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      07-14-2012, 11:58 PM   #4
bosstones
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ska325xi View Post
so if I want to focus a tiny area...lets say a piece of rock, I'll use aperture priorty to the lowest (f1.8)
and if I want to focus on an entire person, then go around f10?
then if I want the entire background (landscape)....go all the way up?
Realize that the f-stop # is actually the inverse in relation to the size of the aperture. By that, I mean that the smaller the #, the larger the aperture. That is why you can achieve faster shutter speeds w/ a small f#...the larger the aperture, the more light coming in and hitting the camera's sensor. The larger the f#, the smaller the aperature so less light comes in and shutter speeds must be longer to give more time for adequate photon counts to make their way in.

Given that, your first statement is correct. If you want to 'single out' something within your field of view (FOV), use a smaller f# but make sure actually focus on the subject you want to single out and have in focus. This is done by either manually setting your camera's focal point or using manual focus.

Like vachss said, get out of auto mode. Auto mode + dSLR = oxymoron. See that graininess in your first pic? That's because, due to the low ambient lighting, your camera chose a higher ISO setting to try to maximize shutter speed. Likewise, it also chose a small f-stop (f#). At the very least, go to Program mode. There, you can at least control the ISO and guarantee you stay with a reasonable ISO setting that minimizes noise. The camera will still choose aperture and shutter speed in Program mode, but at least you have control over the ISO setting (and a few other things, too). Your best bet is to start playing in Av (Aperture Priority) and Tv (Shutter Speed Priority), depending on which is more important to you for what you're photographing.

WRT landscape, I think it's all relative to the distances you're shooting at. You don't necessarily need to go up real high with the f-stop, say f20 or f22. I think it's relative to the distance at which your shooting. Staying at something like f8 or f9, where you lens may be sharpest, will work perfectly fine. Most of what I shoot is wide/ultra-wide landscape stuff and I usually stay around f8/f9. For night photography, I may occasionally go real high, but it just depends on what I'm trying to do (creatively).

Hope that helps.
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