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f-number. Diagram of decreasing apertures, that is, increasing f-numbers, in one-stop increments; each aperture has half the light-gathering area of the previous one. An f-number is a measure of the light-gathering ability of an optical system such as a camera lens. It is calculated by dividing the system's focal length by the diameter of the ...
The numerical aperture with respect to a point P depends on the half-angle, θ1, of the maximum cone of light that can enter or exit the lens and the ambient index of refraction. As a pencil of light goes through a flat plane of glass, its half-angle changes to θ2. Due to Snell's law, the numerical aperture remains the same: NA = n1 sin θ1 ...
The lens aperture is usually specified as an f-number, the ratio of focal length to effective aperture diameter (the diameter of the entrance pupil). A lens typically has a set of marked "f-stops" that the f-number can be set to. A lower f-number denotes a greater aperture which allows more light to reach the film or image sensor.
Airy disk captured by 2000 mm camera lens at f/25 aperture. Image size: 1×1 mm. In optics, the Airy disk (or Airy disc) and Airy pattern are descriptions of the best- focused spot of light that a perfect lens with a circular aperture can make, limited by the diffraction of light. The Airy disk is of importance in physics, optics, and astronomy.
Circle of confusion. In optics, a circle of confusion (CoC) is an optical spot caused by a cone of light rays from a lens not coming to a perfect focus when imaging a point source. It is also known as disk of confusion, circle of indistinctness, blur circle, or blur spot. In photography, the circle of confusion is used to determine the depth of ...
Focal length. The focal point F and focal length f of a positive (convex) lens, a negative (concave) lens, a concave mirror, and a convex mirror. The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a ...
Beam divergence. In electromagnetics, especially in optics, beam divergence is an angular measure of the increase in beam diameter or radius with distance from the optical aperture or antenna aperture from which the beam emerges. The term is relevant only in the "far field", away from any focus of the beam. Practically speaking, however, the ...
35 mm equivalent focal length. The resulting images from 50 mm and 70 mm lenses for different sensor sizes; 36x24 mm (red) and 24x18 mm (blue) In photography, the 35 mm equivalent focal length is a measure of the angle of view for a particular combination of a camera lens and film or image sensor size. The term is popular because in the early ...