We wrote earlier.) Its most important function is the depth of field: for example, thanks to the aperture, you can make the background blurry, while highlighting the object, or vice versa, leave everything in focus.

1. What is aperture?

2. Aperture diameter

Relationship of aperture size to f-stop value.

3. Depth of field

The left photo was taken at f/2.8 f-number and the right photo was taken at f/8.0

As you can see from this example, even a small change in the f-number from f/2.8 to f/8.0 has a pretty big effect on the depth of field. And if I had used an f-stop of f/32, the background would have been as sharp as WALL-E in the second shot.
One more example:

Letterboxes - f/2.8 aperture

In the photo above, thanks to the shallow depth of field, only the word "Cougar" was in focus, leaving the area in front and behind the lettering blurry. If, in this case, an f-number of f / 1.4 was used and the camera were focused on the letters, then only one letter would be in focus.

4. Lens aperture: Maximum and minimum

Pay attention to the maximum value, as it shows how fast your lens is. For example, a lens with the highest f-number somewhere around f/1.2 or f/1.4 is considered fast because it can let in more light than, for example, a lens with an f/4.0 aperture. Therefore, lenses with a large aperture are more suitable for photography in low light conditions. In addition, a wide aperture allows you to better isolate foreground objects from the background. So when buying a lens, you should carefully consider these parameters.

The smallest aperture value is not so important, since almost all modern cameras have an aperture equal to at least f / 16 - which is quite enough for ordinary everyday shooting.

The section is very easy to use. In the proposed field, just enter the desired word, and we will give you a list of its meanings. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-building dictionaries. Here you can also get acquainted with examples of the use of the word you entered.

The meaning of the word aperture

aperture in the crossword dictionary

Dictionary of medical terms

Names, titles, phrases and phrases containing "aperture":

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

aperture

APERTURE (from lat. apertura - hole)

in optics, the effective opening of an optical device, determined by the size of the lenses or apertures. Angular aperture - the angle a between the extreme rays of the conical light beam entering the system. Numerical aperture - number A \u003d nsin (a /

(n is the refractive index of the medium); determines the illumination of the image, proportional to A2, and the resolution of the device, proportional to A. 2) In antenna technology, the aperture (opening) of the surface of complex antennas emitting or receiving radiation.

Aperture

(from lat. apertura ≈ hole), the effective opening of the optical system, determined by the size of the lenses or apertures. Angular A. ≈ the angle a between the extreme rays of a conical light beam entering the optical system (see Fig. rice.). Numerical A. is equal to nsina / 2, where n is the refractive index of the medium in which the object is located. The illumination of the image is proportional to the square of numerical A. The resolution of the device (the minimum distance between 2 nearby points at which they are still visible separately) is proportional to A. Since numerical A. is proportional to n, to increase it, the objects in question are often placed in a liquid with a large index refraction (in the so-called immersion liquid).

Wikipedia

Aperture

Aperture (optics)

Aperture in optics, a characteristic of an optical instrument that describes its ability to collect light and resist diffraction blurring of image details. Depending on the type of optical system, this characteristic can be a linear or angular dimension. As a rule, among the details of an optical instrument, the so-called aperture diaphragm is specially distinguished, which most strongly limits the diameters of light beams passing through the optical instrument. Often the role is aperture diaphragm performs frame or the edges of one of the optical elements (lenses, mirrors, prisms).

Numerical aperture in fiber optic systems - the sine of the maximum angle between the axis and the beam, for which the conditions of total internal reflection are satisfied when optical radiation propagates along the fiber. It characterizes the efficiency of input of light rays into an optical fiber and depends on the fiber design.

Entrance aperture- characteristic of the ability of an optical system to collect light from object of observation. If the object remote then the aperture is measured in linear form is simply the diameter of the light beam at the entrance to the optical system, which is limited by aperture diaphragm and reaches the image. In telescopes, this diameter is usually equal to the diameter of the first optical element in the direction of light; the size of the first lens, as a rule, is much larger than the entrance aperture, and its size should already be calculated. The input aperture of the lens is equal to the product of its focal length f "by the relative aperture or the quotient of the focal length by the aperture number. If the object of observation close, then the aperture is measured in angular view- this is the angle of the light beam emanating from the points of the object of observation and entering the optical system.

Output aperture- characteristic of the ability of an optical system to collect light on image. If the image remote(like a telescope, magnifying glass or projector), then the aperture is measured in a linear form - this is the diameter of the light beam at the exit from the optical system, in the zone of the so-called exit pupil. At the telescope. If the image close(as in a photographic lens), then the aperture is characterized by the angle of convergence of light beams.

aperture angle- the angle between the extreme beam of the conical light beam at the input of the optical system and its optical axis.

Angular aperture- the angle between the extreme rays of the conical light beam at the input of the optical system.

Numerical aperture- is equal to the product of the refractive index of the medium between the object and the lens and the sine of the aperture angle. It is this value that most fully determines at the same time the aperture ratio, the resolving power of the microscope objective. To increase the numerical aperture of objectives in microscopy, the space between the objective and the coverslip is filled with an immersion liquid.

