Exposure - 1/3 stop?

[prodigy2k7]

So, i been searching around, i cant find something that talks about "stops" in photography. Such as what does 1/3 mean, what is a full stop 1/1 ?
How are stops used when using aperature and shutter?

 

[ANDS!]

Stops are the different "steps" between Aperture values. The 1/3 refers to the "factor" of the stop. So going from f/1.8 to f/3.6 would be one stop.

 

[Mav]

A full stop is a doubling of the shutter speed, or a halving. For aperture, a full stop smaller aperture lets half the amount of light through the lens as a full stop larger aperture. For precision cameras let you adjust down to 1/3rd stop.

 

[Mav]

Stops are the different "steps" between Aperture values. The 1/3 refers to the "factor" of the stop. So going from f/1.8 to f/3.6 would be one stop.

f/1.8 to f/3.6 is two stops, actually. The common full stops are:

f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, etc...


more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-stop

 

[someguy5]

can someone explain why a bigger aperature increases the cost of the lens?

 

[Big Mike]

can someone explain why a bigger aperature increases the cost of the lens?

A bigger aperture is (essentially) a bigger opening in the lens...which means a bigger barrel and larger pieces of glass for the lens elements. Also, lenses with larger apertures are usually top/pro level lenses which will usually use top quality glass and top build quality...all of which costs more money.