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Photography & Imaging

Light and lenses: exposure, f-stops, depth of field, hyperfocal distance and image resolution

F-Number

NEWBasic
N=fDN = \frac{f}{D}

Aperture f-number is focal length divided by aperture diameter.

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Exposure Value (EV)

NEWIntermediate
EV=log2 ⁣(N2t)EV = \log_2\!\left(\frac{N^2}{t}\right)

Combines aperture and shutter speed into one exposure figure.

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Depth of Field (approx.)

NEWAdvanced
DoF2Ncs2f2DoF \approx \frac{2 N c\, s^2}{f^2}

Range of distances that appear acceptably sharp.

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Hyperfocal Distance

NEWAdvanced
H=f2Nc+fH = \frac{f^2}{N c} + f

Focus distance that keeps everything from H/2 to infinity sharp.

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Lens Magnification

NEWIntermediate
M=fsfM = \frac{f}{s - f}

Image magnification from focal length and subject distance.

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Angle of View

NEWIntermediate
α=2arctan ⁣(d2f)\alpha = 2\arctan\!\left(\frac{d}{2f}\right)

Field of view from sensor size and focal length.

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Equivalent Focal Length

NEWBasic
feq=f×Cf_{eq} = f \times C

Focal length on a crop sensor expressed in full-frame terms.

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Ground Sample Distance

NEWAdvanced
GSD=HpfGSD = \frac{H \cdot p}{f}

Real-world size of one pixel in aerial/drone imagery.

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Megapixel Count

NEWBasic
MP=W×H106MP = \frac{W \times H}{10^6}

Total pixels of an image in millions.

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Diffraction-Limited Spot

NEWAdvanced
d=2.44λNd = 2.44 \lambda N

Smallest resolvable spot size set by diffraction at aperture N.

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Flash Guide Number

NEWIntermediate
GN=N×dGN = N \times d

Relates flash power, aperture and subject distance.

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Exposure Reciprocity

NEWIntermediate
N2ISOtN^2 \propto \frac{ISO}{t}

Aperture, shutter and ISO trade off to keep exposure constant.

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Thin Lens Equation

NEWIntermediate
1f=1u+1v\frac{1}{f} = \frac{1}{u} + \frac{1}{v}

Relates focal length to object and image distances.

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Motion Blur Length

NEWBasic
b=v×tb = v \times t

Blur streak length from subject speed and shutter time.

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Print Resolution (PPI)

NEWBasic
PPI=WpxWinPPI = \frac{W_{px}}{W_{in}}

Pixels per inch when a photo is printed at a given width.

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