depth of field
The range of distances that appear acceptably sharp in an image.
Also written
DOF
Depth of field narrows with a wider aperture, a longer focal length and a closer subject. At the long focal lengths aviation uses it is thinner than people expect — which barely matters for an aircraft a kilometre away, and matters a great deal for a detail shot of a nose gear from five metres.
Nearby in Photography
- crop factor — The ratio between a sensor's diagonal and that of a 35mm frame, used to compare fields of view across formats.
- crop sensor — A sensor smaller than a 35mm frame, most commonly APS-C at around 24 by 16 millimetres.
- dynamic range — The span between the darkest and brightest tones a sensor can record in one exposure.
- exposure compensation — A deliberate offset applied to the camera's metered exposure.