Lens aperture is the diameter D of the light beam at the entrance to the lens and completely passing through its aperture diaphragm. This value also determines the diffraction limit of the resolution of the lens. To estimate the resolution in arc seconds, the formula 140/D is used, where D is the lens aperture in millimeters.

Examples of the use of the word aperture in the literature.

Eleven caliber small arms,” the Princess said in an expert tone, “ aperture- a quarter of a centimeter, automatic fire only at low power.

Communication lasers have wide apertures to reduce scatter.

The reflector of the laser beam from the broken carcass was perfect for the parabolic apertures a stream of high energy forming a blade.

Miles' attention was drawn to a small scout ship that had materialized in aperture p-in-tunnel.

He made the scooter hover in the air and zoom binoculars - to narrow aperture, enlarging the image.

At the end of the handle, where the blade was supposed to come from, I screwed aperture high energy flow.

I unscrewed aperture high energy from the hilt of the lightsaber and hurled a blackened shapeless lump at Elegos that used to be the diamond that I inserted into my weapon.

Simon turned the lantern toward the rusty surface, widening aperture lens.

De Soya himself could have assessed the firepower by apertures on the hologram, but he wanted to hear what Marget Wu had to say.

Turns, turns, different manholes there, which had to be overcome by crawling on all fours, squeezing through the last aperture, and here it is in the middle, in the very heart.

Additional features and service devices of camcorders Auto gain control Auto gain control mode allows continuous shooting at all light levels without the need to switch gain or apply appropriate filters, and also has such a wonderful property as priority apertures.

Nowadays, when choosing the next smartphone, users often turn their attention to the camera first. After all, it has long been one of the most necessary components in the device. It is with the help of a camera that you can capture a certain moment in life. But if the quality of the pictures or the shutter speed fails (and more than once), then neither the smartphone nor the photos will bring any joy. That is why we present to your attention a selection of the best camera phones of the upper price segment at the beginning of 2016, which, we hope, will help to dot the “i” and decide on the choice of a new device.

Samsung Galaxy S7 (S7 Edge)

Undoubtedly, Samsung devices have always been famous for their ability to take beautiful and high-quality pictures. This year, the South Korean corporation has already managed to introduce its flagships of the Galaxy S line - Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. As always, the camera is excellent. Each of the new products received a 12-megapixel Sony IMX260 sensor with f / 1.7 aperture, 1.4 micron pixels, optical image stabilization and Dual Pixel technology for faster phase focusing (also used in some DSLR cameras). All this, in theory, should allow the Galaxy S7 to shoot better than its predecessor. In practice, the pictures really turn out to be almost perfect. Even DxOMark resource experts highly appreciated the camera capabilities of the device and gave it 88 points out of 100 possible. Today it is the highest indicator among mobile devices. Video shooting also did not disappoint - it's 4K and Slow Mo with a frequency of 240 frames per second. The front camera is the same as the Galaxy S6 - 5 MP. It differs only in the aperture increased to f/1.7.

If we talk about the technical characteristics of the smartphone, then everything here is at the highest level. In order not to draw special attention to them, we simply list them:

• Screen: Super AMOLED; 5.1" (S7) and 5.5" (S7 Edge); 2560×1440 pixels (Quad HD)
• CPU: Exynos 8890/Snapdragon 820
• Videos accelerator: Mali-T880 MP12/Adreno 530
• RAM : 4 GB (LPDDR4)
• Built-in memory: 32 GB
• microSD slot: there is; up to 200 GB
• Battery: 3000 mAh (S7) and 3600 mAh (S7 Edge); fast charging technology; wireless charger
• Additionally: fingerprint scanner, pulse sensor, waterproof (IP68)
• Operating system : Android 6.0 Marshmallow

The only thing that can push you away from buying the Galaxy S7 (S7 Edge) is the price, because these devices have just entered the market. Of course, you can wait for it to decline over time, or look at competing devices (there are many of them), or last year's flagships.

Samsung Galaxy S6 (S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 5)

Although this year Samsung has significantly upgraded the cameras in its flagships, this does not mean that they suddenly became noticeably worse in last year's devices. So far, the cameras in the Galaxy S6 (as in the S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ or Note 5) have been at the forefront of mobile photography. All thanks to the Sony IMX240 sensor with a 16-megapixel matrix, f / 1.9 aperture and optical image stabilization. On the DxOMark resource, these smartphones received 87 and 86 points, which is not much different from the “fresh” Galaxy S7. Video devices write in 4K format, and the front camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels with f / 1.9 aperture.

Although the technical characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S6 (S6 Edge, S6 Edge + and Note 5) lag behind those of the Galaxy S7, in reality it may not be possible to notice this.

• Screen: Super AMOLED; 5.1" (S6 and S6 Edge), 5.7" (S6 Edge+ and Note 5); 2560×1440 pixels (Quad HD)
• CPU: Exynos 7420
• Videos accelerator: Mali-T760 MP8
• RAM: 4 GB (LPDDR4)
• Built-in memory: 32GB/64GB
• microSD slot: No
• Battery: 2550mAh (S6), 2600mAh (S6 Edge), 3000mAh (S6 Edge+, Note5); fast charging technology; wireless charger
• Additional about: fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor
• Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Today, the Samsung Galaxy S6 is sold much cheaper than it cost at the start of sales. The same goes for the faceted S6 Edge and S6 Edge +. The Galaxy Note 5 also lost a lot in price, but something tells me that it will fall in price even more after the announcement of the sixth “note”. Only personal dislike for the brand and / or design can push away from buying these devices.

