101 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "A Study in Aperture"
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date: 2019-01-16
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lastmod: 2019-02-11
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categories: ["Blog"]
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tags: ["photography"]
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cover:
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image: /static/img/aperture-study/f17-f40-comp.jpg
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---
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I found out recently that using the maximum aperture for a lens can have
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deminishing returns. Simply put: it makes the image look "soft", or otherwise
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out-of-focus. In this post I aim to find out find the best *acceptable* aperture
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setting for a specific lens.
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<!--more-->
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f17-f40-comp.jpg"
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sub="f/1.7 vs. f/4.0"
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alt="Photo comparing aperture depth-of-field of f/1.7 versus f/4.0 (sharper)" >}}
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# The Setup
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I started out using a tripod, with the same ISO and exposure compensation using
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a [**Minolta 50mm f1/7**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minolta_AF_50mm_f/1.7)
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lens. Starting at *f/1.7* I worked my way up at reasonable steps to *f/4.0*. My
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aim was to compare the differences. See the shots below. The target couch
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cushion was set up roughly a meter from the bottom center of the tripod.
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# Depth-of-Field
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There may be something to be said about maintaining the best DoF
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(*Depth-of-field*). However, using [PhotoPills DoF Calculator](https://www.photopills.com/calculators/dof)
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proves just how **wild**, using a 50mm lens, an aperture of *f/1.7* is.
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Shooting a target of *2 meters* results in a depth-of-field of **16
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centimeters** -- that's a very narrow range! Bumping up the aperture value to
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*f/2.8* provides a much more reasonable *27 centimeters*, though still a bit
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narrow. Either way this allays any fears I had of losing out on that sweet,
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*sweet* [bokeh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh), though the photos
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themselves illustrate that not a significant amount of Depth-of-Field is lost
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at that target distance of 1 meter.
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# Comparison
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## *f/1.7*--*f/4.0*
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The biggest difference can be seen between the *f/1.7* and *f/4.0* shots. Note
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the increase in clarity on the pillows fabric.
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f17-f40-comp.jpg"
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sub="f/1.7 vs. f/4.0"
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alt="Photo comparing aperture depth-of-field of f/1.7 versus f/4.0 (sharper)" >}}
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---
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## *f/1.7*--*f/2.8*
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At *f/2.8* and above I started noticing less increase in perceived sharpness of
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the image, though the difference in comparison to *f/1.7* was still fairly
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noticeable
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f17-f28-comp.jpg"
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sub="f/1.7 vs f/2.8"
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alt="Photo comparing aperture depth-of-field of f/1.7 versus f/2.8 (sharper)" >}}
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---
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## *f/2.8*--*f/4.0*
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Aside from the perceived exposure difference from what is most likely a
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difference in shutter speed, the overall difference does not seem as dramatic
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from *f/2.8* to *f/4.0*. Personally, I'd say that *f/2.8* is the clear winner in
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finding the best middle-ground between maximum aperture and image quality.
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f28-f40-comp.jpg"
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sub="f/2.8 vs. f/4.0"
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alt="Photo comparing aperture depth-of-field of f/2.8 versus f/4.0 (sharper)" >}}
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---
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# Individual Photos
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Below is the entire collection of all the photos taken of the subject at
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increasing aperture steps.
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{{< thumbgallery >}}
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f17.jpg" sub="f/1.7"
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alt="Photograph showing photo at aperture f/1.7" >}}
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f20.jpg" sub="f/2.0"
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alt="Photograph showing photo at aperture f/2.0" >}}
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f22.jpg" sub="f/2.2"
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alt="Photograph showing photo at aperture f/2.2" >}}
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f25.jpg" sub="f/2.5"
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alt="Photograph showing photo at aperture f/2.5" >}}
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f28.jpg" sub="f/2.8"
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alt="Photograph showing photo at aperture f/2.8" >}}
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f32.jpg" sub="f/3.2"
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alt="Photograph showing photo at aperture f/3.2" >}}
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{{< thumb src="/static/img/aperture-study/f40.jpg" sub="f/4.0"
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alt="Photograph showing photo at aperture f/4.0" >}}
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{{< /thumbgallery >}}
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