Camera / Optics
Diffraction Limit Calculator
Find the aperture where diffraction starts softening your images at the pixel level, based on your sensor and resolution, live as you type.
Sensor
Reference
Beyond the diffraction limit, the Airy disk cast by each point of light grows larger than a single pixel, softening detail no amount of stopping down further can outrun — even though depth of field keeps increasing.
Higher-resolution sensors hit this limit at wider apertures because their pixels are smaller. This is a pixel-level effect; the softening is often invisible until you view at 100% or print very large.
Results
Aperture Reference
The Aperture Where Sharpness Starts Working Against You
Stopping down increases depth of field, but past a certain aperture, diffraction starts softening the image at the pixel level — a physical limit no lens design can avoid. This tool finds that crossover point for your specific sensor and resolution, so you know exactly how far you can stop down before trading sharpness for depth of field.
Why Higher Resolution Sensors Hit the Limit Sooner
As light passes through a small aperture, it diffracts into a spot called an Airy disk instead of a perfect point. When that disk grows larger than a single pixel, the sensor can no longer resolve detail at its full potential. Because higher-megapixel sensors pack smaller pixels into the same area, they reach this crossover at wider apertures than lower-resolution sensors of the same physical size.
It’s a Soft Limit, Not a Cliff
Diffraction softening is gradual and often invisible at normal viewing sizes — it mostly shows up when pixel-peeping at 100% or making very large prints. The reference table below the results flags which common apertures fall past your diffraction limit at the current settings, so you can judge whether the tradeoff matters for your specific use case.
This tool is especially useful for:
- Landscape photographers deciding how far to stop down for depth of field without losing sharpness.
- Product and macro shooters balancing depth of field against pixel-level detail.
- Anyone comparing sensors with different resolutions in the same physical size.