Sony Xperia Z5 (Z5 Compact, Z5 Premium)

Next on the list is last year's flagship Sony Xperia Z5 and its "brothers" in the line - Z5 Compact and Z5 Premium. They differ in diagonal and display resolution, battery capacity, RAM, so that everyone can find a suitable size. Camera modules in all three smartphones are the same. This is a proprietary Exmor RS sensor with a resolution of 23 megapixels and f / 2.0 aperture. There is also a hybrid autofocus (a combination of phase and contrast focus), which, according to the manufacturer, will allow you to focus in just 0.03 seconds. In addition, the size of the sensor itself has been increased to 1/2.3”. The device can also record video in 4K, but only a few minutes, due to overheating. The front camera has a resolution of 5.1 megapixels with an f/2.4 aperture, which, of course, is not a record, but still quite suitable for creating selfies.

With iron, the Xperia Z5 family is all right and the performance of the devices will be enough for several more years to come.

• Screen: IPS LCD; 5.2" Full HD (Xperia Z5), 4.6" HD (Z5 Compact), 5.5" 4K (Z5 Premium)
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
• Videos accelerator: Adreno 430
• RAM: 2GB/3GB (LPDDR3)
• Built-in memory: 32 GB
• microSD slot: there is; up to 200 GB
• Battery: 2900 mAh (Z5), 2700 mAh (Z5 Compact), 3430 mAh (Z5 Premium); fast charging technology
• Additionally: fingerprint scanner, waterproof (IP65/68)
• Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Sony Xperia Z5 is a good value for your money. Of course, you can find cheaper options, but, accordingly, the quality of the images will also decrease. By the way, a new generation of smartphones from the Japanese manufacturer, the Xperia X, will soon go on sale, so the price of older models should also decrease somewhat.

Google Nexus 6P (Nexus 5X)

Google has been producing smartphones under the Nexus brand for quite a long time together with other manufacturers. As planned, they should stand out with a high-quality assembly, more or less powerful hardware and, of course, a clean Android OS with stable updates, and all this for relatively little money. Previously, "Googlephones" were supplied, frankly, with weak cameras. However, in the (already) past year, the situation has changed for the better. Google has teamed up with Huawei and LG to equip the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X with 12.3-megapixel Sony IMX377 sensors with f/2.0 maximum aperture, laser autofocus and dual (two-tone) LED flash. In addition, the pixel size has been increased to 1.55 microns. Such a module made it possible to shoot equally well both during the day and at night. On the aforementioned DxOMark site, the Nexus 6P scored 84 out of 100 possible. Unfortunately, not without a fly in the ointment: the device "managed" without optical image stabilization, so the video will be twitchy. Speaking of video recording. The Nexus 6P supports 4K and Slow Mo recording at up to 240fps at 720p resolution. Also present here electronic system image stabilization, but in fact it does not really help out. Due to the weaker processor, the Nexus 5X did not get such a system, and the maximum frame rate in Slow Mo mode reaches 120 fps. The front cameras are also different: the Nexus 6P has an 8 megapixel module with f/2.4 aperture, while the Nexus 5X has 5 megapixels with f/2.0 aperture.

Smartphones are also good technical characteristics, so you can safely forget about the upgrade for several years.

• Screen: AMOLED, 5.7" Quad HD (Nexus 6P); IPS LCD, 5.2” Full HD (Nexus 5X)
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810/ Snapdragon 808
• Videos accelerator: Adreno 430/Adreno 418
• RAM: 3GB/2GB (LPDDR3)
• Built-in memory: 32/64/128 GB and 16/32 GB
• microSD slot: No
• Battery: 3450 mAh (Nexus 6P), 2700 mAh (Nexus 5X); fast charging technology
• Additionally: Fingerprint's scanner
• Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Buying Nexus devices can only be repelled by attachment to some shell from another manufacturer, otherwise these are the same smartphones with their pluses and minuses.

Apple iPhone 6S (6S Plus)

Apple's current flagships, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, are undeniably some of the best mobile photography on the market. To be precise, it is the “big brother” from this line that has a better camera than a device with a smaller diagonal. The difference lies in the presence of optical image stabilization in the first. Otherwise, the modules are similar - these are 12-megapixel matrices with an f / 2.2 aperture, phase detection autofocus and a dual two-tone True Tone flash. Thus, in the DxOmark test, the iPhone 6S Plus managed to score 84 points, the iPhone 6S - 82 points out of 100. Video is recorded in 4K format, and a 5 megapixel camera with f / 2.2 aperture is intended for selfies.

Both smartphones are equipped with quite powerful hardware, which will allow you to use the device for more than one year.

