A Tedious Explanation of the f/stop

by Matthew Cole
Our Home Page
A History of Photography: The
2000s
A Tedious Explaatio of !epth of
"ield
Photographers set their exposure usig a #ombiatio of shutter speeds ad f/stops to get the
#orre#t amout of light o the film$sesor% The shutter speed regulates how log the film is
exposed to light #omig through the les% The f$stop regulates how mu#h light is allowed through
the les by &aryig the area of the hole the light #omes through% "or ay gi&e film speed '()O*
ad lightig #ombiatio there is oe #orre#t amout of light to properly expose the film% This
amout of light #a be a#hie&ed with may differet #ombiatios of f$stops ad shutter speeds%
!espite beig oe of the exposure #otrols i photography+ the f$stop remais a sour#e of
#ofusio ad mystery to may photographers+ e&e to some who use it all the time% ( fid it
iterestig that the lo#al #amera shop has pi#tures uder glass o the #outer showig a s#ee
usig a rage of fo#al legths 'for a good example of this+ see my fried !a&e !ahms, -es
"o#al -egth Chart*+ photos showig the same s#ee prited at differet si.es ad photos
showig a a#tio s#ee shot at differet shutter speeds% All that is assumed to be of iterest ad
#omprehesio to the #ustomers% /hat they don't ha&e is a set of photos showig depth of field+
or a s#ee shot at a rage of exposure #ombiatios where the f$stop,s effe#ts are show% Maybe
it 0ust ta1es too mu#h explaatio% /ell+ too mu#h explaatio is what this page is all about+ ad
(,ll go o&er the f$stop ad espe#ially its iitially2#ofusig umberig at some legth%
Fill That Bucket!
My fa&orite aalogy for exposure is fillig a bu#1et with water% A bu#1et is of fixed si.e ad
eeds a #ertai amout of water to fill it+ 0ust li1e film or a digital sesor+ whi#h is of a set
sesiti&ity 'the ()O* ad eeds a #ertai amout of light to optimally #apture a image% To fill
your bu#1et+ you #a pour a small stream of water for a log time or a fast stream of water for a
short time% Either way+ you ed up with the same amout of water% ( photography+ the si.e of
the stream of the water is aalagous to the f$stop+ the legth of time you pour is aalagous to the
shutter speed+ ad the si.e of the bu#1et is aalagous to the film speed% 3roadly spea1ig+ from
the bu#1et,s poit of &iew+ it does,t matter whi#h #ombiatio of stream si.e ad legth of time
you #hoose as log as the right amout of water eds up #omig i% "ilm is the same4 withi
limits+ it is idifferet to the #ombiatio of time ad amout of light as log as the right amout
of light e&etually arri&es%
Shutter Speeds
)hutter speeds are a bit easier to uderstad+ so (,ll start with those% 3oth exposure #otrols ru
through a se5ue#e of settigs whi#h i&ol&e doublig ad hal&ig the amout of light rea#hig
the film% )hutter speeds are measured i se#ods ad fra#tios of a se#od ad so the doublig
ad hal&ig is fairly self2e&idet% Oe 5uarter se#od is half as log as oe2half se#od but is
twi#e as log as oe2eighth% Oe se#od is twi#e as log as half a se#od ad half as log as 2
se#ods% (t,s pretty easy+ ad this wor1s through the whole se5ue#e of shutter speeds% O my old
