Depth of field (DoF) is the area between the nearest and farthest points from the camera that are acceptably sharp in an image. A deep DoF means all or most of your photo will be in focus, including the foreground, subject and background. Use a deep DoF in group photos, landscape shots and when elements in the background or foreground add to the message the photo is attempting to communicate. A shallow DoF means more narrow range will be acceptably sharp in the image. Shallow DoF is good to use when you want to isolate your subject from their surroundings, such as in a portrait or when elements in the background or foreground may be distracting.

Cinemacamera lensmounts

The aperture is the opening created by a set of overlapping metal blades, known as the diaphragm, inside a photographic lens. This opening controls the amount of light coming through the lens. The wider the aperture, the less depth of field you capture. The smaller the aperture, the deeper the depth of field.

Lens mountindex

Most lens mounts fall into one of several categories of mechanical operation: threaded screw, bayonet, or breech lock. A few additional variations or combinations are rarely used such as multi-start threaded screw mounts. The primary motivation for the proliferation of lens mounting systems and the incompatibility between different manufacturers' mounting systems is vendor lock-in; the desire to force a consumer to continuing buying hardware of a given brand by assuring their hardware will not be compatible with other brands.

Camera Lens MountAdapter

Distance to subject refers to the length between the camera and the focus of the image. The closer the camera is to the subject it is focusing on, the narrower the depth of field will be. Inversely, the farther away the subject is from the camera, the wider the depth of field will be.

You can affect the depth of field by changing the following factors: aperture, the focal length and the distance from the subject.

Bestcamera lens mount

Camera lens mountchart

Infographic illustrates how changing the aperture, the focal length and the distance from the subject affect the depth of field. Download Image  Share Image: X Facebook Email Photo by: DINFOS PAVILION Team VIRIN: 200907-D-PA656-0002

Some lens manufacturers specifically design lenses to be relatively easy to convert to any one of several different proprietary mounts.[1]

This table necessarily lacks detail that has important implications. As an example, both Nippon Kōgaku and Cosina have made specialist lenses popularly termed "Nikon F mount" that are much as described below but extend backward so far that the camera's mirror must be locked up; this in turn (i) limits the usable "Nikon F mount" cameras to those that have mirror lock-up and (ii) means that the resulting combination is no longer a SLR. Therefore the table should only be taken as an introductory guide to which lenses work with which bodies.

Camera lens mounttypes

The table below lists known camera lens mounts by name, register (Flange Focal Distance), and mechanical description. The table can be sorted by any of these parameters by clicking the sort icons in the table header. The data in this table has been compiled from a variety of sources including our own pages, the Cornell University camera mount list, and William-Jan Markerink's lens flange distance table. See the Links section below for some of our sources.

In contrast to camera manufacturers' desire for incompatibility, consumer demand for interchangeability has driven the development of lens mount adapters and interchangeable mount systems by third-party lens manufacturers. In principle a mechanical lens mount adapter can be created for a camera with a given register (aka Flange Focal Distance or FFD) that will mount lenses designed for cameras of any greater register. Adapting a lens designed for a smaller register either (a) requires an optical adapter (which lowers image quality), or (b) prevents focussing beyond a certain distance. (Even with a greater register, there may be mechanical limitations.)

In this image a deep depth of field allows the viewer to take in many subjects, including an artillery shell mid-flight. Photo by Staff Sgt. Steven Schneider In this image a deep depth of field allows the viewer to take in many subjects, including an artillery shell mid-flight. Download Image  Share Image: X Facebook Email Photo by: Staff Sgt. Steven Schneider VIRIN: 170918-O-N0132-7230C

Camera lens mountcanon

In this image a medium depth of field allows the viewer to focus on multiple subjects without creating confusion for your eyes Photo by Sebastian J. Sciotti Jr. In this image a medium depth of field allows the viewer to focus on multiple subjects without creating confusion for your eyes Download Image  Share Image: X Facebook Email Photo by: Sebastian J. Sciotti Jr. VIRIN: 170525-D-SS007-019C

The following graphic illustrates how changing these factors: aperture, focal length and the distance from the subject affect the depth of field.

A lens mount is a mechanical and also sometimes an electrical interface between a camera and a lens that allows cameras to have interchangeable lenses. Still and motion picture cameras, as well as other optical equipment, use lens mounts. Some are unique to a particular device or manufacturer (and protected by patent); for some, the patent has expired; and others again are designed to be shared by cameras from multiple manufacturers.

The focal length of the lens determines the image magnification. The wider the lens, the shorter the focal length. This allows you to capture a wider depth of field. The longer or more zoomed in the camera lens, the less depth of field you capture.

In this image you can see how a shallow depth of field keeps the focus on the action. Photo by Samuel King In this image you can see how a shallow depth of field keeps the focus on the action. Download Image  Share Image: X Facebook Email Photo by: Samuel King VIRIN: 170908-F-OC707-0517C