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Briefly explain hyperfocal distance and one common misconception about it.

# Hyperfocal Distance **Hyperfocal distance** is the closest focusing distance at which a lens can be focused while keeping objects at infinity acceptably sharp. When focused at this distance, everything from approximately half the hyperfocal distance to infinity appears in acceptable focus, maximizing depth of field. ## Common Misconception Many photographers believe focusing at the hyperfocal distance produces the **sharpest** image throughout the scene. In reality, it produces the **maximum depth of acceptable sharpness**, but nothing is truly optimally sharp—infinity objects are just barely at the acceptable sharpness threshold. For critical sharpness on a specific subject (like a landscape feature), you're often better off focusing directly on that subject rather than at the hyperfocal distance, even if it means infinity isn't perfectly sharp. Hyperfocal focusing is about maximizing the *range* of acceptable focus, not maximizing sharpness at any particular distance.