6i1o "E+ for ista#e+ the shutter speed se5ue#e is:

7 se#ods 8 se#ods 2 se#ods 9 se#od 9$2
se#od 9$8 9$7 9$9: 9$;0 9$<0 9$92: 9$2:0 9$:00 9$9000
Ea#h of these settigs is #learly half$double the legth of time of its immediate eighbours 'O=+
( 1ow+ 9$9:th is,t exactly half the time of 9$7th ad 9$92:th is,t exactly half the time of 9$<0th+
but it,s #lose*% This doublig$hal&ig is thus pretty simple to #omprehed for this exposure
#otrol%
F/Stops
f$stops are a bit more #ofusig be#ause the umbers appear so arbitrary% This is the stadard
se5ue#e of f$stops from f$9%8 to f$22% Although it may ot seem ituiti&e at first+ i this
se5ue#e the f$9%8 settig lets i the most light while the f$22 settig lets i the least% Also+ ea#h
of these f$stops has pre#isely the same hal&ig$doublig relatioship as the shutter speed
se5ue#e%
9%8 2%0 2%7 8 :%< 7 99 9< 22
O the fa#e of it+ goig from f$8 to f$:%< does,t soud li1e hal&ig the amout of light% /hat,s
more+ :%< is a larger umber ad souds li1e it ought to be more light+ ot less% 6either does f$8
to f$2%7 soud li1e doublig the amout of light% ( fa#t+ ea#h of the umbers i this se5ue#e is a
hal&ig$doublig of the amout of light from its immediate eighbours+ 0ust li1e the shutter
speed settigs are% 6ot oly that+ but it ma1es sese+ as ( shall show below%
The reaso that both the hal&ig ad doublig ad the smaller umbers mea more light thigs
ma1e sese is that the f/stop is a ratio% The ratio is betwee the diameter of the aperture i the
les ad the focal length of the les% The fo#al legth is geerally measured i millimeters+ so
we,ll sti#1 with those as our uit of measure% O a :0mm les+ f$2 is sayig that the diameter of
the aperture is 2:mm% The ratio is: :0$2: > 2% That seems pretty straightforward% A good
5uestio might be+ what is the area of that aperture? /ell+ the aperture is usually a set of fi&e to
fiftee blades whi#h form a roughly #ir#ular hole+ so we,ll use the formula for the area of a #ir#le+
whi#h as (,m sure you,ll re#all is @ A radius
2
% "or @ (,ll use ;%989:B2<:% O our :0mm les+ the
aperture at f$2 has a diameter of 2:mm whi#h is a radius of 92%:mm% The area of the aperture is
thus @ C 92%:
2
+ or ;%989:B2<: C 9:<%2:+ or 8B0%B s5uare millimetres%
This fa#t by itself is,t all that useful% (t is useful i relatio to the ad0a#et f$stops% /hat is the
area of the aperture at f$2%7? /ell+ be#ause the f$stop is a ratio of the fo#al legth to diameter+ our
:0mm les at f$2%7 would ha&e a diameter of :0$2%7 > 9D%7<mm% Eemember+ we ha&e to di&ide
that by 2 to get the radius of 7%B;mm+ so the area of the #ir#le thus formed would be @ C 7%B;
2
+ or
2:0%: s5uare mm% Eoudig off a bit+ that,s about 2:0 s5% mm at f$2%7 ad :00 s5% mm at f$2+ a
double$half relatioship% AhaF )o that,s itF The area of the hole doubles and halves+ it,s 0ust
represeted by a ratio o the lesF 6o woder it,s so dar #ofusig%
Here,s a table of the aperture areas for the #ommo f$stops for a :0mm les:
f/stop
Diameter of
aperture mm!
"adius of
aperture mm!
Area of
Aperture s#$ mm!
