Advice for a beginner (and I do mean BEGINNER)

[ann]

it is understandable that these things are confusing, but think about what you just said. it is not the reverse smaller means less, wide open means more,.

when there is less light one needs more light and one method to create this is to use a wider opening (which equals a more open aperutre)

if there is a lot of bright light available one needs to control the amount and you would use a smaller aperture which will let in less light.

 

[doenoe]

nope, a small aperture means a high F-fumber and a large aperture means a low F-number. So at F2.8 the aperture is wide open and lets in alot of light. At F32 for instance the aperture is small and lets in less light.
So a high F-number = small aperture = less light
And a low F-number = large aperture = more light.
Took me a while to get that part too

well, i guess im a slow typer. Ann allready explained it too

 

[Gaerek]

nope, a small aperture means a high F-fumber and a large aperture means a low F-number. So at F2.8 the aperture is wide open and lets in alot of light. At F32 for instance the aperture is small and lets in less light.
So a high F-number = small aperture = less light
And a low F-number = large aperture = more light.
Took me a while to get that part too

well, i guess im a slow typer. Ann allready explained it too

I'm one of those strange people that likes math, and f-numbers always confused me (bigger number = smaller hole?) until I actually looked at what they number means. The number is a ratio. That's why there's a '/' in the proper notation, for example, f/16. The ratio actually refers to the focal length divided by the aperture diameter. So, let's say you have a lens that's at 160mm, and the aperture size is 10mm. Your f-number is f/16 (160 / 10 = 16). If you decrease the aperture size to 5mm (smaller hole), your f-number is now f/32 (160 / 5 = 32). This is why lower quality lenses have f-numbers that change as you zoom in, the longer focal length increases the f-number.

I apologize in advance if this further confuses people. It's just the way I learned to remember that the bigger number means smaller hole. It's also a good idea to understand why certain things work the way they work in photography.

 

[Samanax]

I just started to read your manuals....very cool...but I have a question...

"A small aperture doesn't let much light in (which is good for when it's bright), and a wide open aperture lets in lots of light, which is good for when it is dim."

Shouldn't this be the opposite? The smaller the fstop the more light that is let in? And vice versa?

No, that statement is correct. He's talking about the physical size of the opening, not in terms of f/stop value. A small aperture opening does let in less light, but it's f/stop value is higher. And a large aperture opening does let in more light, but it's f/stop value is lower.

 

[Gunny79]

Thanks guys for the replies. A lot to digest and to consider.

Much appreciated.

 

[Tiberius47]

Have a read of the tutorials in my signature. THey'll give you a grasp of the basics. But the most important thing is to get out there and do it. Reading about it is nowhere near as important as first hand experience.

I just started to read your manuals....very cool...but I have a question...

"A small aperture doesn't let much light in (which is good for when it's bright), and a wide open aperture lets in lots of light, which is good for when it is dim."

Shouldn't this be the opposite? The smaller the fstop the more light that is let in? And vice versa? This stuff is so confusing.

I meant the actual size of the aperture hole. A small aperture is one that has a high number. A wide aperture has a low number (yeah, I know, it works weird...)