topic Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

Hyunsoo — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 21:54:33 GMT

I wish the depth of field would be displayed in inches or centimeters (for those using the metric system) instead of f1.2, f2.8, etc. I wish it would show it like this: f1.2 (2 inches) or something along these lines.

I understand depth of field is not a fixed value. The depth of field changes based on the distance to the subject, aperture and focal length. I'd like to see the camera body doing these calculations in real time and displaying them somewhere in the viewfinder. I'd assume you could toggle it on or off in the menu for those who don't need this.

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

hsbn — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 22:38:14 GMT

F-Number doesn't have unit. Thus it is not F1.2 in or cm. Also F-number is not depth of field.

To calculate DOF, you can use online calculator or an app in which you can enter as inches or cm. There is no DOF calculator on camera.

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

Hyunsoo — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 01:29:49 GMT

Sorry, I should have clarified. This is a wish-list thing. I hope to see a DOF calculator in camera in the future!

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

ScottyP — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 02:25:59 GMT

I'd like to see that too. The camera knows the distance, and obviously also knows aperture, focal length and sensor size so it could display DOF in the viewfinder, or The LCD.

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

RobertTheFat — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 11:12:26 GMT

@ScottyP wrote:
I'd like to see that too. The camera knows the distance, and obviously also knows aperture, focal length and sensor size so it could display DOF in the viewfinder, or The LCD.

We already have that, don't we? When the AF points that are in focus light up, that's effectively a depth of field indicator. No?

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

Skirball — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 14:28:27 GMT

@RobertTheFat wrote:
@ScottyP wrote:
I'd like to see that too. The camera knows the distance, and obviously also knows aperture, focal length and sensor size so it could display DOF in the viewfinder, or The LCD.
We already have that, don't we? When the AF points that are in focus light up, that's effectively a depth of field indicator. No?

I suppose if you mostly take pictures of rulers that are tilted at an angle, and you shoot with your aperture wide open, then it would. But in a real world situation, not so much.

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

MikeSowsun — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 15:38:26 GMT

If you install Magic Lantern on your camera, it has all the depth of field information available for display on the rear LCD so it is possible.

Here is a video I made that shows how the values change as you change focus distance or focal length.

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

ebiggs1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 15:40:20 GMT

Nice, Miks S.

Re: Depth of field displayed in inches or centimeters

lniles — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:48:51 GMT

Great idea! For now I guess we just stick with magic lantern!