f$9%0 :0%0 2:%0 9+B<;
f$9%8 ;:%D 9D%B 9+002
f$2%0 2:%0 92%: 8B9
f$2%7 9D%B 7%B 2:0
f$8 92%: <%; 92;
f$:%< 7%B 8%: <;
f$7 <%; ;%9 ;9
f$99 8%: 2%; 9<
f$9< ;%9 9%< 7
f$22 2%; 9%9 8
'As show o
les*
':0mm di&ided by f$stop* '9$2 the diameter* 'pi C the radius s5uared*
(f you loo1 dow the #olum of figures o the right+ you #a see the 'more or less*
doublig$hal&ig goig o up ad dow the #olum% Gou #a see also how the big umbers
ma1e for smaller areas si#e the f$stop umber is beig di&ided ito the fo#al legth+ the hal&ed+
the s5uared+ the multiplied by @% (t,s o woder this seems obs#ure%
/hy ot 0ust #all for the area of the aperture dire#tly? A #ouple of reasos% "irst of all+ if you
ha&e a :0mm les o ad say H( shot this with my :0mm at 9$92:th of a se#od ad a aperture
area of <; s5uare millimetersH you will impart #orre#t ad exa#t iformatio that pre#isely .ero
people will uderstad% (t,s mu#h easier to say H( shot this at 9$92:th at f$:%<H% Also+ <; s5uare
millimeters is f$:%< oly with a :0mm les4 if your les is a ;:mm+ or a 7:+ or a ;00+ the ratio
#hages ad the exposure is differet% That <; s5% mm is about f$8 o the ;:mm+ f$B%: o the
7:mm ad f$;2 o the ;00% =owig oly the area of the aperture re5uires also 1owig the
legth of the les to be iformati&e as to the amout of light #omig through the les% The f$stop
figure i#orporates both of these i oe useful if iitially #ofusig measure ad the les legth
is immaterial% (t,s shorthad+ i effe#t% /he you say f$7+ you mea for this fo#al legth 'the f?*+
gi&e me a aperture whose area is su#h that diameter of the resultig #ir#le goes eight times ito
my fo#al legth% "ortuately+ the les ma1ers figure out all these thigs ad 0ust mar1 the f$stops
o the les for us% They,re doig us a big fa&or%
So% does that mean f/& is the same brightness of illumination on the film/sensor regardless
of focal length of the lens'
Ges% That,s why they,re so hadyF (t,s also why hadheld light meters wor122they ha&e o idea
what film si.e or #amera body or les you,re usig+ but they #a tell you that 9$92:th at f$7 is the
#orre#t exposure 'or at least oe of a whole host of e5ui&alet exposures+ we,ll get to that later*%
(t does,t matter if you set that f$7 o a 20mm or a 800mm+ or if the #amera is from 9B:8 or from
last Iuly%
(ot it% ) think$ *hat about other f/stop terms'
*hen people talk about a fast lens% +hat does that mean'
-eses are referred to by their maximum aperture 'that,s the biggest hole+ the smaller umber*%
Thus+ 6i1o made 'at least* four 27mm leses at oe poit+ a 27 f$9%8+ a 27 f$2%0+ a 27 f$2%7 ad a
27 f$;%:% All four of these leses had f$8+ f$:%<+ ad so o up to f$9<4 they were distiguished by
the maximum amout of light they #ould let i% The 27mm f$;%:+ oe of whi#h ( ow+ whe set to
its maximum aperture of f$;%:+ lets i oe third less light that the 27 f$2%7% The 27 f$2%7+ i tur+ at
its maximum aperture+ lets i oly half the light of the 27 f$2%0 at its maximum aperture% The 27
f$2%0 lets i oly half the light of the 27 f$9%8 at its maximum aperture% -eses whi#h ha&e wide
maximum apertures ad let i lots of light are #alled fast leses% -eses whi#h let i
#omparati&ely less light at their maximum apertures are #alled slow leses% The 27 f$9%8 is a &ery
fast 27mm4 27 f$2%0 would be a fast les4 the 27 f$2%7 would be sort of regular+ for whi#h there
is,t really a ame4 the 27 f$;%: would be 1id of slow% That 27 f$9%8 sold for eough ew that
6i1o did,t ma1e may4 o#e dis#otiued+ their pri#e i the used mar1et wet upF Gou #a
fid them o e3ay from time to time goig for J2+:00 or more% 6i1o i 2090 itrodu#ed a 28
f$9%8 les+ 0ust a bit wider+ so you do,t ha&e to buy used but you still ha&e to pay aroud J2+:00%
