What's the deal with f/5.6 aperture?

3 years 6 months ago #696615 by Greg Friedman
I've seen 2 speakers on YouTube over the last year with f/5.6 t-shirts.  Which BTW I would like to find where they bought.  I have also heard photographers chanting f/5.6.  Well, not chanting, but it's come up a handful of times.  

Why f/5.6?


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3 years 6 months ago #696616 by fmw


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3 years 6 months ago #696639 by Screamin Scott
Likely because most lenses are sharpest a few stops down from wide open, thus F5.6-F8 would be the apertures at which most lenses are calibrated for,  for best performance across the frame...

Scott Ditzel Photography

www.flickr.com/photos/screaminscott/

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3 years 6 months ago #696641 by Nikon Shooter

Screamin Scott wrote: …the apertures at which most lenses are calibrated for...


It is more like at each end of the ring, one
will feel the effect of diffraction, Scott. :)

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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3 years 6 months ago #696643 by Screamin Scott

Nikon Shooter wrote:

Screamin Scott wrote: …the apertures at which most lenses are calibrated for...


It is more like at each end of the ring, one
will feel the effect of diffraction, Scott. :)


Diffraction occurs at the smaller lens openings due to the bending of the light causing separation of the color waves.  www.kenrockwell.com/tech/diffraction.htm

Scott Ditzel Photography

www.flickr.com/photos/screaminscott/

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3 years 6 months ago #696659 by Nikon Shooter
Yes, that is for one aspect of it. Lens diffraction is observed when both the wavelength of light and the opening itself are roughly the same sizes.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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3 years 6 months ago #696667 by Greg Friedman

fmw wrote: Try here.  www.spreadshirt.com/shop/clothing/t-shir...e-t-shirts/aperture/


Thank you, but I didn't see one that is specifically f/5.6


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3 years 6 months ago #696668 by fmw

Nikon Shooter wrote: Yes, that is for one aspect of it. Lens diffraction is observed when both the wavelength of light and the opening itself are roughly the same sizes.


The wavelength of light is in the range of 400-700 nanometers.  Those are billionths of a meter.  It never gets close to a lens aperture in size.  Diffraction occurs when the path of light is disrupted by an edge while entering a tiny opening.  It results in light scatter and interference between the resulting waveforms.


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3 years 6 months ago #696709 by Jackson Rieger
They can likely make one for you pretty reasonably.  


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3 years 6 months ago #696741 by Kenya See

Screamin Scott wrote: Likely because most lenses are sharpest a few stops down from wide open, thus F5.6-F8 would be the apertures at which most lenses are calibrated for,  for best performance across the frame...



:agree:   That's what I thought it was, but then again I thought f/8 was sharpest point.   :huh:


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