Aperture
- Thread starter inferno
- Start date
Caporegime
no...aperture control Depth of field, not sharpness, if its not in focus, it won't be sharp.
Soldato
yes, you will get sharper results around F/8 - F/11 on say an F4-5.6 lens thats at F/4, i do anyway.
SDK^ said:
this is the case for all lenses....not just L quaity glass - all due to diffraction.
read this:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm
then have a loooong sleep
Most if not all lenses produce their softest results when wide open (i.e. at their smallest f number). In top of the range lenses such as the L series this difference in sharpness is not as obvious as in cheaper, consumer lenses, where it is advisable to 'stop down' for better results.
That is a different matter to whether you focus your shot incorrectly, in which case any lens will produce an out of focus image.
It's also a different issue what depth of field you have. The smaller F numbers give you the most depth of field, so assuming focus is on something in the image, more stuff in front and behind it will also look sharp.
That is a different matter to whether you focus your shot incorrectly, in which case any lens will produce an out of focus image.
It's also a different issue what depth of field you have. The smaller F numbers give you the most depth of field, so assuming focus is on something in the image, more stuff in front and behind it will also look sharp.
"f8 and be there" was a quote i read recently
edit:
actually will include the article
found it very handy for explaining a few things to people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_number
edit:
actually will include the article
found it very handy for explaining a few things to people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_number
Last edited:
Associate
Cheers for those links guys. I only half understand aperture, and diffraction at higher apertures is something I really don't have much of a grip on.
When shooting landscapes, is a higher F number favourable?
When shooting landscapes, is a higher F number favourable?
hoodmeister - yep basically!
The way I look at aperture is in two dead simple ways.
1) Lower F num, more light comes in, hence faster shutter needed. And vice-versa with high F numbers, less light comes in, so longer shutter.
2) Lower F num, big aperture so more light from all sorts of angles - so the stuff you expressly focus on will be sharp, but light is bouncing about all over the place so everything else other than your subject will be blurred.
Higher F-num, tiny aperture, only allows light to come in one direction (kinda), so not only the thing you focus on will be sharp - most of the rest of your shot will be too.
The way I look at aperture is in two dead simple ways.
1) Lower F num, more light comes in, hence faster shutter needed. And vice-versa with high F numbers, less light comes in, so longer shutter.
2) Lower F num, big aperture so more light from all sorts of angles - so the stuff you expressly focus on will be sharp, but light is bouncing about all over the place so everything else other than your subject will be blurred.
Higher F-num, tiny aperture, only allows light to come in one direction (kinda), so not only the thing you focus on will be sharp - most of the rest of your shot will be too.