*h, +ouldn-t ,ou al+a,s use a fast lens'
/eight ad expese% To get those larger diameter apertures meas you eed larger pie#es of
glass mouted i #orrespodigly larger les barrels% They,re harder to maufa#ture+ the les
barrel 1eeps gettig hea&ier to hold all that glass i aligmet so it all gets weighty i a hurry+
they,re harder to autofo#us ad they,re more #hallegig opti#al desigs% ( the ragefider world
there start to be #o#ers about the a##ura#y of the fo#usig si#e depth of field gets to be &ery
limited at large apertures% Also+ there ha&e bee &ery fast leses made whi#h ha&e the reputatio
of beig really i#e wide ope but 1id of doggy stopped dow% (f you ormally do ot use the
fast les at its widest settigs+ if you are mostly at+ say+ f$7+ the you are #arryig aroud a hea&y
ad expesi&e opti# whi#h may be uderperformig its #heaper brether stopped dow%
The si.e pealty is really ob&ious i the log leses% The weight balloos ad the #ost
s1yro#1ets% "or ista#e+ ( used to ow a 6i1o ;00mm f$8%: E!2(" les% The (" is iteral
fo#us+ the E! had to do with the Extra2low !ispersio glass used% (t was a sweet les+ ;00mm i
legth+ with sil1y smooth 'maual* fo#usig ad weighed i at 2 lbs% 2%B o.% 'B7Bg*% (f ( stepped
up to the ;00 f$2%7 les the weight wet to : lbs% 7 o. '2:00g*% 6ot fast eough? How about
6i1o,s ;00 f$2? (t weighed i at 9: lbs% <%B o.% 'D000g*% The ;00 f$2 pi#1s up 2 9$; stops o&er
the ;00 f$8%: ( owed+ but it ta1es a emietly had2holdable telephoto that fits i the #amera
bag ad ma1es it ito a uwieldly uit eedig a tripod+ re5uirig its ow suit#ase ad weighig
se&e times as mu#h% The f$2s still sell used i the J20+000K rage%
Gou also see the si.e i the .oom leses% Most moder #osumer .ooms are hady+ light ad
slow% They are also ha&e a &ariable maximum f$stop a#ross their .oom rage% The professioal
le&el leses ted to be fixed f$stop 'the 6i1o D02200 f$2%7+ for ista#e+ is f$2%7 a#ross the whole
rage+ is a stadard pro les+ but it weighs a lot ad #osts J2+:00*% ( e&erythig there are
tradeoffs%
E&e o shorter leses the differe#e is oti#eable4 my brother2i2law,s 6i1o :: f$9%2 is mu#h
hea&ier tha my :0 f$9%7% His &iewfider sure is bright ad that last fra#tio of a stop #a be
hady sometimes+ but the #amera weighs a lot o the e#1strap ad you start to 5uestio its &alue
if you,re shootig at f$99 ayway% (f you do de#ide you wat the fastest possible leses+ go buy
yourself a -ei#a M< 'film* or MB 'digital*+ for whi#h you #a buy a :0mm f$9%0 les ad a
D:mm f$9%8% Ad before you thi1 that it,s moder te#hology that allows these woders+ re#all
that Cao made a :0mm f$0%B: for their ragefider #ameras ba#1 i the 9B:0s+ ad still ma1e
a 7: f$9%2 for their )-Es%
., /oom lens sa,s it-s f/0$1 to 1$2$ *hat-s that mean'
This relates to the si.e &ersus les speed issue% ( ow a 6i1o 2827: f$2%728 .oom les+ as a
example% (t,s ot exa#tly small ad light+ but it tries% (f you thi1 about it+ the si.e of the elemets
eeded to get f$2%7 at 28mm is mu#h smaller tha the si.e eeded to get f$2%7 at 7:mm% To 1eep
les si.es ad #osts dow+ the les maufa#turer a##epts that the les wil be faster at the wide
ed of its fo#al legth rage ad slower at the log ed% As a result+ you #a ope up to f$2%7 at
the 28mm ed of the rage+ but oly to f$8 at the 7:mm ed% This is parti#ularly oti#eable i
small leses that do+ say+ D02;00mm where at the ;00mm ed the maximum f$stop is f$:%< or
worse% (t also shows up i the #ompa#t poit ad shoot super.ooms+ whi#h #a ha&e uspea1ably
slow log fo#al legths% Gou,d better ha&e a suy dayF
) hear stops referred to a lot$ Are these al+a,s f/stops'
