Which statement correctly describes depth of view, including how depth affects focus?

• A. The width of the in-focus plane.
• B. The distance within which objects in a picture are in focus; large depth means most items are in focus.
• C. The distance at which an image is in perfect focus.
• D. The contrast range of a picture.

Answer: (B)

Depth of field is the range of distances from the camera that look acceptably sharp in the image. It tells you how much of the scene will be in focus at once. When depth of field is wide, both near and far objects stay sharp; when it’s narrow, only a small band around the focus point is in focus and the rest may blur. The statement that depth of field is the distance within which objects are in focus, and that a larger depth means most items are in focus, captures this idea. The other descriptions describe either a single perfectly sharp plane, or the exact focus distance, or tonal contrast—none of which define depth of field.