Fast f 1.2 lens with low angle. Why do I need fast lenses?

Article text updated: 02/13/2019

In a photography lesson for beginner photographers on choosing camera settings, we saw a table showing the dependence of shutter speed, ISO and aperture on each other. In the commentary to it, I explained that high-aperture optics (that is, those that allow you to open the aperture as wide as possible) make it possible to reduce photosensitivity when shooting or significantly reduce exposure time. However, again and again in discussions of various nuances of photography on the site, the question arises about the advisability of using expensive high-aperture zoom lenses for beginners. Let's try to dig deeper into this topic today and finally understand it.

For those blog guests who haven’t read the tutorial on camera settings, I advise you to read it first. Let me briefly remind you of the essence: the correct exposure of a photo depends on the settings of light sensitivity (ISO), exposure time (shutter speed) and the diameter of the hole in the lens (aperture). The same exposure value can be obtained by changing one of these three parameters separately. The shutter speed range and ISO values ​​are technical specifications specific camera, the size of the relative aperture is a parameter determined by the design of the lens.

The aperture affects not only the exposure value, but also the degree of blurring of the background in the photograph - the wider it is open, the closer the subject and the farther the background is from it (and also, the longer the focal length), the more the background is blurred. Therefore, the first advantage of a fast lens is the ability to greatly blur those objects that are behind our SVKC (the plot-important compositional center).

Aperture needed for bokeh

High-aperture optics (especially zooms) are expensive. There is a common belief among some photographers that there is no point in paying for it, and you can blur the background simply by using a longer focal length. To a certain extent, this is true. If you open the bokeh simulator (the term means “blurry”, “fuzzy”), the link to which is posted in the lesson with a story about shooting kittens (see above) and play with the settings, you will find that the same DOF (depth of field) can be obtained on the insanely expensive Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM portrait prime and the cheap Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM telephoto lens. For example, with a distance to the subject of 5 m and an aperture of f/1.2 with a Canon 85mm f/1.2 fixed lens, you can get a depth of field equal to 15 cm. If you screw the above-mentioned Canon 70-300 telephoto onto the camera and move to a distance of 15 m, then when the maximum open aperture f/5.6, we get the same depth of field of 15 cm. However, the portrait will turn out to be large-faced, not half-length...

Shooting wide open can be difficult due to the shallow depth of field when photographing at close range. I encountered this, for example, while photographing kittens (see the lesson on blurring the background at the link above): they are small, you have to get close, there is not enough light in the room, opening the relative hole leads to a decrease in depth of field - only the head is sharp. Therefore, I am ready to partly agree or at least not argue with those amateur photographers who claim that there is no reason for expensive high-aperture optics.

Aperture is needed to shoot at low ISOs with short shutter speeds

On the cropped Nikon D5100 DSLR, my main standard lens was the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G fast zoom. When switching to full frame Nikon D610, I bought a full frame reportage camera for it Nikon lens 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor. In the comments, some photographers noted that it would be better to take the cheaper, but dark Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED VR AF-S Nikkor zoom, because the difference in aperture is only one stop. In response, I said that even this often gives me a noticeable advantage. Let's see why this is so.

The photographer’s task is to shoot at the lowest ISO value so that there is no digital noise that spoils the image.

I took the two shots above with the camera set to . The subject was stationary, so there was no need for a fast shutter speed. Everything changes if we do not have the opportunity to put the camera on a tripod: we must use the formula: B = 1/FR for cameras that have a matrix with a small amount pixels like Nikon D7000 or V=1/(2*FR) for multi-pixel sensors like Nikon D7200.

The situation gets even worse if we photograph moving objects in poor lighting: we need an even shorter exposure time, which means we need to raise the ISO even higher.

For example, in the spring of 2016, my wife and I went on vacation to Turkey. , where I photographed a marble column with the head of Medusa the Gorgon.

While photographing the scene with my fast wide Samyang 14mm f/2.8, I tightened the aperture to f/5.6 because I was afraid that I wouldn’t get into the depth of field. Now I see that this was a mistake: at short focal lengths the depth of field of the imaged space is quite large, and Medusa’s face would have turned out sharp - it was possible to open the aperture to f/2.8. This would give me the opportunity to lower the ISO or shorten the shutter speed to 1/250 of a second, that is, the tourists would come out clear and not blurred (note: although, I believe that blurry people here do not spoil, but rather improve the picture).