• Screen: IPS LCD; 4.7” 750×1334 (iPhone 6S); 5.5" Full HD (iPhone 6S Plus)
• CPU: Apple A9
• Videos accelerator: PowerVR GT7600
• RAM: 2 GB (LPDDR3)
• Built-in memory: 16/64/128 GB
• microSD slot: No
• Battery: 1715 mAh (iPhone 6S), 2750 mAh (iPhone 6S Plus)
• Additionally: fingerprint scanner, 3D Touch
• Operating system: iOS 9

These smartphones can suit all fans of "apple" devices without a doubt. However, if there is not enough money to buy them, you can take a look at the iPhone 6/6 Plus, which are not far behind in image quality (in some cases even surpass) or the newly introduced iPhone SE for lovers of compact solutions.

LG G4

Although LG introduced its new flagship G5 at the end of February this year, it has not yet had time to really spread around the world. Therefore, its predecessor, the LG G4, was included in this collection as one of the best camera phones at the beginning of 2016. And all thanks to a 16-megapixel matrix with f / 1.8 aperture, laser autofocus and optical image stabilization. The flash here, unfortunately, is only single. The G4 received well-deserved positive reviews and performed well in action. On the DxOMark resource, the leather flagship is in 5th place with 83 points. Video clips are written in 4K format, it is also possible to record Slow Mo video in HD quality at 120 frames per second. Selfie lovers should be pleasantly surprised by the front 8 megapixel camera with f / 2.0 aperture.

With iron, the LG G4 is also in perfect order. In addition, the Korean manufacturer did not pursue the “fiery” Snapdragon 810, but installed a cooler and more energy-efficient chip in the device.

• Screen: IPS LCD; 5.5”; 2560×1440 pixels (Quad HD)
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808
• Videos accelerator: Adreno 418
• RAM: 3 GB (LPDDR3)
• Built-in memory: 32 GB
• microSD slot: there is; up to 128 GB
• Battery: 3000 mAh; fast charging technology
• Additionally: removable battery
• Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Smartphone G4 turned out really very good and balanced. Moreover, now its price should drop even more noticeably against the backdrop of the new G5. The buyer can only be confused by the leather trim of the back cover, which, alas, wears out quickly over time.

Microsoft Lumia 950 (950XL)

In the mobile device market, in addition to Android and iOS, there is another platform - Windows Phone. This OS is not widespread, but still it has its devoted fans. To date, the flagship smartphones on Windows are Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. They differ in screen size and hardware component. The camera in both devices is identical. This is a 20-megapixel module with f / 1.9 aperture, optical image stabilization and tri-color LED flash. In addition, it uses a six-lens lens from Carl Zeiss and uses proprietary PureView technology. Video clips are recorded in 4K format. The front camera is also good: 5 MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture.

Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL are not far behind in terms of technical characteristics, which will allow you to use your smartphone with pleasure and not notice any brakes in modern games and applications.

• Screen: AMOLED; 5.2" (Lumia 950), 5.7" (Lumia 950 XL); 2560×1440 pixels (Quad HD)
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808/Snapdragon 810
• Videos accelerator: Adreno 418/Adreno 430
• RAM: 3 GB (LPDDR3)
• Built-in memory: 32 GB
• microSD slot: there is; up to 200 GB
• Battery: 3000 mAh (Lumia 950), 3340 mAh (Lumia 950 XL); fast charging technology; wireless charger
• Additionally: removable battery
• Operating system: Windows 10 Mobile

The Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL will definitely appeal to all users of the older Lumia. However, the main drawback of these devices is the too high price, which almost never thinks of going down.

HTC One A9

Although the HTC One A9 smartphone is not quite a top-end device, it surpasses last year's flagship One M9 in terms of image quality. The newly minted HTC 10, for obvious reasons, is not yet considered. So, One A9 is endowed with a 13-megapixel Sony IMX214 backlit module (BSI), optical image stabilization and dual LED flash. Autofocus here is normal, but not very bad. The video is very smooth thanks to OIS, and the maximum video format is Full HD at 30 frames per second. The front camera here is not anyhow, but “ultrapixel”. Its resolution is 4 megapixels.

HTC One A9 is not positioned as a flagship and is not, but its power reserve is more than enough for all modern games.

• Screen: AMOLED; 5.0"; 1920×1080 pixels (Full HD)
• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 617
• Videos accelerator: Adreno 405
• RAM: 2/3 GB (LPDDR3)
• Built-in memory: 16/32 GB
• microSD slot: there is; up to 200 GB
• Battery: 2150 mAh; fast charging technology
• Additionally: Fingerprint's scanner
• Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

The One A9 smartphone turned out to be quite interesting and restrained in terms of performance. However, this is precisely what he can disappoint a potential buyer who needs a truly flagship power.

Huawei P8

Our selection is completed by last year's smartphone Huawei P8. Of course, this year's flagship P9 has a much more advanced dual camera made by Leica, but it was introduced quite recently and has not had time to go on sale. Therefore, P8 looks like quite a good decision to buy and, moreover, at a more or less adequate price. The main camera is equipped with a 13-megapixel Sony sensor with a maximum aperture of f/2.0, advanced optical image stabilization technology and dual LED flash. In addition, the module itself has a four-color RGBW sensor that can reduce brightness by 32% at high contrast lighting and increase by 78% at low light levels. It also has its own image processor that suppresses noise and evaluates shooting conditions, identifying high-contrast and under-lit parts of the frame. Huawei P8 can not boast of the ability to record 4K video, but it perfectly records videos in Full HD resolution. During the recording process, you can use tracking autofocus, as well as optical and electronic image stabilization at the same time. For selfies, there is an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.4 aperture.

