Digital infinity vs Film camera infinity >: Why is it that when I took a landscape (or otherwise) using infinity distance everything seemed more in focus than when its done on a...

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

Why is it that when I took a landscape (or otherwise) using infinity distance everything seemed more in focus than when its done on a digital camera.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Maybe you set the aperture yourself, or the digital camera set a larger aperture than was ideal for a large depth of field.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Actually there's an infinity setting and beyond.

MichaelH Loc: NorCal via Lansing, MI

donrent wrote:

Why is it that when I took a landscape (or otherwise) using infinity distance everything seemed more in focus than when its done on a digital camera.

I am going to go out on a limb here. I "believe" that in the days before auto focus lenses were designed to stop at the infinity focus point. But because auto focus requires comparisons at different focus points to determine good focus the range of focus must extend beyond infinity for the comparison to work.

"Belief" is easy -- it requires no true knowledge.

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

Fotoartist wrote:

Actually there's an infinity setting and beyond.

And pray tell how is that done ?
I use a Canon 550D .

DanielB Loc: San Diego, Ca

Fotoartist wrote:

Actually there's an infinity setting and beyond.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

MichaelH wrote:

... in the days before auto focus lenses were designed to stop at the infinity focus point. But because auto focus requires comparisons at different focus points to determine good focus the range of focus must extend beyond infinity for the comparison to work. ...

Exactly correct.

It's also so that the focus motor does not break searching for sharp focus around infinity.

It has nothing to do with digital vs. film.

MichaelH Loc: NorCal via Lansing, MI

donrent wrote:

And pray tell how is that done ?
I use a Canon 550D .

In the same way that you can focus "in front" of your subject or "past" your subject whenever it inside the range of focus of your lens/camera combination.

DanielB Loc: San Diego, Ca

jerryc41 wrote:

Maybe you set the aperture yourself, or the digital camera set a larger aperture than was ideal for a large depth of field.

Agree it's the Aperture not the focal length that produced those results.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

donrent wrote:

Why is it that when I took a landscape (or otherwise) using infinity distance everything seemed more in focus than when its done on a digital camera.

That might be happening only to you, as I have never experienced this and I shoot just about as much with film , as I do digital!

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

DanielB wrote:

Agree it's the Aperture not the focal length that produced those results.

Awwww, I knew that !

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

donrent wrote:

Why is it that when I took a landscape (or otherwise) using infinity distance everything seemed more in focus than when its done on a digital camera.

Many digital lenses will focus beyond infinity, Most (if not all) older lenses made before digital have a hard stop at infinity.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

MichaelH wrote:

I am going to go out on a limb here. I "believe" that in the days before auto focus lenses were designed to stop at the infinity focus point. But because auto focus requires comparisons at different focus points to determine good focus the range of focus must extend beyond infinity for the comparison to work.

"Belief" is easy -- it requires no true knowledge.

I am pretty sure you are correct. However, after a discussion back in the day with a camera tech, SLR cameras rarely focused precisely at infinity even with high quality prime lenses.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

MichaelH wrote:

I am going to go out on a limb here. I "believe" that in the days before auto focus lenses were designed to stop at the infinity focus point. But because auto focus requires comparisons at different focus points to determine good focus the range of focus must extend beyond infinity for the comparison to work.

"Belief" is easy -- it requires no true knowledge.

I have a number of older Nikon auto focus lenses made before before digital that have a hard stop at infinity. They won't go past infinity in either AF or MF.

toxdoc42

I have been upset at the lack infinity settings on my autofocus digital lenses, particularly shooting the moon or landscapes. I once went to a class on shooting the northern lights and was told that extreme cold could alter the placement, but otherwisevsuggested using the infinity position.