SharpStop Depth of Field Calc

See what will be sharp before you press the shutter. SharpStop draws the sharp zone on the scene, plans a focus stack shot by shot, and tells you when tonight's Milky Way core is up.

Every tool answers in a sentence, not only in numbers: "Sharp from 1.8 m to infinity: you're at hyperfocal", or "4 shots: focus at 0.47, 0.70, 1.4, 2.5 m".

DEPTH OF FIELD, DRAWN Camera, subject and horizon in one side view, with the sharp zone shaded from near limit to far limit. Change the focal length, aperture or distance and the band moves with it. The real front-to-back split is spelled out, because the old one-third rule only holds near the hyperfocal distance. One tap focuses at hyperfocal.

FOCUS STACKING PLAN Enter the nearest and farthest things that must be sharp. SharpStop works out the fewest shots that cover the range with a small overlap, gives the focus distance for each one and draws the stacked zones on the scene. In the field, tick each frame off on a checklist with big targets, then share the plan as text.

MILKY WAY AND STAR TRAILS For a dark-sky site or your own coordinates, you see when the galactic core is up in full darkness, how much of the moon is lit and which way to face, plus the three best nights in the next 30 days. The NPF rule gives the longest exposure before stars trail for your aperture and pixel pitch, with the 500 rule beside it for comparison. Nights you shoot go into a night log.

ND FILTERS AND FIELD OF VIEW Your shutter speed with the filter on, in stops, optical density and ND factor at once, with a warning past 30 minutes. Field of view shows what fits in the frame at your subject distance, with a person drawn to scale.

YOUR KIT, SAVED Save bodies and lenses and load them with a tap. Six sensor formats from 1 inch to medium format, each with its own circle of confusion. Print a hyperfocal card for any lens as a PDF. A glossary explains every term in plain words. Meters or feet.

BUILT FOR THE DARK Amber on black, so a glance at 4 a.m. does not undo your night vision. Everything is calculated on the phone and works offline. The only part that goes online is the feedback form, when you choose to send a message. No account, no ads.

WHAT IT IS NOT Depth of field is a standard for acceptable sharpness in a normal-sized print, not a physical edge: at 100% on screen the limits will look soft, and SharpStop says so. The core position is approximate (about half a degree), and weather and light pollution are not included. It does not meter light, model lens breathing or connect to your camera.

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