The device has a good hardware performance. True, in synthetic tests, the P8 is gaining not quite record figures, but for everyday work and heavy games at maximum graphics settings, this will be enough.

• Screen: IPS LCD; 5.2”; 1920×1080 pixels (Full HD)
• CPU: HiSilicon Kirin 930
• Videos accelerator: Mali-T628 MP4
• RAM: 3 GB (LPDDR3)
• Built-in memory: 16/64 GB
• microSD slot: there is; up to 128 GB
• Battery: 2680 mAh; fast charging technology
• Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Huawei P8 is a very stylish smartphone in design and is perfect for anyone who needs everything to work right out of the box. Some users may not like it, probably only a proprietary shell, which is not at all like the “naked” Android. But it, in turn, is quite convenient and easy to use.

As you can see, almost all last year's flagships have fairly good cameras. Each smartphone in this regard has its pros and cons. And here it is already necessary to be determined, based on personal preferences. Give someone an iPhone, others a Samsung. Someone considers all shells from manufacturers to be superfluous in the device and Nexus is in priority. Some even need Windows OS. So in the upper price segment the situation is more or less clear. However, it is difficult to choose a camera phone from the mid-price category, which we will talk about in the next part.

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WikiHow is a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. When creating this article, 22 people worked on editing and improving it, including anonymously.

Aperture or aperture is a hole that controls the amount of light that enters the camera's sensor (or film in film cameras). Aperture is one of the three key elements in setting exposure (ISO, shutter speed, aperture).

Changing the aperture value or stop not only allows you to control the amount of "collected" light, but also has effects on the final image that you need to understand. The depth of field of the imaged space (DOF, sharp section of the image) is the most important, but optical distortion or changes are also possible. You need to know how aperture works in a lens so that you can make informed decisions about other exposure values, create creative effects, avoid mistakes, and understand the effect of settings on an image.

Steps

Familiarize yourself with basic concepts and terms. This information will help you better understand the article.

• Diaphragm- this is an adjustable hole in the lens through which light passes and hits the film (or digital matrix). Like the pinhole in a camera obscura, it blocks light rays except for those that, even without a lens, would form an inverted image when passing through the center point to the corresponding point in the opposite direction on the film. Whereas with a lens, the hole also blocks light rays that pass away from the center, where the lens of the lens less accurately reproduces (usually with different easy-to-make spherical surfaces) geometric shapes without sharp focus (usually much more complex aspherical surfaces), resulting in aberrations.
  • Since every camera has an aperture, usually adjustable (and if not, at least has the edges of the lens that act as an aperture), it is the value of the size of the aperture opening that is usually called "aperture".
• Aperture division or just diaphragm is the ratio of the focal length of the lens to the aperture value. This measurement is used because a certain f-number provides the same image brightness, so the same specific shutter speed is required for a certain ISO value (film speed or equivalent light gain matrix) regardless of the focal length.
• iris diaphragm is a fixture that is used in most cameras to shape and adjust the aperture. It consists of a series of overlapping thin metal petals that can pivot towards the center of a hole inside a flat metal ring. It forms a central hole, ideally even in the case of a fully open aperture when the blades move apart, and contracts due to the displacement of the blades towards the center of the hole, resulting in a smaller multi-faceted hole (which can also have curved edges).
  • If your camera supports interchangeable lenses or is "pseudo-reflex", then the lenses are equipped with an adjustable iris. If you have a compact model or a "soap dish" (especially in the budget segment), instead of an iris diaphragm, the device is probably equipped with a "neutral density filter". If your camera's mode switch has "M", "Tv" and "Av" modes, then it's almost certain that the device is equipped with a real iris (even in the case of small compact models). If the mode dial does not have these settings, your camera may have both an iris and an ND filter. The only way find the exact answer - read the specifications in the user manual or a detailed professional review (search for reviews on your camera model in search engines and read the available materials). If an ND filter is used, then the ability to "fine-tune" parameters, depth of field or bokeh effect will be limited by the device's fixed aperture. PAY ATTENTION to the mode switch: "M" means manual mode ("Manual"), which allows you to set the shutter speed and aperture. "Tv" - shutter priority mode: the shutter speed is set manually, after which the camera itself selects the appropriate aperture value. "Av" is the aperture priority mode: it is set manually (usually to control the desired depth of field), after which the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed.
  • Most single-lens reflex cameras close the iris, after which it can be seen from the front of the lens only when the exposure preview or depth of field is turned on.
• cover up or darken f-stop means to use a smaller or (depending on the context) relatively small f-stop value (large f-number).
• Open f-stop means to use a larger or (depending on the context) a relatively large f-stop value (small f-number).
• open aperture is the largest aperture (smallest f-number).
• Depth of field of the depicted space is the specific front or back portion of the frame, or (depending on the context) the amount of front or back portion that appears sharp enough. Decreasing the aperture increases the depth of field and reduces the degree of blurring of objects outside the sharp area. The exact value of depth of field is somewhat subjective, as sharpness gradually decreases from the most accurate focal length, and the perceived blurring of the image depends on factors such as the type of object, other sources of lack of sharpness, and viewing conditions.
  • A relatively large depth of field is called big, and relatively small - small depth of field.
• aberrations- these are flaws in the ability of the lens to focus light sharply. In general terms, inexpensive and exotic lenses (like ultra-wide angle lenses) will have more noticeable aberrations.
  • Aperture does not affect linear distortion (straight lines appear curved), but they often disappear closer to the center zone of the focal length range of a zoom lens. The frame can be composed in such a way that it does not draw attention to distortion (for example, do not place obvious straight lines like buildings or the horizon close to the edges of the frame), or automatically correct the flaw in the camera or in subsequent computer processing.
• Diffraction is a basic aspect of the behavior of waves that pass through small apertures, which limits the maximum sharpness of all lenses at small apertures. It becomes more noticeable after f/11, whereby a great camera and lens can produce mediocre results (although sometimes they are great for specific tasks like very deep depth of field or slow shutter speeds where you can't use a low ISO or ND filter). ).

