What is Aperture of camera? How it works?

At first, we have to know, where aperture used for...

When you are talking about Photography, the most important aspect of this part(photography) known as Exposure. Exposure determines, whether the image is as per the requirement or isn’t, whether it’s worth seeing. It depends on the choice of subject, how we treat that, also depends on the taste of the cameraman and the shadow, highlights, colors that are there in the image. Exposure is a technical detail which are involved in making the image. In Exposure, there are three factors, which control the exposure.

v  Aperture

v  Shutter Speed

v  ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

 

What is Aperture?

The hole through which the light enters the camera is known as Aperture. In all Digital cameras or in mobile phone cameras pro mode you noticed the numbers like f/1.4, f/2.8, f/4.5, f/5.6, f/8, f/11 or f1, f2.8, f4.5, f5.6, f11, and so on, that refers the size of the aperture opening. By the f numbers, we can control the amount of light that is entering the lens.

Let’s know how it works.

Suppose you are using f/8, it allows X amount of light for going into the frame. Now if you move on to the next aperture number, say f11. Then it allows the X/2 amount of light to enter, which is half of the previous light. Similarly, if you move on to f5.6, that is the previous one of f8. It allows a 2X amount of light, which is a double amount of light in refer to f8. By using the aperture priority mode in digital SLR camera you can change the f numbers.

Fig: how aperture varies with f number

‘Smaller’ the aperture (larger f-number, such as f32 or f/32) will allow less light to enter the camera.

‘Higher’ the aperture (smaller f-number, such as f1.4 or f/1.4) will allow more light to enter the camera.

Fig: Aperture size variation

 By changing the Aperture you can get, overexposed and underexposed pictures as per your requirements.

֍ By changing the aperture you can control the ‘Depth of Field’. DOF is the front-to-back zone of acceptable sharpness within a photograph. In every image, there are certain areas in front of, and behind the main subject, that will appear in focus.

Fig: Aperture and DOF

In another article I will describe it Properly, what is DOF and how to control it.