I think the best way to solve this on the part of the developers would be to make the enviro distance parameter (in the development/experimental stuff rollout) interact with DOF, then we could simply set it equal to the target distance of the camera and there would be no blur, but now unfortunately it won't work.
Ah that wouldn't work in many cases as for most use cases it would involve a 3d object rendered on another geometry with Shadowcatcher Mtl (some sort matte object), so no DOF on environment only wouldn't help much, at least in all the cases I would've needed such an option.
Generally, we would need an option to exclude from DOF:
- environment (any pixel that ends up in infinity/env with no alpha)
- background (any pixel that ends up in infinity/background with no alpha)
- objects that act as a matte with Shadow Catcher Mtl (any pixel that ends up on a matte geometry), best optionally per Shadow Catcher Mtl
This has some challenging implications with regards to reflections/refractions and object/alpha blending but I'd take any rudimentary approach over having no option at all anytime.
I'd love for development to take 1-2 cycles trying to solve these little quality of life requests (there are lots more) but I guess everyone has their own set of annoyances they would like to see solved.