Aperture

The specifications for a given lens typically include the maximum and minimum aperture sizes, for example, f/1.4–f/22. In this case, f/1.4 is the maximum aperture (the widest opening), and f/22 is the minimum aperture (the smallest opening). The maximum aperture opening tends to be of most interest and is always included when describing a lens. This value is also known as the lens "speed", as it affects the exposure time. The aperture is proportional to the square root of the light admitted, and thus inversely proportional to the square root of required exposure time, such that an aperture of f/2 allows for exposure times one quarter that of f/4.

The aperture range of a 50mm Minolta lens, f/1.4–f/16

Lenses with apertures opening f/2.8 or wider are referred to as "fast" lenses, although the specific point has changed over time (for example, in the early 20th century aperture openings wider than f/6 were considered fast). The fastest lenses for the common 35 mm film format in general production have apertures of f/1.2 or f/1.4, with more at f/1.8 and f/2.0, and many at f/2.8 or slower; f/1.0 is unusual, though sees some use. When comparing "fast" lenses, the image format used must be considered. Lenses designed for a small format such as half frame or APS-C need to project a much smaller image circle than a lens used for large format photography. Thus the optical elements built into the lens can be far smaller and cheaper.

In exceptional circumstances lenses can have even wider apertures with f-numbers smaller than 1.0; see lens speed: fast lenses for a detailed list. For instance, both the current Leica Noctilux-M 50mm ASPH and a 1960s-era Canon 50mm rangefinder lens have a maximum aperture of f/0.95.[7] Cheaper alternatives have appeared in recent years, such as the Cosina Voigtländer 17.5mm f/0.95, 25mm f/0.95 and 42.5mm f/0.95 manual focus lenses for the Micro Four-Thirds System.[8][9][10]

Professional lenses for some movie cameras have f-numbers as small as f/0.75. Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon has scenes shot by candlelight with a NASA/Zeiss 50mm f/0.7,[11] the fastest lens in film history. Beyond the expense, these lenses have limited application due to the correspondingly shallower depth of field – the scene must either be shallow, shot from a distance, or will be significantly defocused, though this may be the desired effect.

Zoom lenses typically have a maximum relative aperture (minimum f-number) of f/2.8 to f/6.3 through their range. High-end lenses will have a constant aperture, such as f/2.8 or f/4, which means that the relative aperture will stay the same throughout the zoom range. A more typical consumer zoom will have a variable maximum relative aperture since it is harder and more expensive to keep the maximum relative aperture proportional to the focal length at long focal lengths; f/3.5 to f/5.6 is an example of a common variable aperture range in a consumer zoom lens.

By contrast, the minimum aperture does not depend on the focal length – it is limited by how narrowly the aperture closes, not the lens design – and is instead generally chosen based on practicality: very small apertures have lower sharpness due to diffraction, while the added depth of field is not generally useful, and thus there is generally little benefit in using such apertures. Accordingly, DSLR lens typically have minimum aperture of f/16, f/22, or f/32, while large format may go down to f/64, as reflected in the name of Group f/64. Depth of field is a significant concern in macro photography, however, and there one sees smaller apertures. For example, the Canon MP-E 65mm can have effective aperture (due to magnification) as small as f/96. The pinhole optic for Lensbaby creative lenses has an aperture of just f/177.[12]

• 
  f/32 – small aperture and slow shutter
• 
  f/5.6 – large aperture and fast shutter
• 
  f/22 – small aperture and slower shutter (Exposure time: 1/80)
• 
  f/3.5 – large aperture and faster shutter (Exposure time: 1/2500)
• 
  Changing a camera's aperture value in half-stops, beginning with f/256 and ending with f/1
• 
  Changing a camera's aperture diameter from zero to infinity

The amount of light captured by a lens is proportional to the area of the aperture, equal to:

${\displaystyle \mathrm {Area} =\pi \left({D \over 2}\right)^{2}=\pi \left({f \over 2N}\right)^{2}}$

Where the two equivalent forms are related via the f-number N = f / D, with focal length f and aperture diameter D.

The focal length value is not required when comparing two lenses of the same focal length; a value of 1 can be used instead, and the other factors can be dropped as well, leaving area proportion to the reciprocal square of the f-number N.

If two cameras of different format sizes and focal lengths have the same angle of view, and the same aperture area, they gather the same amount of light from the scene. In that case, the relative focal-plane illuminance, however, would depend only on the f-number N, so it is less in the camera with the larger format, longer focal length, and higher f-number. This assumes both lenses have identical transmissivity.