As you can see, for a full frame Nikon D610, the photosensitivity of ISO 25’600 is completely unworkable. You can try converting the image to black and white.

Another way is to use noise reduction (noise reduction), but then we lose details: the picture becomes plasticine.

To better understand how an open aperture helps reduce light sensitivity and speed up shutter speed, I suggest once again compiling a table that displays the relationships between these parameters. I take the camera, put it on a tripod and change the settings, writing down the values.

Note. In ISO settings, numbers of the natural range are usually displayed, extended ones are hidden behind abbreviations: L1.0 - 50, L0.7 - 64, L0.3 - 80 for parameters below ISO100, and for numbers above 6400 units - H0.3 - 8' 063, H0.7 – 10'159, H1.0 – 12'800, H2.0 – 25'600 units.

There is no need to memorize the numbers in this table: they change at any given time depending on the lighting of the scene we are shooting. But they can be analyzed. I suggest doing this using the example of the image I received,

If instead of the fast Nikon 35mm f/1.4G I had used my Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 reportage zoom, then at open f/2.8 the aperture would have differed by 6 stops (f/1.4, f/1.6, f/1.8, f /2.0, f/2.2, f/2.5 and finally f/2.8). From the table it follows that to obtain the same time in an exposure of 1/100 second, ISO would have to be raised from 320 units to 1250. On cropped cameras, this value is the threshold for obtaining high-quality images. Full frame handles high ISO better: up to 2900 for Nikon cameras and 2300 for cameras Canon EOS. Therefore, a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom would not spoil the picture.

Now, let’s assume that I decided to save money and instead of my expensive fast lens, I took a darker version of the Nikon 24-120 f/4.0. At open f/4.0, the difference with the f/1.4 aperture is 9 steps - ISO needs to be raised from 320 to 2500 units - on the verge! Third option: take the cheapest kit lens for full frame Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-85 mm F 3.5-4.5G ED VR SWM IF Aspherical. It forces you to set the already non-working ISO 3200.

And the last option is, say, a very dark ultra-long telephoto lens Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens. The difference with the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G prime is 13 stops, which means to shoot this particular scene at f/6.3 you will need ISO 6400 units!

Such are the metamorphoses. Do you agree that the difference is stunning? But, probably, one of the photographers will say: “So in the open - the depth of field is too small. In practice, you won't be able to open the aperture to the maximum." And here I want to show a photo report that I took during a business trip to Germany on December 10, 2016. In the evening we went to the New Year's fair in Frankfurt - there was no light at all, then we visited the Düsseldorf automobile museum "Classic Remise Düsseldorf" and the famous Cathedral in Cologne, where the lighting was also not so great. I had with me a full-frame Nikon D610 body and only a fast Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G zoom. This is what came out of all this.

Shooting a report with a fast zoom

So, we came to the fair when it was already dark outside. We are shooting carousels - to make it come out sharp, you need a short shutter speed.

Here, of course, the aunt in the foreground did not hit the depth of field and ruined the frame. But when we are filming a story where the SVCC is in the foreground (and that is the majority), this problem does not arise.

Photo 10. High-aperture optics are not a problem for the photographer in shots where the main subject is in front. 1/1000, +0.67, 2.8, 3200, 56.

To photograph moving objects, we need to set a very fast shutter speed. Fast lenses allow you to get a very short exposure time at a relatively low ISO. It’s not for nothing that such glass is called “fast lens” in English.

Of course, when shooting diverse scenes, you always need to remember about the depth of field and analyze whether all important objects will be included in the zone of sharpness. Either it's flat plots.

Photo 13. Shooting at the open aperture of a fast lens always balances on the edge of depth of field. 1/500, +0.33, 2.8, 3200, 45.

The next photo was taken at f/2.8 at ISO 6400. According to table No. 6, when shooting with a dark travel zoom Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor, at the short end at f/3.5 there will be H0 .7 (ISO 10'159). At long, at f/5.6, we would have set it to H2.0 (ISO 25’600), and this would not have been enough, the picture would have turned out dark, that is, underexposed.

A couple more reportage shots demonstrating the fact that f/2.8 aperture is not a problem as long as our SVKZ is in the foreground.

