Depth of Field (DOF)

DOF is the depth of field of the camera. When we turn it on, we will see that it has 3 settings: focus distance, focus range and aperture. Using these parameters, you can adjust the focus of a person's gaze. You can make it so that everything that is important will be in focus, and everything else will be blurred.

Focus distance

Focus distance is the distance at which the blur occurs (this is when the focus of the camera lens is shifted to some distance).

The greater the focus distance, the more distant objects are in focus. And the smaller the focus distance, the more nearby objects we have come into focus.

You can adjust this parameter by moving the slider to the right or left.

When Focus Distance equals 0.1, all objects that are at the focus distance of 0.1 units come into focus and they look clear.

When we start to increase Focus Distance (for example, to 600 units), now we have objects in focus that are 600 units away from us.

Note: It is very important to point out that the focus distance depends very much on such settings in the camera as Far plane and Near Plane. These values set the limits for the focus distance values. The blur will occur at the selected distance and up to the value specified in the Far Plane, which indicates where the scene will be drawn. The scene will not be drawn further after this value. You will see these parameters (Far plane and Near Plane) if you switch to the Properties Tab in the Inspector Panel.

Aperture

Aperture is an imitation of the camera's aperture. This parameter shows how much the objects that are out of focus are blurred.

Try to enlarge it and you will see that some objects begin to blur more (they lose their outline).

You can set the Aperture value manually by entering the value in the input field or by moving the slider in a circle on the graphical image of the aperture (which resembles a part of the camera lens called the aperture).

With a larger aperture value, we have more blurring in the Scene.

Focus range

This setting allows you to control the range where the blur will occur. The lower the focus range value, the less sharpness we have in the picture from the set focus distance. With the Focus Range parameter, you can adjust what should be in focus and out of focus from the line we are looking at (from the already specified focus distance).

Look at the screenshot below: we see that our foreground is blurred. Somewhere in the center of the Scene we have a focus, at a distance of 0.7 units from us. Beyond the focus distance, the focus on objects begins to blur.

When we raise the focus range value to 12, then everything that is in focus from our focus distance (0.7) will be more clearly shown. The image which was previously blurred will be clearer.

Let's look at an example where Focus Distance is 1 and Focus Range is 0. This means that at a distance from us and up to 1 units from us, everything will be blurred.

Application: Using Focus Range, we can highlight/emphasize the Main Character in the Scene. For example, if we need the Main Character to be in focus, and everything that is closer to us