What is Aperture?
Photo By: Danny Graham (Wantage , New Jersey , 07461)
Image credit: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture
In photography and video, a lens’s aperture is a set of blades that open and close to control the amount of light passing through the lens. It is part of the Three Elements of Exposure.
The way that the number is represented is called an F-stop, and it’s labeled as “f/” followed by a number like 1, 1.4 ,2, 2.8 , 4 , 5.6 , 8 , 11 ,16 , 22. These are all full stops, but you may also see numbers like 1.2, 1.8, 3.2, 4.5 , ect. These examples instead follow a 1/3 stop.
This article has a great chart of the different measured stops
Similarly you may find T stops on cinema lenses, which are measured more extensively for motion picture. More on T stops here.
Summary
Aperture has a large play in the DOF (Depth of Field). Depending on your subject, you may want to open or close your aperture in order to create a greater depth of field. For example, if you are shooting landscape photography, then you may want a greater depth. And with portraits, you might want isolate your subject from other details in the frame. If you are just starting out, a great option to learn DOF is a 50 1.8 (Nifty-50). These are typically inexpensive, and you’ll be able to see the specific changes in DOF (more specifically on the shallow end).
The following image was taken several years ago with my old Canon 60D and Canon 50mm F/1.8. this camera and lens can likely be found together used for sub $200
Image by Danny Graham: Taken with Canon 50mm F/1.8 and Canon 60D
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Photographer: Danny Graham
Photographer: Danny Graham