However, the advantage of the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8's light zoom is critical if the photographer has the ability to shoot from afar. As you approach the subject, the depth of field decreases sharply and, despite the darkness, you have to clamp the aperture.

To get the camera into the cutting zone, I had to reduce the focal length of my lens. But the plot turned out completely different.

Okay, the examples above were mainly written for extremely difficult lighting conditions. Let's look at scenes shot indoors during the day.

Lately I have been actively using the " Automatic control ISO" on my Nikon D610 camera. In most cases it works great, but here it failed: I think that for handheld shooting a shutter speed of 1/40 of a second was enough, which means the ISO would have dropped to 400 units.

When it comes to choosing lenses for crop or full frame, two approaches often collide: 1) one universal zoom (high-quality, but expensive) or 2) a set of cheaper primes. I can be classified as a fan of zooms - on this excursion I received yet another confirmation of this position: I would not have taken the following photo with a wide shot, showing the viewer the scene of action, if I did not have a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom. It was not possible to take fixes with us on a trip.

The next few frames probably cannot be considered a good illustration for this article, since due to failures of the Auto-ISO functions, the shutter speed was too short with an unreasonably high light sensitivity. At least I was convinced that for some scenes ISO 6400 is not critical.

Photo 25. A trip to the automobile museum with high-aperture optics. If I had not trusted the automation, I could have easily lowered the ISO. 1/400, 5.6, 6400, 29.

Photo 27. The large size of the subject does not allow you to take advantage of high-aperture optics - the aperture is tightened due to the small depth of field. 1/640, -1.0, 5.6, 6400, 24.

I want to show two identical photographs taken at different ISOs. Oddly enough, I don't see much difference. Well, maybe the ISO 100 shot is a little better in the shadows.

We continue our journey. We saw the Christmas market in Frankfurt am Main and the Classic Remise Düsseldorf automobile museum. Now let's move to the glorious city of Cologne.

Photo 31. We’re shooting through the car window—it’s clear that we focused not on the car, but on the building in the distance, which ruined the shot. 1/100, -0.67, 5.6, 640, 70.

Of course, Cologne is famous for its Cathedral. , I said that you need to set a goal to visit all the buildings presented there in reality. Apart from the Statue of Liberty in New York, Cologne Cathedral is a close second.

We go inside the Cathedral. I don’t know if you can use a tripod there, but I would like to, since the room is very dark. You have to take photographs handheld, setting the maximum possible shutter speed to shoot without blur. After processing the photo looks pretty good.

According to table No. 6 “Ratio of shutter speed, aperture and ISO,” if I, at one time, had chosen the darker Nikon 24-120 f/4.0 zoom, I would have had to “raise” the ISO to H1.

At an open aperture, my fast glass even allowed me to photograph the stained glass windows of the Cologne Cathedral handheld without losing image quality.

When shooting with a dark Nikon 28-300mm travel zoom, you would have to set the ISO to 2500 units (at f/ 5.6)

I can’t think of anything to comment on the rest of the pictures from the excursion to the Cologne Cathedral, just look at the difference when shooting in a dark room and outdoors.

Across the road from the Cathedral there is a beer garden. It would be a sin not to come here without trying a glass or two of Cologne Kölsch. Another test for my fast Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 reporter.

Photo 39. Yes, small depth of field is a disaster... 1/250, 2.8, 6400, 70.

This is the long way I found to show off my trip in a rented car in Germany. Joke! Seriously, the example images in today's report, in my opinion, show that the full-frame Nikon D610 camera has a working ISO of up to 5600 units, and at 6400 we already get “plasticine”. Well, a fast lens is a good help for taking photographs in low light conditions.

Since my photos are in a New Year’s mood, I’ll take this opportunity to congratulate you, friends. I wish that everything will be wonderful in your families next year, that your hobby will not ruin the family budget (which is difficult to ensure, since high-aperture optics costs money), and that it will also bring joy to you and your loved ones. Happy New Year, my friends!

P.S. I hope this article will help newbies understand how to get great New Year's photos. There are two options here: either run to the store for high-aperture optics, or get an external flash, which will allow you to get a short shutter speed even with a dark lens.

When choosing a lens for your digital camera Photographers often find that for the same focal length or range of focal lengths (if we're talking about about zoom lenses) optics can have different aperture ratios. At the same time, sellers often advise purchasing more expensive optics, citing the high aperture ratio, as if it can solve all problems when shooting. But is this really so, and what fast lenses can the photographic equipment market offer us today?

