Ambie Photo

Aperture is measured in f/stops. Just like we measure distance with feet or miles, we measure aperture with this funky measuring system. Here's the strange part, the smaller the f/stop value, the larger the opening. And the larger the f/stop value, the smaller the opening. A setting of f/stop 2.8 is a lot larger than the setting of f/stop 4. Here are some examples of f/stops

• f/1.8 - Very large opening
• f/2.8 - Smaller, but still pretty big
• f/5.6 - Smaller
• f/12 - Very small

What the heck! Why is it reverse?!?! Don't fight it, just go with it. Just remember that it's opposite. Larger value means smaller hole, and vice versa. It's not just with Canon, all camera makers use this standard.

Different lenses have different max aperture sizes. Usually, the larger aperture lenses are more sought after than the smaller aperture lenses. A Canon lens with a max aperture of 2.8 will almost always cost a lot more than a similar Canon lens with a max aperture of 4.0.

LEARN THE LINGO

PHOTOGRAPHY GEEK: Do you shoot wide open?
TRANSLATION: Do you shoot with your aperture at it largest setting?

PHOTOGRAPHY GEEK: How fast is your lens?
TRANSLATION: What is the largest aperture setting of your lens?

HOW DOES APERTURE AFFECT YOUR PHOTO?

Having a large aperture (i.e. f/2.8) does more than just allow more light into your camera. It creates a very cool dreamy effect where your subject is in focus and the background is blurry. Makes the subject pop right out of the picture like the beagle pictured to the left. This is called depth of field, but I like to refer to it as
blurry backgrounds. Less technical and more descriptive.

Having a small aperture (i.e. f/12) allows less light into your camera but also does the opposite of blurry backgrounds. More of your picture will be in focus. Perfect for landscapes and group photos.

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