Aperture?

Photography can be mastered by grasping the simple mechanics that governs the science of photography.One of the most important word that we hear each photographer uttering every now and then is the word "Aperture".So whats this so much talked about "Aperture"?

Aperture can be simply put as a component of the lens that controls the amount of light that enters it. A wide aperture allows a lot of light , while a narrow aperture allows less light into the camera.Larger aperture openings have smaller numbers, while smaller apertures have larger numbers; for example, f/16 is a small aperture, while f/4 is a larger aperture.

One needs to adjust the aperture just like the eye contracts and expands the Iris.The Iris opens up when we are in dark room to take in more light and closes down when we are out in bright daylight or in an brightly lighted room.Aperture controls the amount of light affecting the light exposure of the picture.

Aperture in turn affects the "Depth of Field" of a picture. If we have a wide aperture the depth of field would be shallow ie the picture would have a small part of it focussed ,and other things in the background become blur.A wide aperture of f1.8 or less is very much recommended for taking Portraits where one likes to focus on the person and blur the background.

One the other hand ,in a landscape, one should use a relatively smaller aperture preferably, so that the entire landscape is in focus and the depth of field is large.

Here's a video that explains the concept more precisely.

..if you are not buying a bundle lens..read on.

Almost everyone wants to have a lens that would serve all purpose...an all in one..but sadly such lens don't exist and even if they do they are too highly priced.

Lens should be purchased based on the kind of pictures one would like to take Landscapes , Portraits , Sports, Wildlife or Macro Photography. Each of these types need a lens of a different focal length.

Besides the focal length , another important aspect is the maximum aperture that the lens has.Aperture controls the amount of light that passes in through the lens. A wide aperture is better , preferable and more expensive.

Lenses can be classified as Prime or Zoom.
Prime lens have a fixed focal length and one needs to move up and down to get closer to the subject while zooms have a variable focal length.Prime lenses give better picture quality , are lighter and comparatively much cheaper than zoom lenses.

Zoom lens have variable aperture , while lens with constant aperture are also available but are comparatively expensive.

Some example of specifications of the lens are :

50mm f/1.8 - a prime lens with 50mm focal length and max aperture of 1.8
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 - a zoom lens focal length 18-33mm and also variable max aperture
17-50mm f/2.8 - a zoom lens with focal length 17-50 mm and constant max aperture of 2.8

The f/2.8 has a wider maximum aperture value than f/3.5- 5.6. A wide max aperture value comes handy when taking pictures in low light and while capturing moving objects.

The range of focal length and the best use are as below:

Lens Type - Best Use - Focal length

Wide Angle - Landscapes and Interiors - f28mm or lower
Standard - Portraits - f35mm to 85mm
Telephoto - Portraits and Sports - f 100 - 300mm
Super-Telephoto - Wildlife and Sports - f 300mm and higher

Third party lenses : Lenses are manufactured by Canon , Nikon and also by third party manufacturers like Tamron , Sigma, Tokina and many more.
Third party lenses are good alternatives for people on budget as the third party manufacturers have come a long way and provide equally good lenses but at a modest price.

I am mostly interested in Landscapes, Portraits.The lens that I have with me is the Tamron 17-50 mm/f 2.8.I have very happy with my purchase as it also has Image stabilization which takes care of shake if the hand is not steady.My next purchase would be a Telephoto lens.

I read a lot of reviews before deciding on the lens.Here are few sites I refer a lot to.
Indepth understanding of lenses
Lens Reviews
Dp Reviews
Tamron lens reviews

The following parameters would help to shortlist the right lens example:
Lens mount: SLR Make eg Canon/ Nikon
Lens focal length: Telephoto/ Wide/ Standard
Maximum aperture: f/2.8 - f/3.5
Zoom aperture: Constant/ variable
First vs third party: Canon/ Tamron
Extra features: Image stabilization etc.

deciding on the Lens for your camera...

you can make this simpler by opting to buy a bundle offer of camera and a basic lens along with the kit.

I decided not to go for a bundle offer firstly cause I am not very fond of simple things , secondly , I am of the opinion that mostly they add things to the kit that otherwise are a bit difficult to dispose and lastly and most importantly I hear that the lens is the key to good photographs , more important than than the body of the camera.

Not that the basic lens that comes with the kit are bad, its a decent lens to start playing around with the camera till you get better hang of it.However I was of the opinion that why pay extra money on the basic lens instead buy the body of the camera and lens separately. Put some more money on the lens and get something really nice worth the money that you wouldn't like to replace after a while.

Which SLR Camera to buy?

Well thats the most puzzling situation, specially when there's a host of choices which model and make to go far can be quite intimidating!It took me more than a weeks search to finalize my model.

The most obvious choice was the one that somewhat fits with your requirements and more importantly fits in your budget.

More often than not we tend to choose the latest models which are generally steeply priced and go overboard with our budget.Hold it there....let me warn you, buying a camera is not the end to it!!! The accessories are equally important and are at times more expensive than the body of the camera.

Shortlisting the make was easy as Nikon is one of the oldest player and Canon one of the most popular but also expensive one.There are other makes too like Olympus, Sony, Pentax but I restricted my self to Nikon and Canon only.

I decided to go for Canon as it a better line of models than Nikon.One job done , next was the model.Before I selected my model I went through a lot of reviews , one of the sites that I constantly refer to is DP Review.
I decided to go for Canon 60 D as it had all that I was looking for a FPS rate,HD recording , specially the live view LCD screen which I find quite useful when trying to click at unusual uncomfortable angles.

Also I searched a lot on the net, to get the best deals. This site gives a list of the best prices in the UK. Finally I ordered my camera from a HongKong based company, One-stop Digital which offers considerably cheaper price than the companies in UK.
I am happy with my purchase so far!

How to start?

I came across a very interesting concept "365 project - each day click a new photo!" Owe that to a friend of mine who started his project 365.

So what I do is each day I pick up a subject and try to click it from different angles and then post it to my facebook profile.

Project 365 is a popular concept in itself, different people take this up for different reasons.The fact that I have committed to posting a new pic on my social networking profile keeps me going , even if its late in the night.I make sure I post something to keep it going.

The idea behind project365 is gradually one would improve on their photography , also its a nice way to remember each day ..wont it be nice looking back at them after a couple of months and you would have a picture to remind you of each day distinctively :)

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Photography...

my new craze...!!!
Ooh yes thats right these days I am hooked on the camera.And I plan to write a photography blog.Yes yes I know most of the photography blogs are written by experts in this field, so what can a novice , an amateur offer?
I wish to share here the process of my gradual learning ...someday it would be a retrospective of my journey into photography...meanwhile hope it helps my friends in some way or another!

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