Aperture mechanism of Canon 50mm f/1.8 II lens, with five blades

Though as early as 1933 Torkel Korling had invented and patented for the Graflex large format reflex camera an automatic aperture control,[13] not all early 35mm single lens reflex cameras had the feature. With a small aperture, this darkened the viewfinder, making viewing, focusing, and composition difficult.[14] Korling's design enabled full-aperture viewing for accurate focus, closing to the pre-selected aperture opening when the shutter was fired and simultaneously synchronising the firing of a flash unit. From 1956 SLR camera manufacturers separately developed automatic aperture control (the Miranda T 'Pressure Automatic Diaphragm', and other solutions on the Exakta Varex IIa and Praktica FX2) allowing viewing at the lens's maximum aperture, stopping the lens down to the working aperture at the moment of exposure, and returning the lens to maximum aperture afterward.[15] The first SLR cameras with internal ("through-the-lens" or "TTL") meters (e.g., the Pentax Spotmatic) required that the lens be stopped down to the working aperture when taking a meter reading. Subsequent models soon incorporated mechanical coupling between the lens and the camera body, indicating the working aperture to the camera for exposure while allowing the lens to be at its maximum aperture for composition and focusing;[15] this feature became known as open-aperture metering.

For some lenses, including a few long telephotos, lenses mounted on bellows, and perspective-control and tilt/shift lenses, the mechanical linkage was impractical,[15] and automatic aperture control was not provided. Many such lenses incorporated a feature known as a "preset" aperture,[15][16] which allows the lens to be set to working aperture and then quickly switched between working aperture and full aperture without looking at the aperture control. A typical operation might be to establish rough composition, set the working aperture for metering, return to full aperture for a final check of focus and composition, and focusing, and finally, return to working aperture just before exposure. Although slightly easier than stopped-down metering, operation is less convenient than automatic operation. Preset aperture controls have taken several forms; the most common has been the use of essentially two lens aperture rings, with one ring setting the aperture and the other serving as a limit stop when switching to working aperture. Examples of lenses with this type of preset aperture control are the Nikon PC Nikkor 28 mm f/3.5 and the SMC Pentax Shift 6×7 75 mm f/4.5. The Nikon PC Micro-Nikkor 85 mm f/2.8D lens incorporates a mechanical pushbutton that sets working aperture when pressed and restores full aperture when pressed a second time.

Canon EF lenses, introduced in 1987,[17] have electromagnetic diaphragms,[18] eliminating the need for a mechanical linkage between the camera and the lens, and allowing automatic aperture control with the Canon TS-E tilt/shift lenses. Nikon PC-E perspective-control lenses,[19] introduced in 2008, also have electromagnetic diaphragms,[20] a feature extended to their E-type range in 2013.

Optimal aperture depends both on optics (the depth of the scene versus diffraction), and on the performance of the lens.

Optically, as a lens is stopped down, the defocus blur at the Depth of Field (DOF) limits decreases but diffraction blur increases. The presence of these two opposing factors implies a point at which the combined blur spot is minimized (Gibson 1975, 64); at that point, the f-number is optimal for image sharpness, for this given depth of field[21] – a wider aperture (lower f-number) causes more defocus, while a narrower aperture (higher f-number) causes more diffraction.

As a matter of performance, lenses often do not perform optimally when fully opened, and thus generally have better sharpness when stopped down some – note that this is sharpness in the plane of critical focus, setting aside issues of depth of field. Beyond a certain point, there is no further sharpness benefit to stopping down, and the diffraction begins to become significant. There is accordingly a sweet spot, generally in the f/4 – f/8 range, depending on lens, where sharpness is optimal, though some lenses are designed to perform optimally when wide open. How significant this varies between lenses, and opinions differ on how much practical impact this has.

While optimal aperture can be determined mechanically, how much sharpness is required depends on how the image will be used – if the final image is viewed under normal conditions (e.g., an 8″×10″ image viewed at 10″), it may suffice to determine the f-number using criteria for minimum required sharpness, and there may be no practical benefit from further reducing the size of the blur spot. But this may not be true if the final image is viewed under more demanding conditions, e.g., a very large final image viewed at normal distance, or a portion of an image enlarged to normal size (Hansma 1996). Hansma also suggests that the final-image size may not be known when a photograph is taken, and obtaining the maximum practicable sharpness allows the decision to make a large final image to be made at a later time; see also critical sharpness.