1. Depth of field of the depicted space. Formally, depth of field is range of distances to the object, within which objects in the image have acceptable sharpness. There is only one distance at which objects will be in ideal focus, but sharpness decreases gradually before and after that distance. At shorter distances in each direction, the blurring of objects will be so small that the size of the film or sensor will make it impossible to detect blurring. Even larger distances will not affect the “sufficient” clarity of the final image too much. Depth of field markings for specific apertures next to the focus ring on the lens allow you to judge that value. .

   • About a third of the depth of field is before the focal length, and another two-thirds is behind (if not extending to infinity, since this refers to the amount at which light rays reflected from the object must bend in order to converge at the focus point, and rays that pass through large distances, strive for parallelism).
   • The depth of field decreases gradually. With a small aperture, the background and foreground will appear a little fuzzy or even sharp, while with a wide aperture, they will be very blurry or unrecognizable. If the foreground and background are important, then they should stay in focus. With weak fuzziness, the overall context is preserved, and it is better to blur the distracting background as much as possible.
     • If you want to blur the background but don't have enough depth of field for your subject, then focus on the element that will get the most attention (often the eyes).
   • As a rule, in addition to the aperture, the depth of field also depends on the focal length (the larger the focal length, the smaller the depth of field), the frame size (the smaller the film or sensor format, the greater the depth of field, if the angle of view or equivalent focal length remains the same), and the distance to object (much smaller at short focal lengths).

     If you need to get a shallow depth of field, you can buy an ultra-fast lens (expensive) or zoom in on the subject (free) and open the aperture as wide as possible even on an inexpensive lens with a small aperture.

   • From an artistic point of view, depth of field is used to sharpen the entire image, or to “de-sharp” and blur the foreground or background that detracts from the central subject.
   • From a practical point of view, depth of field allows you to set a small aperture and set the "superfocal length" (the closest distance at which the DOF extends to infinity from a specific distance; for aperture selection, consult the appropriate table or the depth of field markings on the lens) or estimated distance to quickly take pictures with manual focus, or take pictures of a subject that is moving too fast or unpredictably for autofocus to work properly (in this case, a fast shutter speed is also required).
   • It should be remembered that usually all changes in the depth of field are hardly noticeable in the viewfinder or external screen when building a composition. Modern cameras measure parameters at the maximum aperture of the lens and cover the hole to the selected value already at the moment of exposure. The depth-of-field preview feature usually only gives a rough and inaccurate result (ignore strange patterns on the screen at the moment of focusing, as they will not appear in the final picture). What's more, the viewfinders on modern SLRs and other autofocus cameras don't even show true depth of field wide open when using lenses faster than f/2.8 (it will be even smaller than it looks; you should rely on autofocus if possible, rather than subject). The best option for a digital camera is to simply take a picture, view and zoom in on the LCD screen, and see if you are satisfied with the sharpness (or amount of blur) in the background.

Interaction of aperture with pulsed light (flashes). The flash usually fires so fast that only the aperture affects the amount of flash in the exposure (film and digital cameras almost always have the fastest flash-compatible shutter speed for "sync"; at faster shutter speeds, only part of the frame will be exposed, due to the peculiarity of the "curtain" shutter ; special high-speed flash sync modes use weak flashes to fire briefly, each exposing a different part of the frame; this greatly reduces the flash range, so this option is rarely used). A wide aperture increases the flash range. It also extends the effective range of fill flash by increasing proportional flash exposure and shortening the penetration time of ambient light. Small aperture prevents overexposure big plans thanks to the lowest power below which it is impossible to reduce the flash (bounce flash, which is not as effective, will be useful in this situation). Many cameras support adjusting the balance between flash and ambient light through a "flash compensation" feature. For complex flash photography, digital cameras are best because the results of brief bursts of light are not very obvious on their own, even though some studio flash models have "modeling lights" and functional portable flashes offer preview modes similar to with modeling illumination.

