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Aperture selection guide
What to expect at various lens openings
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The following provides information and hints for using various typical aperture settings, or lens openings.
Not all lenses are capable of every one of the apertures discussed here. A quick look at your lens should provide you with its range of aperture settings.
If you have more than one lens, you will likely find that each has a different range.
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The foreground is slightly out of focus, drawing your eye to the fascinated faces of the young students being shown a whale bone. An aperture of ƒ/16 was used for maximum depth of field.
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Shallow depth of field from using the lens' maximum aperture of /2.8 is evident in this picture of Valdi in performance. Both hands, foreground and background, are out of focus.
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ƒ/1.2, ƒ1.4, ƒ/2 and ƒ/2.8
The widest openings for most lenses
Shallowest possible depth of field, but provides maximum light-gathering for the lens, and is called the lens’ fastest aperture. Useful for obtaining proper exposure in low light conditions or when using an ultra-fast shutter speed. Background and foreground are usually right out of focus.
ƒ/2.8 is commonly the widest opening for many portrait lenses (80mm to 120mm lenses), while many normal lenses have a maximum aperture of ƒ/2.
Very fast lenses have apertures of ƒ1.2 and ƒ/1.4.
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ƒ4 and ƒ5.6
Increased depth of field, but still relatively shallow.
Frequently used in portrait work to throw the background out of focus but keep the subject in sharp focus. Good light-gathering ability, permitting relatively-fast shutter speeds.
ƒ/5.6 provides slightly greater depth of field than ƒ/4. Most lenses are generally at their sharpest at these apertures.
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The closest youngster is slightly out of focus and the background is almost fully out of focus in this picture taken at /5.6.
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The background is thrown out of focus at /8, drawing attention to a bridesmaid's happy expression just as the bride says "I do."
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ƒ/8 and ƒ/11
Possibly the most-used apertures for general daylight photography, providing good image quality and a nice balance between moderate to good depth of field and medium to fast shutter speeds with common color films.
Depth of field at ƒ/11 is extensive.
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ƒ/16 and ƒ/22
The smallest openings for most lenses
You would use these apertures when you are after lots of depth of field in your image. Many lenses have ƒ/16 as their smallest aperture, and therefore it is used to achieve maximum depth of field.
Some lenses stop down to ƒ/22, which provides even more depth of field, and others are capable of even smaller apertures for tremendous depth of field.
Shutter speeds are generally slow when using these apertures, so hand-holding of the camera must be steady. Often it is best to use a tripod or other camera support to avoid camera shake. There may be a very slight loss of sharpness at many lenses’ minimum aperture, but it is usually hard to detect.
Note that image quality is affected by the size of the aperture. Click here, on "Optimum aperture," to find out how.
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A 24mm wide-angle lens and the lens' smallest aperture of /22 gave this image maximum depth of field.
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