Ok….don’t fall off your chair. I, a devotee of auto-focus photography, attempted to adjust the “aperture” setting on my trusty little Canon PowerShot SX100 camera. What prompted this odd behavior? Well, awhile back I was asked to purchase a magazine to help raise funds for our Lutheran school and I chose to subscribe to Popular Photography. Its been showing up in my mailbox for four months now and I finally got around to reading one of the articles in the July ‘09 edition, F-Stop the INSANITY: Aperture is a simple numbers game, by Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou.
“Apertures control the amount of light coming into the camera”, the article said. The bigger the “F” number, the LESS light that is allowed in. Ok, so I looked at my little camera and found that it had a “AV” (aperture) setting on the dial, leading me to do some experimenting during a morning walk along our gravel road. The photo BELOW of a Wild Rose (Iowa’s state flower) was taken with the highest “F” setting my little companion camera has, which is “F8.0”. The starting point was “F2.8” so I assume that might be where the aperture is set during auto-focus. The photo ABOVE was taken using auto-focus. The difference in lighting is apparent. (It was a bit overcast when these Wild Rose photos were taken…..I’m thinking that increasing the “F” number might be indicated to get better photos in bright sunlight which tends to wash color and details away. I could be wrong…..someone please set me straight if I’m way off the beam here.)
While on the lawnmower the other day, I snapped a few random comparison shots here and there.
With aperture setting adjusted to F8.0……
With auto-focus……
Campion flowers with aperture set at F8.0……
And, with auto-focus……
These pictures help me see the difference that changing the aperture setting can make. Not that I comprehend what is happening during an aperture adjustment. Maybe it would help if I looked up the meaning of the word “aperture”…….1. an opening, gap, hole (window); 2. the diameter of the opening through which light passes in a camera, telescope, or other optical instrument. Ok, that nudges me to a slightly clearer understanding of what is taking place.
My mind’s “aperture” has been widened a bit. Next, I'll have to try this aperture trick with my Nikon D40.
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Have a great day! Open or close your mind according to your needs, though it might be best to avoid the setting of extreme narrow-mindedness.
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8 comments:
Need to play with my settings as well, but I'm too busy taking photos to experiment... ha ha ha...
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
My recommendation: stick with the auto-focus....
You're brave to even go that route. I don't do "settings". Heck, I'm lucky if I read the manual!
Kat
Oh how very cool! I'm going to have to play with Mr. Rebel when I'm fully awake, see what that bad boy can do.
Jeannelle: I've a D40 for two years. There are so many options past point and click that I am still learning about them. What I enjoy is the immediate feedback I get with the digital monitor instead of waiting for the film. I found the exposure comp (center bottom of settings screen) to work similar to aperture and it doesn't mix up my "number disabled" visual brain. Anyone who studies quantum physics should be able to have a lot of fun with aperture and f stops.
I understand nothing about cameras and apertures, I have a Kodak EasyShare C813 with Kodak AF 3x Optical Aspheric Lens. I set it on Auto and shot away.
Hi, Blue Ridge Gal,
Haha....that's me most of the time, too. Too busy taking shots to worry about settings.
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Hi, rhymsie,
Yes, but why ARE those settings there in the first place? My curiosity is starting to get the best of me.
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Hi, Poetikat,
Oh, I hate reading manuals.....can hardly ever understand them. A teacher is what I need.
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Hi, Flea,
Oh, I've heard those Rebels are very good cameras. Have fun!
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Hi, Leenie,
Thanks for the pointers. I will check out that "exposure comp" setting thing. Yeah, point and shoot is just too much fun most of the time.
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Hi, Gramma Ann,
But, you know the name of your camera very well! I wonder what "aspheric" means?
You and that smart mind of yours! It will be interesting to see your progress. I thought the comparison pix were pretty neat.
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