Pentax w Digital Camera User Manual


 
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Appendix
8
The aperture increases or reduces the light beam (thickness) which
passes through the lens, controlling how much light strikes the CCD.
• Widening the beam by opening the
aperture
Objects closer and farther than the focused
subject will be more out of focus. For instance,
if you take a picture of a person against a
landscape with the aperture open, the
landscape in front of and behind the person
will be blurred, emphasizing only the person.
• Narrowing the beam by closing the
aperture
The range in focus expands forward and
back. For instance, if you take a picture of
a person against a landscape with the
aperture narrowed, the landscape in front
of and behind the person will be in focus.
Effect of aperture
When you focus on a portion of the subject, there is a range in which object
closer and farther will also be in focus. This focused range is called the depth
of field.
As the aperture is stopped down, the depth of field (focused range) increases
(wider range of focus).
Also, the wide-angle lens, and the farther away the subject, the wider the
depth of field.
Zoom lenses do not have a scale for depth of field because of their structure.
The depth of field for the w differs depending on the lens but, compared
to when using a 35mm camera, the value is roughly one aperture setting
lower (the focused range becomes narrower).
Further, check the depth of field at one stop open side for lenses with a depth
of field scale.