6o% A sour#e of #ofusio is that HstopsH+ as i f$stops+ has be#ome a hady shorthad for other
doublig$hal&ig relatioships whe referrig to exposure% Thus+ whe someoe says they
Hstopped dowH+ they probably did #hage the aperture from+ say+ f$7 to f$99% Howe&er+ if
someoe says they wish they had a stop more light+ they mea they wish they had twi#e as mu#h%
(f they say they got some ()O 800 film whi#h is two stops faster tha their )esia ((+ it meas it
is four times as sesiti&e ad you #a ifer that the )esia was ()O 900 'from 800+ 200 would be
oe stop+ oe hal&ig+ ad 900 would be the se#od stop+ the se#od hal&ig*% E&e experie#ed
photographers get #ofused sometimes4 ( had oe guy tell me he Hpulled his film < stops+ from
()O 900 to ()O <H% /ell+ that,s ot six stops+ it,s four% Here+ #out alog: 900 to :0 is oe+ :0 to
2: is two+ 2: to 92 is three+ 92 to < is four%
6ote that stops always refer to exposure thigs% Gou would not say a 900mm les is a Hstop
logerH tha a :0mm be#ause it was twi#e as logF Gou would say it was twi#e as log+ or 0ust
that it,s a 900mm%
*hat is stopping do+n'
(,&e had a umber of emails as1ig about this% /he you stop dow a les+ you are goig to a
larger umber$smaller aperture ad therefore less light% Loig from f$7 to f$99 is stoppig dow%
The opposite is opeig up4 goig from f$99 to f$7 is mo&ig towards the smaller umber$larger
aperture ad therefore more light%
3o+ am ) supposed to remember that f/stop se#uence'
Easy+ 0ust get yourself a wristbadF Gou #a get it either with 0ust white umbers+ or+ for us old
6i1o hads+ with #olored umbers li1e those 6i1o used to use to idi#ate depth of fieldF
*hat About m, +eird f/stops'
The f$stop se5ue#e ( listed is the full stops% Most thigs i photography wor1 i 9$; or 9$2 stop
i#remets+ ad you will fid leses with maximum apertures at other2tha2full f$stops% ( fa#t+
amog the leses ( ow or ha&e owed+ there are maximum apertures are f$9%8+ f$2+ f$2%7+ f$8 ad
f$7+ all right o the full stops+ ad others i betwee at f$9%7+ f$2%:+ f$;%2+ f$;%:+ f$;%7 ad f$8%:%
Gou see these mu#h more i moder digital #ameras whi#h ted to show half or third2stop
i#remets 'or your #hoi#eF: my 6i1o !D00 allows me to sele#t 9$2 or 9$; stop i#remets* i
their -C! displays+ fie gradatios you e&er saw o physi#al f$stop rigs%
4ou Sa, .ost things Double and 3alve'
Gep% )hutter speeds do the 9$9: 9$;0 9$<0 9$92: thig referred to earlier% The f$stops we ha&e
referred to extesi&ely i their f$2%7 f$8 f$:%< et#% se5ue#e% "ilm speeds do the same thig% The
doublig goes li1e this i the #ommo rage of film speeds:
2: :0 900 200 800 700
Ea#h step here is a doublig$hal&ig of the film,s sesiti&ity to light% Thus+ a ()O 900 film
re5uires twi#e as mu#h light to be #orre#tly exposed as a ()O 200 film but oly half as mu#h as
a ()O :0 film% Gou would say it was a stop slower tha the 200+ a stop faster tha the :0% O
digital #ameras we get to #hage the ()O from shot to shot+ ad as you #hage this you,ll see the
half or third2stop i#remets go by as you #hoose%
There are third2stop iter&als i ()Os as well% Here are the third stop i#remets of film speed
with the full2stops i bold%

51 ;2 80 16 <8 70 766 92: 9<0 566 2:0 ;20 066
There were lots of still films made some itermediate speeds+ li1e =oda#hrome <8 slide film+
Plus2C Pa Professioal bla#1 ad white at ()O 92:+ ad "u0i 6P) ad some =oda1 Portra #olor
egati&e film at ()O 9<0%
3o+ do ,ou refer to exposures bet+een full f/stops'
Leerally+ ( 0ust say f$:%< ad a third+ or halfway betwee f$:%< ad f$7+ or somethig% ( ha&e a
)e1oi# -2;073 hadheld light meter that reads full f$stops plus a fra#tio i betwee expressed
