Guide to Infinity Focus: How to Focus a Camera Lens to Infinity

Infinity focus is a camera setting that allows a lens to focus on a distance far enough away that incoming rays of light are functionally parallel and reach the camera sensor as points. This minimizes the circle of confusion and reduces blur, producing an effect where the entire frame is largely in focus. Infinity focus may not result in a particularly sharp focus in any part of the image, but nothing will be blatantly out of focus. In some ways, using infinity focus is like creating an extremely wide depth of field.

Technically, the infinity setting does not provide total focus at an infinite distance. The infinity focus point actually begins some distance in front of your lens; in other words, an object nearly right in front of your camera will not actually be in focus. This area in front of the camera is the hyperfocal distance. Multiple factors affect hyperfocal distance, including aperture, focal length, and the camera's crop factor. In all cases, however, everything from the point of infinite focus and beyond should appear in focus.

Several photography scenarios call for an infinite focus distance.

• Landscape photography: Landscape scenes often involve capturing distant objects. Infinity focus paired with your camera's manual mode can get every part of a landscape in focus.
• Wildlife photography: Outdoor scenes with wild animals may require focus in both the foreground and the background of an image. Infinity focus on a wide angle lens helps you capture it all. Learn more about wildlife photography in our complete guide here.
• Low light photography: Low light and night photography can make it hard to precisely focus. To get around this basic problem, set a wide angle lens to infinity mode and use a wide aperture to let in enough light.

Note that you will not be able to use infinity focus with some lens adapters, HD filters, and macro filters—and some modern lenses simply do not have an infinity setting on their focusing ring.

To set infinity focus on your camera lens, spin your focus ring to the infinity symbol: ∞. Not every kit lens offers this option. Many autofocus lenses do not have a built-in infinity focus setting. Older lenses are more likely to feature an infinity setting on the focus ring.

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