Find out the optimal sharpness of your lenses. Different lenses are different, and for optimal results, you need to shoot at different apertures. Take photos of objects with lots of fine detail at different apertures and compare shots to see how lenses perform at different apertures. It is recommended to place the entire subject at "infinity" (10 meters or more for wide-angle lenses, and several tens of meters for telephoto lenses; remote plantations are usually suitable) so as not to confuse lack of sharpness with aberrations. Here are some tips:

• Almost all lenses have poor contrast and reduced sharpness at the widest aperture, especially at the corners of the image. This is especially true for digital cameras or inexpensive lenses. Therefore, if you need to provide high detail in the corners of the image, then it is better to use a smaller aperture value. Typically, the best sharpness for flat subjects is f/8. If objects are located at different distances, then an even smaller aperture will provide a greater depth of field.
• Almost all lenses result in noticeable vignetting wide open. In this case, the edges of the image appear darker than the center of the frame. Such an effect can be useful for many photographs, especially portraits; it focuses attention on the central part of the picture, so many people add this effect in post-processing. But it's always better to know what the original shot will look like. Generally, at apertures above f/8, the vignetting of the frame disappears.
• Zoom lenses differ in their focal lengths. Perform the indicated checks with different levels of optical zoom.
• The phenomenon of diffraction causes pictures with almost any lens to become less sharp at f/16 and smaller, and especially at f/22 and smaller.
• All these aspects make it possible to obtain an image that is optimal in clarity, if the best composition is already built for it, including depth of field, and if it is not spoiled by camera shake when the shutter speed is not fast enough, or subject blur or noise from excessive "light sensitivity" (gain).
• No need to waste film on such experiments. Check lenses on digital cameras, read reviews, and as a last resort, proceed from the facts that more expensive lenses with a fixed focal length (without zoom) give the best picture at f / 8, less expensive and kit lenses show the best result at f / 11, and cheap or exotic lenses such as ultra-wide lenses and models with a wide-angle or telescopic attachment lens should be used at f/16 (for attachment lenses on digital cameras, set the minimum aperture or use aperture-priority mode in the menu).

2. Special effects that are associated with aperture.

   • Japanese word bokeh often used to describe appearance areas of the image that are out of focus, especially highlights, as they look like light drops. There are quite a few articles about these light droplets, which can be brighter in the center, sometimes brighter at the edges like donuts, or a combination of both, but this is usually only addressed in articles about the bokeh effect. It is important to remember that such blur spots:
     • Will be larger and more diffuse at a wider aperture.
     • Will have blurry borders at the widest aperture due to the perfectly round shape of the aperture in the lens (edges of the lens, not iris petals).
     • Depend on the shape of the diaphragm opening when it is not fully open. This effect is most noticeable at wide open apertures due to the aperture size. Bokeh can be considered unattractive in lenses that have a non-perfectly round aperture (such as inexpensive lenses with five or six blade apertures).
     • May appear crescent-shaped instead of circular at the edges of the image at particularly wide apertures (may be caused by one of the lens elements not being large enough to fully illuminate all parts of the image at this aperture, or such circles of light expanding in an odd way due to "unsymmetrical aberrations" at a very wide aperture, which usually becomes a problem only when shooting lanterns at night).
     • They are predominantly in the form of rings and donuts in reflex telephoto lenses due to the presence of central noise.
   • diffraction rays form asterisks. Very bright areas of light in an image, such as light bulbs at night or small specular reflections of sunlight, will be surrounded by "diffraction rays" that form "stars" at small apertures (the effect is due to increased diffraction at the vertices of the polyhedral hole that is formed by the aperture blades). The number of vertices or rays corresponds to the number of aperture blades (if the number is even) due to the overlap of opposite rays, or twice their number (if the number of blades is odd). Rays are weaker and less pronounced on lenses with very large quantity petals (usually these are old lenses like old Leica models).

3. Do pictures . The most important thing (at least in the context of aperture) is to control the depth of field. It's simple: the smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field; the larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field. Also, a wider aperture blurs the background more. Here are some examples:

   • Stop down the aperture for greater depth of field.
   • Depth of field decreases as you get closer to the subject. So, for macro photography, you can cover the aperture more than for landscape photography. Insects are often photographed at f/16 or less and illuminate the subject with plenty of artificial light.
   • Open aperture for shallow depth of field. This method is suitable for portraits (much better than the awkward automatic modes). Fully open the aperture, fix the focus on the eyes, correct the composition: the blurred background will less distract attention from the main subject.

     Don't forget that for an open aperture you need to set a faster shutter speed. In bright daylight, make sure the camera doesn't try to go past the fastest shutter speed (usually 1/4000 for DSLRs). To do this, lower the ISO value.

Take pictures with unusual effects. If you are photographing light sources at night with a suitable camera and you want to get stars, then close the aperture. In the case of large and round bokeh drops (although not always complete), you should use an open aperture.