i teths% (f ( too1 a readig that said 9$92:th of a se#od at f$:%< plus four of these te segmets+
( #ould go through the ma#hiatios to figure out exa#tly what f$stop that is 'f$<%2:* but that,s ot
all that hady+ to tell you the truth% 6o leses are i#remeted i teths of stops ad teth2stops
are a eedless amout of pre#isio ayway gi&e all the sour#es of slop i photography% Half ad
third stops are about as fie a disti#tio as matters% (,&e had may i5uiries about what the
itermediate stops are+ so ( put together a Pritable )heet of Third2)top (#remets whi#h you
#a loo1 at if you are iterested%
) took m, lens apart$ The aperture is no+here near as big as the calculation sho+s$ *hat-s
up'
Gou,re right% ( had a email from a guy who had ta1e apart a Eo11or 'Miolta* ;00mm f$8%:
'for other reasos+ ot to #he#1 my measuremets* ad he said the diameter of the f$stop blades
was way smaller tha the #al#ulatio would idi#ate% Gep% My #al#ulatios abo&e would be
a##urate if the aperture blades were mouted right i frot of the frot elemet% ( fa#t+ they,re
buried i the les somewhere ad+ o my 6i11or ;00mm f$8%: were a#tually lo#ated behind all
the les elemets% They still ha&e the same relatioship but the maufa#turer #a ma1e the
aperture blades mu#h smaller i the light path partway ba#1% Howe&er+ the relatioship is the
same betwee ea#h of the ad0a#et stops%
*h, are the, called f/stops'
( ha&e o idea% (,&e e&er read a authoratati&e des#riptio of where the ame #ame from% ( ha&e
a &ague memory that the defu#t maga.ie Modern Photography did a arti#le about it i about
9BD8 but my &ague memory also seems to re#all that it might ha&e bee the April issue% ( get a
tri#1le of emails from &arious people offerig a rage of opiios of why the ame+ ad oe day
perhaps (,ll #ompile them ito a page of their ow%
)s the f/stop all ) need to kno+ about the light transmission through the lens'
Probably% (t,s good eough for &irtually all amateurs ad early all professioals% There is a
#o#ept #alled t$stop+ for trasmissio stop+ whi#h is a measure of the a#tual light trasmissio of
the les rather tha the simple ratio of the aperture to the fo#al legth% The t$stop #a &ary from
the f$stop be#ause you ha&e a lot of les elemets 'big .oom leses might ha&e these* or at oe
time you might ha&e had oe les #oated ad aother ot #oated% About the oly people who
eed this le&el of pre#isio are professioal #iemaphotographers who use the t$stop to set
exposure% Their leses sometimes ha&e both f$stop ad t$stop s#ales mar1ed% E&e whe they
1ow the t$stops of the les+ the f$stops remai importat be#ause depth of field is dri&e by the
f$stop regardless of the light2passig ability of the glass% ( ha&e e&er see a still photography
les mar1ed i t$stops+ ( ha&e e&er used t$stops persoally ad ( doubt you,d e&er fid a
professioal still photographer who has+ but the #o#ept is out there so ( thought (,d metio it%
Persoally+ the oly time ( ha&e foud the mar1ed f$stop to be udepedable was with a Mi&itar
<00mm f$7 )eries Oe les ( had% This was a #atadioptri# 'mirror* les billed as a )olid Cat
be#ause rather tha mirrors ad airspa#e+ it had mirrors with solid glass i betwee% This puppy
weighed a lotF Ayway+ the les was omially f$7 but my ow experie#e was that if you used a
separate meter you,d better thi1 about it as a f$7 ad a half or f$99 les%
So *hat-s )mportant in all this'
Gou eed to 1ow the doublig$hal&ig relatioship ad how it wor1s with shutter speeds i
exposure% Gou eed to uderstad that for a gi&e amout of light ad ()O+ there are may
#ombiatios of shutter speeds ad f$stops that gi&e the same amout of light o the film$sesor
'see ext paragraph*% This is 1ey si#e the shutter speeds ad f$stops you #hoose ha&e
