The effect of aperture

[ATJ]

Here are 4 shots of the same dragonfly (Australian emerald, Hemicordulia australiae) but with different f/stops. The smaller the f/stop, the larger the aperture (hole through which the light passes), the more out of focus the background becomes. This is because depth of field (the distance of the scene in front of and behind the point of focus which appears to be sharp) is related to the f/stop. Smaller f/stops mean larger apertures and smaller depth of field.


f/16


f/8


f/5.6


f/4

[dviv]

Nice tutorial Andrew

And a nice shot of the dragonfly as well

[aim54x]

great stuff!!

[Antsl]

The smaller the f/stop, the more out of focus the background becomes.

can we clarify that for some of our more impressionable readers.....
The smaller the "f-stop number" the more out of focus the background becomes.
A small f-Stop number like f2.8 actually makes for a large aperture opening and this creates the small depth of field (hence out of focus backgrounds)
A large f-stop number like f22 means the aperture is closed down to a small size and this creates in large depth of field so that more of the image appears in focus.

[gstark]

A small f-Stop number like f2.8 actually makes for a large aperture opening

Which means there's a big hole through which the light may pass.

A large f-stop number like f22 means the aperture is closed down to a small size

Which means there's a small hole through which the light may pass.

[ATJ]

I have added further detail in the description.

[trublubiker]

Good series of shots. Shows how DOF decreases as the size of the aperture increases.

The trick I'm trying to learn is to balance DOF with Bokeh when in Macro mode.

It sounds a bit like Lawn Bowls.

On a 'Fast' green your bowl takes around 17 seconds to cover 27m.

On a 'Slow' green your bowl takes around 10 seconds to cover 27m.

Go figure.

[Glen]

Andrew great reference

[surenj]

Great tute Andrew... May should be moved to the tutorial section?