Advantages and disadvantages of high-aperture optics

Aperture refers to the throughput of the lens, that is, the maximum possible amount of light that will pass through the optics and hit the camera matrix. Accordingly, the higher the aperture ratio of the lens, the more light will pass through it. What does this mean in practice?

Firstly, in different lighting conditions, when shooting handheld or photographing moving objects, you can use a faster shutter speed. Secondly, high-aperture optics allows you to shoot at higher low values ISO sensitivity, thereby minimizing the amount of digital noise. Thirdly, fast lenses provide faster autofocus, which is especially important, for example, in reportage photography. Fourth, a wide maximum aperture allows the photographer to limit the depth of field of the imaged space. Fifth, thanks to the high aperture ratio, which ensures high brightness of the image in the viewfinder, the photographer can confidently control the sharpness and composition of the image. Finally, when photographing at apertures close to maximum, you can get a nice, beautifully blurred background.

Thus, high-aperture optics have enough advantages. But there are also disadvantages. First of all, these are larger overall dimensions, since ensuring a large maximum aperture requires the use of lenses of larger diameter and additional optical elements designed to help eliminate chromatic aberrations and distortions. As a result, the design of a fast lens becomes more complicated compared to non-fast optics at the same focal length.

Fast internal focusing lenses are slightly shorter in length. In this case, during the focusing process, small optical elements move inside the lens, while the larger front elements remain stationary. When focusing the lens internally, there is virtually no rotation of the front element of the optics. Plus, autofocus speed increases, and the balance of the fast lens design generally improves.

The second disadvantage of high-aperture optics is closely intertwined with the first. Since the design of such lenses uses larger optical elements, it is much more difficult for specialists to produce and correct such optics. As a result, the cost of optics increases. The high price is perhaps the main disadvantage of high-aperture optics from the point of view of any photography lover or enthusiast photographer.

On the other hand, as a rule, fast lenses are created using the most modern technical solutions and the highest quality materials, which means that by paying a higher price for optics, the photographer gets something more than just a higher aperture ratio. With the right approach, a fast lens can provide significant benefits in image quality, which is of particular importance, in particular, for professional photographers.

Selection of high-aperture optics

It should be noted that the very concept of high aperture is, in general, quite relative. For example, the difference in lenses with a maximum aperture of f/1.2, 1.4 or 1.8 is often difficult to perceive in practice. By the way, it is known that one of the fastest lenses was developed in the mid-60s for the NASA space program in order to photograph the dark side of the Moon. It was a CarlZeissPlanar 50mm with f/0.7 aperture.

Beginners often chase the lens with the highest aperture and, of course, sellers are happy to sell them such optics, because they cost many times more. But is it worth paying extra for a lens with f/1.4 or f/1.2 aperture if you don’t shoot at maximum aperture very often? This is the first question you should ask yourself when choosing high-aperture optics. Today on the photographic equipment market you can find a fairly wide range of fast lenses - both fixed focal length optics and zoom lenses. There are several interesting models.

Sigma 30 mmf/1.4 EXDCHSM

This fast f/1.4 lens is designed for cropped DSLR cameras with APS-C sensor format. It has a rugged body, a 45-degree viewing angle and a traditional optical design consisting of seven elements in seven groups. The design uses two optical elements made of low dispersion glass (SpecialLowDispersion), which eliminates chromatic aberrations.

The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM lens features an eight-blade diaphragm and ultrasonic motor (HSM) for faster, virtually silent focusing. The advantages of this lens include good color rendition and a pleasant, unusual pattern. At the same time, it requires precise focus adjustment in the camera and is characterized by a drop in sharpness in the corners of the frame.

A fast lens with a focal length of 50 mm, taking into account the crop factor, it can be used in various shooting situations - portrait, landscape or genre photography. Thanks to its circular nine-blade aperture, the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lens can beautifully blur out-of-focus areas. The optical design includes eight elements in six groups, including a molded aspherical lens that effectively suppresses chromatic aberration.

The likelihood of glare is minimized due to the use of multi-layer coating of optical elements. It also helps provide higher contrast in photographic images. The minimum focusing distance is only 45 cm. The optics also include an ultrasonic autofocus drive HSM. It is noteworthy that the fast Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lens can be used with both digital SLRs and film cameras.