impli#atios i how your fial photograph will loo1 i ways other tha purely the amout of
light o the film% Gou eed to 1ow that as you stop dow you get more depth of field% Gou do
ot eed to go aroud #al#ulatig aperture areas for your leses ad f$stops% (f you,re li1e me+ it,s
worth doig it o#e to see that it wor1s+ the forgettig about%
3o+ a "ange of Settings (ives the Same Amount of 8ight
6ow+ to brig this all together+ we 1ow that the shutter speeds ad f$stops both double ad
hal&e% Thus+ we 1ow that we #a ope up a f$stop 'lettig i twi#e the light* ad mo&e the
shutter speed oe step faster '#uttig the time i half* ad ha&e the same amout of light o the
film% (t,s li1e that bu#1et of water4 ru the water twi#e as fast for half the time ad the bu#1et is
still full% As a example+ if we meter a s#ee ad it tells us that 9$92:th at f$7 is the #orre#t
exposure+ ay of the followig #ombiatios would wor1:
)hutter )peed 9$8 se#od 9$7 9$9: 9$;0 9$<0 7/751 9$2:0 9$:00 9$9000 9$2000 9$8000
f$stop f$8: f$;2 f$22 f$9< f$99 f/& f$:%< f$8 f$2%7 f$2 f$9%8
Pra#ti#ally spea1ig+ you are,t goig to ha&e oe les whi#h ta1es you from f$9%8 to f$8: ad
your #amera body may ot ha&e the higher shutter speeds% Also+ if you are without a tripod+ there
are limits to how slow your shutter speed #a be before your body mo&emets blur the photo+ so
there are some #ostraits% 3ut the poit remais+ all these #ombiatios yield the same amout
of light o the film ad a ideti#al pi#ture i terms of brightess% /hat does &ary is the ability
of the #amera to stop a#tio ad the depth of field+ or how mu#h is i fo#us i frot of ad behid
the sub0e#t '(,&e writte a page about !epth of "ield whi#h goes ito the fa#tors whi#h affe#t it+
the f$stop beig oe of them*% This gi&es you some #otrol o&er how your photographs will tur
out% Gou should uderstad it ad use it%
(t is also worth otig that i flash photography+ the shutter speed pretty mu#h #otrols the
ambiet light portio of the exposure ad the f$stop #otrols the flash portio of the exposure%
/he you are ready to mo&e ito ad&a#ed flash te#hi5ues+ (,d highly re#ommed !a&id
Hobby,s )trobist blog 'wor1 your way through -ightig 909* but you,re goig to wat to ha&e
this f$stop thig dow #old first%
P): After a ex#hage with someoe who fially uderstood this after readig this page 'whi#h
is &ery flatterig ( must say* it o##urred to me that part of the reaso this whole se5ue#e of
ideti#al exposure #ombiatios is absolutely se#od2ature to me yet so #ofusig to ewer
photographers is that ( started out life meterig e&erythig with a hadheld light meter% (itially
this was some log2forgotte )e1oi# refle#ted2oly seleium meter my !ad had+ later '9BD<*
the )e1oi# -27C2 meter+ usually i i#idet mode% The #ommo feature of these two meters
was that they displayed the readigs o a dial that showed e&ery possible #ombiatio of shutter
speed ad f$stop for that parti#ular light le&el ad film speed% 3y the time ( mo&ed to moder
#ameras ad a digital readout meter 'my )e1oi# -;073* the whole se5ue#e thig was
#ompletely igraied% 6owadays light meters li1e my little )e1oi# ad may #ameras read out
with eedless ad ofte #ofusig pre#isio ad it appears that there is oe #orre#t exposure+ ot
a whole se5ue#e that will gi&e the same exposure result% 6ow+ ot e&eryoe gets to use old light
meters for a few years to ail dow these relati&ities+ so ( did a sheet to help you see all your
exposure #ombiatios gi&e a readig from your #amera or light meter% Ta1e a loo1 at this sheet
ad see if it helps%
PP): Tha1s to Mi1e )heeha of Aurora Colorado who emailed me with how to show pi i html4
NOB<04 whi#h will show as @%