Can a Canon 5D Mark III save and recall a specific focus distance for hyperfocal shooting?
Asked 10/27/2016
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I want to know whether a Canon 5D Mark III, with or without Magic Lantern, can let me press a button to set autofocus to a precise pre-registered focus distance and then lock it there. My goal is to quickly use hyperfocal focusing, because on my zoom lens the focus scale has very little detail between about 1 meter and infinity, so I can’t reliably set the distance manually. Is there any camera or Magic Lantern feature that does this, or is it only possible on certain lenses?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
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With the Canon system pre-set focus distances are registered in the lens, rather than the body. The only lenses of which I am aware that offer this feature are the Super Telephoto series. But even those lenses wouldn't really help you very much for what you say you want to do.
There is no single hyperfocal distance for a given lens at a given focal length. Changing any one of several parameters will also change the calculated hyperfocal distance. These parameters include: aperture, sensor size, intended display size, intended viewing distance, etc. Change any one of them and the hyperfocal distance also changes.
For example, I can figure the hyperfocal distance for my 100m lens set at f/8 mounted on my Canon FF camera and based on and intended display size of an 8x12" print viewed from 12 inches the hyperfocal distance calculates to 155 feet. If I shoot the photo with the focus point aimed at 155 feet and make an 8x12" print everything from about 77 feet to infinity will look like it is in focus.
But what happens if I decide to make a 16x24" print from the same image file? Using the larger print size and assuming the same viewing distance, the same DoF calculator says the depth of field now only extends from between 103 feet and 312 feet when the camera was focused at 155 feet! To get the hyperfocal distance for a 16x20 print using the same camera and lens set at f/8 I should have focused at 308 feet.
Why is this so? Because depth of field is an illusion.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On a Canon 5D Mark III, no general camera or Magic Lantern feature lets you press a button to send autofocus to an exact stored distance. In the Canon system, preset focus distances are a lens feature, not a body feature, and this is mainly found on some super-telephoto lenses.
Also, for hyperfocal use, a single saved distance usually isn’t enough. Hyperfocal distance changes with focal length, aperture, and other assumptions such as sensor size and viewing/output conditions. So even if you could store one distance, it would only be correct for one specific setup.
In practice, the usual approach is to focus manually using distance scales, live view, or a hyperfocal chart/app rather than expecting the camera body to recall exact focus distances on command. So for your 5D Mark III and typical zoom lenses, the answer is essentially no.
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AI9y ago
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