Re: To Box or Not?

[Joel Alpers <joel.alpers@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Paul A. Lehman wrote:
> 
> Good points Eric, but you brought up some more questions if I
> may,
> 
> Eric Goldstein wrote:
> > The significant drawback for me would be that the difference between an
> > object in hyperfocus and an object in pin sharp focus is quite obvious
> > in some circumstances, and without the ability to change focus this can
> > create difficulties in some shooting contexts.
> 
> Now I'm a wee bit confused. I thought that within a correct (and
> conservative) depth-of-field range, all items are in focus. Is it
> actually that there is a gradient of focus within the DOF range?

I very much recall the emphasis a photo instructor told us:

There is only ONE PLANE of exact focus. The depth-of-field
indicates a range in which objects are ---acceptably sharp---.

IOW, you are correct, there's a gradient, and a "common" 
definition (related to "circle of confusion") of what is
considered "acceptably sharp".

Joel.