How do I set focus to the exact distance in the table?

Use the camera's focus-distance readout if it has one, the lens's distance scale, or a tape measure and a marker on the subject. For stacks with many frames, most modern cameras offer in-body focus bracketing: set the number of frames and a small step and let the body move focus for you.

Why does the last frame say 'hyperfocal'?

Because your far point is beyond the hyperfocal distance for those settings. A frame focused at the hyperfocal distance is sharp from half that distance to infinity, so it finishes the stack in one go.

Why does the count change so much with the near point?

Depth of field is thinnest close to the camera. Moving the near point from 0.3 m to 0.5 m can halve the frame count, because the closest frames are the narrowest ones.

Does this work for macro at 1:1 and beyond?

As a starting point. The standard formula underestimates how thin the sharp zone gets at high magnification, so increase the overlap to 30-40% and check the merged result for soft bands.

What software merges the frames?

Any focus-stacking tool: Photoshop's auto-blend, Helicon Focus, Zerene Stacker, Affinity Photo's focus merge, and several cameras can merge in-body. The calculator only plans the capture.

Focus Stacking Calculator

This calculator works out how many frames a focus stack needs and exactly where to focus each one, from your focal length, aperture, sensor format and the nearest and farthest points you want sharp — using the same depth-of-field maths as the DoF Calculator.

Focal length

Aperture (f-number)

Sensor format

Nearest point to keep sharp

Farthest point to keep sharp

Overlap between frames

Frames needed

First focus

505 mm

Last focus

696 mm

Average focus step

11 mm

Focus distance and sharp range for each frame
Frame	Focus at	Sharp from	Sharp to
1	505 mm	500 mm	510 mm
2	513 mm	508 mm	518 mm
3	521 mm	516 mm	527 mm
4	530 mm	524 mm	535 mm
5	539 mm	533 mm	545 mm
6	548 mm	542 mm	554 mm
7	558 mm	552 mm	564 mm
8	568 mm	561 mm	574 mm
9	578 mm	572 mm	585 mm
10	589 mm	582 mm	596 mm
11	600 mm	593 mm	608 mm
12	612 mm	605 mm	620 mm

…and 6 more, ending at 696 mm. The step grows with distance — the frames near the camera are the close ones.

Hyperfocal distance at these settings: 41.77 m. Depth of field per frame at the near end: 10 mm.

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How to use this

What it does

Steps focus from your nearest point to your farthest, one frame at a time. Each frame is placed so its depth of field starts a little way back inside the previous frame's sharp zone (the overlap), so nothing falls in a gap between frames. It uses the standard hyperfocal-distance depth-of-field formula — the same maths as the DoF Calculator — with your sensor format's circle of confusion.

What you'll need

Focal length in mm — the actual lens focal length, not a 35mm-equivalent.
Aperture (f-number) you'll shoot the whole stack at.
Sensor format — sets the circle of confusion.
The nearest and farthest points you need sharp, measured from the camera in metres.
Overlap between neighbouring frames — 20% is a sensible default, more if your lens focus-breathes noticeably.

Steps

Enter focal length, aperture and sensor format.
Measure (or estimate) the nearest and farthest points that must be sharp and enter them.
Read the frame count, then focus each frame at the distance in the table — nearest first — and shoot.

Reading the result

The frame count is the headline; the table is the shooting plan. Focus distances get further apart as you go back because depth of field grows with distance, so most of the frames sit at the near end. If the last frame says 'hyperfocal', the far point is beyond the hyperfocal distance and that final frame reaches to infinity. If the count is 1, a single frame already covers the range — no stack needed.

Tips

Stopping down one stop roughly halves the frame count, but past f/11 on full-frame (f/8 on smaller sensors) diffraction softens everything — a stack at f/8 usually beats a single frame at f/22.
For true macro (1:1 and closer) the standard formula becomes optimistic, because the effective aperture shrinks as magnification grows. Add overlap, or use your camera's in-body focus bracketing with a small step, and treat this as a starting point.
Shoot the stack in one go without touching zoom, aperture or the tripod — a stacking program aligns for small shifts, but a changed framing between frames won't merge.

Learn more

What is focus stacking?

