Full frame depth of field & hyperfocal charts
Full frame is the 36 × 24 mm format of 35 mm film and the reference that every crop factor and "equivalent" focal length is measured against. It uses a 0.030 mm circle of confusion for depth of field.
Advanced
Leave empty to use the standard value for the sensor. Halve it for pixel-level sharpness.
With a 50 mm lens at f/2.8 on full frame focused at 3.00 m, everything from 2.73 m to 3.33 m is acceptably sharp: 60 cm of depth of field.
- In front of subject
- 27 cm (45%)
- Behind subject
- 33 cm (55%)
- Hyperfocal distance
- 29.8 m
- Circle of confusion
- 0.030 mm
About the Full-Frame format
Because the sensor is large, full-frame cameras make shallow depth of field easy: an 85 mm f/1.8 portrait lens can blur a background into smooth color, and a 50 mm f/1.4 isolates a subject even at a few meters. The flip side is that landscapes need smaller apertures or careful hyperfocal focusing to stay sharp from front to back.
The standard circle of confusion for full frame is 0.030 mm. It assumes a normal print size and viewing distance; on 45–61 MP bodies viewed at 100%, many photographers use 0.015–0.020 mm for critical work.
Specifications
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Sensor size | 36 × 24 mm |
| Diagonal | 43.3 mm |
| Crop factor | 1× |
| Circle of confusion | 0.030 mm |
| Area vs full frame | 100% |
| Typical cameras | Sony A7 series, Nikon Z6 III / Z8, Canon EOS R5 / R6, Panasonic S5 |
Hyperfocal distance chart
Focus at the distance shown and everything from half of it to infinity is acceptably sharp (c = 0.030 mm).
| Focal length | f/2.8 | f/4 | f/5.6 | f/8 | f/11 | f/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 mm | 2.35 m7.70 ft | 1.65 m5.40 ft | 1.18 m3.87 ft | 83 cm2.73 ft | 61 cm1.99 ft | 42 cm1.39 ft |
| 16 mm | 3.06 m10.1 ft | 2.15 m7.05 ft | 1.54 m5.05 ft | 1.08 m3.55 ft | 79 cm2.60 ft | 55 cm1.80 ft |
| 20 mm | 4.78 m15.7 ft | 3.35 m11.0 ft | 2.40 m7.88 ft | 1.69 m5.53 ft | 1.23 m4.04 ft | 85 cm2.80 ft |
| 24 mm | 6.88 m22.6 ft | 4.82 m15.8 ft | 3.45 m11.3 ft | 2.42 m7.95 ft | 1.77 m5.81 ft | 1.22 m4.02 ft |
| 28 mm | 9.36 m30.7 ft | 6.56 m21.5 ft | 4.69 m15.4 ft | 3.29 m10.8 ft | 2.40 m7.89 ft | 1.66 m5.45 ft |
| 35 mm | 14.6 m48.0 ft | 10.2 m33.6 ft | 7.33 m24.0 ft | 5.14 m16.9 ft | 3.75 m12.3 ft | 2.59 m8.49 ft |
| 50 mm | 29.8 m97.8 ft | 20.9 m68.5 ft | 14.9 m49.0 ft | 10.5 m34.3 ft | 7.63 m25.0 ft | 5.26 m17.3 ft |
| 85 mm | 86.1 m282 ft | 60.3 m198 ft | 43.1 m141 ft | 30.2 m99.0 ft | 22.0 m72.1 ft | 15.1 m49.7 ft |
| 135 mm | 217 m712 ft | 152 m499 ft | 109 m356 ft | 76.1 m250 ft | 55.4 m182 ft | 38.1 m125 ft |
Equivalent focal length and aperture
Multiply by 1 to compare with full frame. The aperture equivalent describes depth of field and total light; exposure settings do not change.
| Lens on this sensor | Full-frame focal length | f/2.8 looks like | f/4 looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 mm | 14 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 16 mm | 16 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 20 mm | 20 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 24 mm | 24 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 28 mm | 28 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 35 mm | 35 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 50 mm | 50 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 85 mm | 85 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
| 135 mm | 135 mm | f/2.8 | f/4.0 |
Night sky: 500 rule and NPF rule
Longest exposure before stars trail at f/2.8 with 24 MP (pixel pitch 6.00 µm). Calculate for your own camera with the 500 rule & NPF calculator.
| Focal length | 500 rule | 300 rule | NPF rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 mm | 36 s | 21 s | 20 s |
| 16 mm | 31 s | 19 s | 17 s |
| 20 mm | 25 s | 15 s | 14 s |
| 24 mm | 21 s | 13 s | 12 s |
| 28 mm | 18 s | 11 s | 9.9 s |
| 35 mm | 14 s | 8.6 s | 7.9 s |
| 50 mm | 10 s | 6 s | 5.6 s |
| 85 mm | 5.9 s | 3.5 s | 3.3 s |
| 135 mm | 3.7 s | 2.2 s | 2.1 s |
FAQ
What is the crop factor of a full-frame sensor?
1×. The 36 × 24 mm sensor has a 43.3 mm diagonal, compared with 43.3 mm for full frame.
What circle of confusion should I use for Full-Frame?
0.030 mm, the sensor diagonal divided by 1443 — the same convention as lens depth of field scales and DOFMaster. Use about half (0.015 mm) if you view images at 100% or print very large.
What is the hyperfocal distance of a 16 mm lens on Full-Frame?
1.08 m (3.55 ft) at f/8. Focus there and everything from half that distance to infinity is acceptably sharp.
How long can I expose the night sky on Full-Frame?
With a 16 mm lens at f/2.8 and 24 MP (pixel pitch 6.0 µm), about 17 s by the NPF rule, or 31 s by the 500 rule.