F Stops

After my last lesson on f stops I wanted to know more about them.  Like, why are they called f stops and how did they come up with those numbers.

Thanks to Rex914's article on the forums at Digital Camera Resource Page  I now know how the numbers are derived.  It involves Pi and the square root of 2 (which is 1.414).  It looks like there are good camera reviews and buying guides on this site.

The f may stand for fraction or function.  I'm just guessing, speculating, making it up.

As usual when I'm surfing the web, I found several other interesting sites.  Here are just a few of them.  (Please note that these sites are new to me so I can't verify the contents, I'm only recommending that you check them out if you find the subjects of interest to you.) 

David Dahms and Paragon Press
Lens Focal Length Chart
Nature and Wildlife Tips
Check out the wildlife photos when you visit this site.

Photonhead
Beginners Guide to Photography
Digital Camera Buying Guide
Photography Tips   (Be sure to experiment with the SimCam)

Bryan F Peterson
I read today that Bryan F Peterson has been a photographer for about 30 years which may be why he looks like a photographer.  He's been teaching photography for 20 years and has written several photography books that have received great reviews.
Picture Perfect School of Photography  If you register, you can access free video photography tips.
His blog It doesn't look like this blog has been updated since July 2010, but there are some interesting articles here.  I recommend you read the June 25 entry, Every photograph is a lie ....

NYIP Unit 1, Lesson 3

I started Lesson 3 (The Lens) today and finished Part 1.  Between reading, listening, looking at my camera, and thinking it took about 70 minutes.  This part is more technical and therefore harder for me to grasp even though I've studied apertures and f stops before.  Today I learned that f stops are fractions and that's why the smaller numbers indicate a larger opening, just like 1/2 is larger than 1/3, and 1/3 is larger than 1/4.

We discussed lenses, lens speed, lens speed vs shutter speed, apertures, f stops, and a little bit about depth of field and focal range.  And that was just Part 1!

If you want to hear an example of the lesson CDs, check out the NYI podcasts, such as the one on apertures.

NYIP Unit 1, Lesson 2, cont

Well, I jumped ahead of the class.  We weren't through with the parts of the camera as I had assumed.  I spent another 30 minutes today listening to a more thorough discussion of the parts of the camera as well as 30 minutes on types of cameras. 

If you have read reviews that claim the NYIP course is outdated because it focuses (HA!) on film cameras, you're reading old reviews.  They do teach about film cameras because many people still use film, but there's more information on digital cameras.

FYI: I aced the quiz.

The next CD begins with the final few pages of Lesson 2 and then - on to The Lens!