Focus stacking is shooting the same composition several times, each frame focused a little further away, then merging them so only the sharp part of each frame is kept. The result is a single image with more depth of field than any one exposure could deliver — front-to-back sharpness in a macro shot, a landscape with a sharp foreground flower and a sharp horizon, or a product photo where every edge is crisp.

The planning problem is simple to state and tedious to do by hand: each frame has a sharp zone (its depth of field) that depends on focal length, aperture, focus distance and sensor format, and the zones have to overlap so nothing between two frames is soft. This calculator does that arithmetic and hands you a list of focus distances.

Why photographers use it

Aperture alone runs out. At macro distances even f/16 gives a sliver of sharpness, and in a landscape the aperture that brings a nearby rock into focus is deep into diffraction. Stacking lets you shoot at the lens's sharpest aperture and still get everything sharp — and knowing the frame count before you start is the difference between a clean stack and finding a soft band between two frames back at the computer, when the light has gone.

How much overlap, and which aperture?

Overlap is your safety margin against three things: the circle of confusion being a convention rather than a hard line, lenses that change focal length slightly as they focus (focus breathing), and your own precision in setting each distance. 20% is a good default; use 30-40% for macro and for lenses that breathe, and you can drop to 10% for a landscape shot on a locked-down tripod. For aperture, pick the sharpest your lens offers — usually f/5.6-f/8 on full-frame, a stop wider on smaller sensors — and let the frame count absorb the rest. Only stop down further when the count gets impractical.

Common mistakes

Stepping focus by equal distances. depth of field grows with distance, so equal steps waste frames at the far end and leave gaps at the near end. Follow the calculated distances — they bunch up close and spread out far, on purpose.
Stacking at f/22 to keep the count down. diffraction at very small apertures softens every frame, and no amount of stacking recovers detail that was never captured. Open up to the lens's sharpest aperture and shoot more frames.
Trusting the formula at 1:1 macro. the standard depth-of-field formula assumes the lens's marked aperture, but at high magnification the effective aperture is smaller and the geometry changes. Treat the plan as optimistic at macro distances and add overlap.
Changing anything but focus between frames. a nudged tripod, a touched zoom ring or a different aperture makes frames that don't align. Set everything, then move only the focus — ideally with the camera's built-in focus bracketing or a rail.
Skipping the frame beyond the far point. the last frame's depth of field needs to reach past your farthest point, not just to it. The calculator's final frame does this; if you shorten the list, you lose the far edge.

Example settings

Tabletop product shot

100mm, f/8, full-frame, sharp from 0.5 m to 2 m, 20% overlap

45 frames — about 1 cm of depth each at the front, widening to 2 cm by 2 m; a shorter range or f/11 cuts it fast

Landscape with a close foreground

24mm, f/8, full-frame, sharp from 0.4 m to infinity (enter a large far point), 20% overlap

Four frames — the last one at the hyperfocal distance (2.4 m), reaching to infinity

Close macro

100mm, f/5.6, APS-C, sharp from 0.30 m to 0.35 m, 30% overlap

44 frames barely a millimetre apart — a rail or in-body focus bracketing job

FAQ

How do I set focus to the exact distance in the table?: Use the camera's focus-distance readout if it has one, the lens's distance scale, or a tape measure and a marker on the subject. For stacks with many frames, most modern cameras offer in-body focus bracketing: set the number of frames and a small step and let the body move focus for you.
Why does the last frame say 'hyperfocal'?: Because your far point is beyond the hyperfocal distance for those settings. A frame focused at the hyperfocal distance is sharp from half that distance to infinity, so it finishes the stack in one go.
Why does the count change so much with the near point?: Depth of field is thinnest close to the camera. Moving the near point from 0.3 m to 0.5 m can halve the frame count, because the closest frames are the narrowest ones.
Does this work for macro at 1:1 and beyond?: As a starting point. The standard formula underestimates how thin the sharp zone gets at high magnification, so increase the overlap to 30-40% and check the merged result for soft bands.
What software merges the frames?: Any focus-stacking tool: Photoshop's auto-blend, Helicon Focus, Zerene Stacker, Affinity Photo's focus merge, and several cameras can merge in-body. The calculator only plans the capture.