4. Fuzzy images due to diffraction and (to a lesser extent) out-of-focus (which creates strange patterns in addition to being fuzzy) can sometimes be corrected with features like "unsharp masking" in PC processing. Examples include GIMP and Photoshop. The function will make the edges sharper, although it will not be able to create small details that did not fall into the picture (if applied too much, the transitions will be too sharp and inaccurate).
5. If the size of the aperture is important for the picture and you are using an automatic camera, then aperture priority mode or program shift (ready-made pairs of aperture and shutter speed for correct exposure in different conditions) will suit you.
6. All lenses have certain distortions: “ideal” lenses cannot be found even among professional models costing tens of thousands of rubles. The good news is that well-known lens manufacturers like Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Zeiss, Leica, Sony/Minolta and Olympus often create "distortion correction" profiles that can be downloaded from the Internet and applied at the stage of image processing (for example, in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Camera RAW). When using good software and lens profiles, you can get shots without barrel or pincushion distortion that are more pleasing to the eye. In this wide-angle panoramic landscape example, the problem is that "perspective distortion" and "barrel distortion" bend the trees at the corners of the image towards the center of the image. It is quite obvious that this is lens distortion and it is unlikely that trees are rounded in this way.

Warnings

• Create "stars" with bright points of light, like street lights, which are less bright than the sun.
  • Do not point a telephoto lens, especially a super-fast or ultra-long lens, directly at the sun to get "stars" or for any other reason, as there is a danger of damaging your eyesight, shutter or camera sensor.
  • Do not point cameras without a mirror with a fabric shutter like Leica towards the sun (only briefly when shooting handheld and with a small aperture) so as not to burn a hole in the shutter, otherwise the repair will cost you a tidy sum.

Probably one of the most difficult aspects of photography to understand is the aperture of a camera lens. Whether it's expensive professional camera lenses or compact camera magnification (most compact cameras control aperture for you), lens aperture will affect your photography in the same way. I hope this article will help you gain basic knowledge of this issue and you will successfully apply them in your future photographic life.

Basics

You've probably met people talking about "fast lens" or "lens aperture", while they mention some kind of f/numbers and other obscure terms. (We will not repeat all possible options.) But what does all this mean? And in all these cases we are talking about the aperture or relative aperture of the lens or aperture.

It must be understood that photography in its crudest form is a process of capturing light and changing it. Naturally or not, different scenes or areas will have different light levels. And in order to work with all this as a photographer, we need to control the light entering the camera. And one way to do this is to control the aperture (or aperture) of the lens, which is responsible for the amount of light entering the photosensitive elements of the camera (among other things). Another way is to control the shutter speed (but this is not the topic of this article).

All clear? Not? Well, imagine that in order to take a picture, you need some light to hit the sensors (or film, if you use it) of your camera. Let's draw an analogy with water in a decanter (a strange, but very clear analogy). Suppose it takes 1 second to pour 100 ml of water from the tap into our carafe. If we need more water, for example, 200 ml, then we can either increase the time during which the faucet will be open (this is the analogy of changing the shutter speed or shutter speed), or increase the size of the faucet itself so that it can pass more water in one the same period of time (this is already an analogy for changing the aperture or diaphragm).

Hopefully the fog is clearing now. Aperture or diaphragm is a hole in the camera lens through which light passes to the photographic sensor / film.

The f/number represents the size of that very hole. It may seem strange, but the lower this number, the larger the aperture is meant (thus, f/8 indicates a significantly larger aperture than f/22). Thus, by setting the smallest f/number you make the lens wide open. Each increase in this number reduces the amount of light entering the camera by half. The lower the number, the more light gets into the camera, and the "faster" the lens.

fast lens

A lens is considered fast if it has a large aperture, i.e. lowest f/number. This is because the smaller this number, the larger the aperture and the more light can pass through the lens of the objective. This means that the shutter speed can be greatly increased.

The fast lens is great for shooting in low light (music concerts, dimly lit events, etc.) or fast-moving subjects (sports, wild animals, etc.). If you need to photograph something or someone in similar conditions, then a large aperture will be a great way out.

Depth of field

Another aspect that depends on aperture is the number of objects in focus, or "depth of field". The larger the relative aperture of the photo lens, the smaller the area in focus, and vice versa. Landscape photographers will often work at higher f/numbers with smaller apertures (f/22+) because it helps to get more depth of field (when more objects are in focus). In other circumstances, you may want one subject to be clearly in focus, while everything in the background is blurred. In this case, a larger aperture, smaller f/number, is used to reduce the depth of field (f/1.4, etc.).

Using depth of field is a great way to "play around" with your photos (those unfamiliar with fully automatic settings can try aperture priority settings; you set the aperture, your camera sets the shutter speed; see your camera manual for how to set this). Manually adjusting the depth of field can result in some very interesting images (just don't think that shallow depth is better; sometimes the result can surprise you a lot).

Lens aperture

"Aperture" is a term that is used quite widely in photographic circles, so it's worth briefly explaining what it means. "Aperture" means to decrease the size of the aperture by increasing the f/number.

In conclusion, a wide open lens will have a large aperture, with a small f/number and a shallow depth of field; stopping down one or two units will decrease aperture size, increasing the f/number.

Summarizing

I hope that now the concept of "aperture" will become less vague for you. Finally, to bring final clarity to this issue, it is worth citing the following dependencies:

Small f/number (f/1.4) = Large aperture (relative aperture) = Shallow depth of field and more light reaching the camera sensor (and slower shutter speed).

Large f/number (f/22) = Small aperture (relative aperture) = Large depth of field and little light reaching the camera sensor (and fast shutter speed).