What is camera aperture, lens? What is the effect on photography?

Despite its small size, aperture plays a very important role in a camera. If you wonder what the aperture in the camera is and how it affects photography, let’s find out with Tnhelearning.edu.vn right away!

What is Aperture?

Aperture is the opening of the lens that helps regulate the amount of light entering the camera’s sensor.

The larger the aperture of the lens, the more light the sensor (or film) can receive in a given amount of time. The camera adjusts the aperture by opening or closing the aperture blades.

Meaning of aperture

How does aperture affect exposure?

Aperture greatly affects the effects of a photo, including exposure.

Simply put, aperture helps you to adjust the brightness of a photo. When you open the aperture large, the amount of light entering the sensor will be more, making the image brighter . And vice versa, when opening a small aperture, the amount of light entering the sensor is less, making the image darker.

The numerical value of the aperture difference is called the f-number , f-number standards such as: f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, etc. When you If you open the aperture, the f-number will decrease, when the aperture is closed, the f-number will increase.

The in-focus image area is smaller when the f-number is smaller , conversely, when the f-number is large , the in-focus image area is larger. A large f-number results in sharpness all the way to the background of your photo.

When the f-number is the smallest , you get the maximum aperture that lets in the largest amount of light and you also get the most outstanding bokeh .

Therefore, when taking photos in low-light environments, you should open the aperture as wide as possible to capture as much light as possible.

How does aperture affect depth of field?

Depth of Field is a term used to describe the sharp areas of an image.

When the aperture is smaller , the depth of field also increases, all subjects in the foreground and background are guaranteed to be in focus.

When the camera aperture is widened to the maximum , the depth of field will be shallower, separating the subject from the background, making the subject sharp and the background blurred.

Therefore, you should open the maximum aperture when taking portraits , giving a beautiful bokeh effect to your photos. On the other hand, when taking landscape photos, you should keep the aperture small so that you can get a lot of details in the photo.

Maximum aperture and minimum aperture

Every lens has a limit on how large or small the aperture can be. If you look at the specs of your lens, it will tell you what the maximum and minimum aperture are. For most people, the maximum aperture will be more important, because it tells you how much light the lens can capture, affecting the quality of the photo.

A lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 or f/1.8 is considered a fast lens, as it can let in more light than a lens with a maximum aperture of f/4.0 . That’s why lenses with large apertures usually cost more.

In contrast, the minimum aperture is not very important, as almost all modern lenses can be adjusted to the minimum aperture at f/16. Daily photography does not require a very small minimum aperture.

With some zoom lenses, the maximum aperture changes as you zoom in and out. For example, with the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-P lens, the maximum aperture will shift from f/3.5 to f/5.6.

More expensive zoom lenses are capable of maintaining a constant maximum aperture during their zoom, like the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8. Prime lenses often have larger maximum apertures than zoom lenses, which is one of their main benefits.

Some examples of aperture

Let’s take a look at some examples of how aperture works and how it affects your images below:

• f/0.95 – f/1.4: This aperture range is only available on high-end prime lenses, allowing them to gather a lot of light, making them ideal for low-light photography such as sky photography. Night sky, wedding reception, portrait in a dimly lit room, corporate event,… With such a wide f-stop, the resulting images will have a very shallow depth of field at close range, in then the object will appear separate from the background.
• f/1.8 – f/2.0: Type A lens with this aperture range is for the enthusiast, but has a slightly weaker ability to capture light than the range above, but can still help you create beautiful photos. Shooting between f/1.8 and f/2 produces images with the right depth of field for subjects at close distances while still providing a pleasingly eye-catching effect.
• f/2.8 – f/4: Most professional zoom lenses are limited to the f/2.8 to f/4 range. Although they do not have the same light-gathering capabilities as f/1.4 lenses, they can still capture stable images even in low-light conditions. The f/2.8 – f/4 range generally provides adequate depth of field for most subjects and offers excellent sharpness, making it suitable for travel, sports, animal photography and adventure.
• f/5.6 – f/8: This is the ideal range for landscape and architecture photography as well as group photography. The maximum aperture level of f/5.6 usually provides the best overall sharpness.
• f/11 – f/16: Commonly used for landscape, architecture, and macro photography. Be careful when adjusting the f-stop down past f/8 as the image will begin to lose sharpness due to the effects of lens diffraction.
• f/22 and smaller: This f-stop range has a fairly low sharpness, so you should limit its use. If you need an increase in depth of field, it’s best to move away from the subject or use focus stacking instead.

How to change aperture in camera

There are two ways to set the aperture:

• Choose “Aperture Priority” mode : You will be able to customize the aperture and the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed for you.
• Choose “Manual” mode : You can adjust both aperture and shutter speed as you like

In manual mode, the exposure settings, also commonly referred to by photographers as “f stop”, “EV” , or exposure value allow you to adjust the amount of light entering the camera.

A 1 stop increase in aperture halves the amount of light entering the camera. Conversely, reducing the aperture by 1 stop doubles the amount of light entering the camera.

For most DSLR cameras , in addition to the standard 1 stop , you can also set the number of stops in 1/2 and 1/3 increments. For example, if you set 1/3 stop, the complete one stop range between f/2.8 and f/4 is divided into 3 parts, so it becomes f/2.8→f/3.2→f/3.5→f /4. Using 1/3 stops allows you to fine-tune the amount of light entering the camera.

How to choose a camera with the right aperture?

To find the right camera, you should consider what you will use the camera for and how much money you expect to spend.

Currently on the market there are fixed aperture types and dynamic aperture types. Fixed aperture types such as f/2.8, f/2, f/1.8 are more often recommended because of their ability to shoot in low light conditions, without flash, and the ability to remove fonts when taking portraits.

In terms of aperture size, lenses with large apertures like f/2.8 will produce large background blur (ideal for shallow focus portraits), while small aperture values ​​like f/8, f/11 or f/16 will help you capture sharp details in both the foreground and background (ideal for landscapes, architecture, and macro photography).

Above is information about what aperture in the camera is and how it affects photography that Tnhelearning.edu.vn shares with you. Hope the above information will help you choose the right camera to buy.