Aperture Wha?

By Karl On April 27, 2009 Under The Basics

“I see a light… Am I dead?”

Don’t count on it.

Today, we’ll bring out a definition that I have been longing to post about, namely: Aperture.

Dictionary.com says:

ap⋅er⋅ture
/ˈæpərtʃər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ap-er-cher] Show IPA
–noun
1. an opening, as a hole, slit, crack, gap, etc.
2. Also called aperture stop. Optics. an opening, usually circular, that limits the quantity of light that can enter an optical instrument.

In reality, aperture is more like your eye, where the pupil dilates according to how much light you “see”. However, in a camera, it isn’t an involuntary function (Unless you’re on auto), this means, you can control how much light comes and goes. How? Through your lenses.

Now, let’s take a look at our lenses first. Each lens has a different aperture (Usually the set lens aperture kind of sucks…) Which makes each and every lens special! Now, if we take a look at the lens, let’s adjust the aperture wheel.

Did you see that? The small “Pupil” adjusted, right? That is the small thing that controls the aperture.

So, now that you know, I’ll just go and find out how exactly to change the aperture on my camera… I’m a bit clueless right now.

Hardy har har.