – Much more than just a DOF calc for $1.99 you also get sunrise/sunset calc, moon phase, and too many to list here.
  2. Simple DOF Calculator by Dennis van den Berg ($1.99 at the app store but the camera support list is very lengthy)
  3. FREE Field Tools by Brad Sokol (hey it’s FREE what more do you want)
  4. Bokeh by Lars Opperman – FREE calc but it’s full frame only.
  5. iPhone Depth of Field Calculator Web Based App (if you’re not on your iPhone click here)

Top 5 Online DOF Calculators

  1. Canon CPN Europe Depth of Field – Allows you to select your specific camera, looks pretty.
  2. DOFMaster Depth of Field Calculator – Excellent camera support and Bonus = printable versions.
  3. DOF, Hyperfocal and Focus Limits Calculator from Outsight – Supports many cameras and has both DOF and Hyperfocal calcs.
  4. Cambridge in Color Depth of Field Tutorial – Takes into consideration print size as one of the variables.
  5. Garage Glamour DOF Calculator – Easy to read yet impressive amount of result data displayed.

Top 5 DOF Calculators & Toys

  1. Free DOF Widget for OSX (Mac fanboys only need apply)
  2. Olympus Depth of Field Program (Free for Pocket PC and Palm OS)
  3. Tilt & Shift Generator from Art & Mobile Labs – Free software to help you cheat your DOF after the fact.
  4. DOF PRO – Pay to play software and a bit pricey at $99.99 but it allows for some amazing control, you can grab the FREE Demo and try it for yourself.
  5. Tiltshift Maker – An online tool that will crush your DOF like a tiny little bug but it does it for FREE.

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