What focus distance should I use for zone focusing in street photography with a Fuji X100T?
Asked 8/2/2015
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I’m shooting street photography with a Fuji X100T (23mm lens, 35mm-equivalent field of view) and want to use zone focusing. I’ve seen advice to set the lens to f/8 and focus at about 10 feet so that roughly 5 feet to infinity stays acceptably sharp. Is that a reasonable starting point, and is this a common way to shoot street photography?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
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It is true that for a camera with a 23mm lens and crop factor 1.52 (inferring from your 35mm) that at f/8 the hyperfocal distance is a little over 10 feet (closer to 11 actually).
"Is it correct" is not the question you should be asking though.
What do you want from your photos?
Do you actually want to get the whole scene in focus from 5 feet beyond? Will you be shooting in good lighting conditions where you can get away with f/8? Do you want to be discreet and not risk people know you are taking their photo, shooting from the hip where you would rely on fixing your focus in this way. If so then that would be a reasonable decision.
However if you want to isolate your subject from their surroundings, or if you are shooting in poor lighting conditions and f/8 is forcing you into iso values that you are uncomfortable with then this approach isn't going to work.
Each scenario will require a different approach. It is up to you as a photographer to learn when each approach will give the results you want.
Originally by user37892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user37892
11y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—on a Fuji X100T at f/8, focusing around 10–11 feet is a reasonable hyperfocal-style setting, and it can give you roughly 5 feet to infinity in acceptable focus. That makes it a common and useful street-photography approach when you want speed and don’t want to rely on autofocus.
But it isn’t a universal “correct” setting. It depends on what you want:
- If you want quick, discreet shooting and lots of the scene in focus, it’s a good choice.
- If you want subject separation or are shooting in low light, f/8 may not be ideal because it can force slower shutter speeds or higher ISO.
So yes, it’s a valid starting point, but you should choose your aperture and focus distance based on your lighting and the look you want. A depth-of-field/hyperfocal calculator is a good way to test what works best for your camera and shooting distance.
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