The Canon lineup includes the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM prime lens with a standard 46-degree field of view and an ultrasonic focus drive (USM) with constant manual focus adjustment. This lens is versatile in use and compact in size. The optical design, consisting of seven elements in six groups, uses highly refractive elements to produce sharp, detailed images even when the aperture is wide open. An eight-blade diaphragm with a nearly circular aperture creates even, smooth blur in out-of-focus areas of the image. Fast Canon lens The EF 50mm f/1.4 USM is suitable for lovers of landscapes and portraits, as well as those who specialize in reportage photography.

This is a professional lens aimed at portrait photography. It has the widest aperture in Canon's EF lens lineup, allowing you to fully control depth of field and shoot in low light without the need for flash or long shutter speeds. A wide aperture with a circular aperture allows you to evenly blur out-of-focus areas and focus the viewer's attention on the foreground. The ring-type ultrasonic motor (USM) ensures fast and quiet focusing on the subject. There is also electronic manual focusing capability here.

The lens is designed with eight elements in seven groups, using a large variable-curvature aspherical lens and a movable element to provide greater clarity and contrast to in-focus areas of the image. The EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens can transmit distance information to the E-TTL II flash system for more accurate exposure metering.

Another fast lens from Canon's professional L series with a large aperture, 35mm focal length and a wide viewing angle of 63 degrees. This optic features an internal floating focusing mechanism and a rugged, reliable design that is protected from moisture and dust. The EF 35mm f/1.4L USM lens features an eight-blade aperture and ultrasonic focus drive for lightning-fast focusing. The optical design includes eleven elements in nine groups, including a large aspherical element for scatter-corrected images and edge-to-edge sharpness. The minimum focusing distance is only 30 centimeters. .

AF-S Nikkor35mmf/1.4G

AF-SNikkor 35mmf/1.4G is a professional wide-angle lens with a focal length of 35 mm and high aperture from the Nikon brand line. It was developed specifically for use with digital SLR cameras Japanese company FX format. The lens design consists of ten elements in seven groups, including one aspherical element to provide higher image sharpness and contrast. Thanks to a special NanoCrystal coating, unpleasant glare and halos are eliminated. Using a nine-blade aperture, the lens creates pleasant, soft bokeh. The AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G optics are good because they have a durable, waterproof magnesium alloy body and high quality assembly, which allows it to be used in the harshest operating conditions.

Sony 50mmf/1.4

A fast Sony lens for branded A-mount DSLR cameras. This is an excellent portrait lens with excellent full-frame resolution and high image clarity. Its design consists of seven elements in six groups. The 50mm focal length combined with a wide aperture allows this lens to be used for portraiture and low-light photography. The circular blade aperture makes it possible to obtain beautifully blurred backgrounds. The Sony 50mm f/1.4 lens is compact in size and relatively light in weight (220 grams).

Fast optics are, of course, great, but don’t forget that high-quality lenses with wide apertures are not cheap. High aperture allows you to shoot at higher short exposures and at lower ISOs in different lighting conditions. However, when choosing a lens, think about how often you will actually need the widest aperture when shooting. If you do not often use wide apertures, then perhaps you should not chase a high aperture, but rather pay attention to other lens parameters.

Surely, if you bought a lens, you have heard the concept more than once: lens aperture. Most likely, it was the aperture that played key role when choosing this or that lens, and of course the seller tried to sell you a more expensive lens precisely referring to this mystical parameter - aperture, as if it would solve all your problems;)

First, let's figure out what lens aperture is and what it is used with. To put it simply, aperture is the throughput of the lens, i.e. aperture shows the maximum possible amount of light passing through the lens and hitting the sensor digital camera. The greater the aperture of the lens, the more light can pass through it, the more more possibilities when shooting in low light without using a flash or tripod.

Lens aperture depends on the following parameters:

• diaphragm
• focal length
• quality of optics

We won’t delve into physics, I’ll just say that the ratio of the maximum open diameter to the focal length will be your aperture ratio (the so-called geometric aperture ratio of the lens). It is this aperture that optical manufacturers indicate on their lenses; you have probably seen the following signatures - 1:1.2, 1:1.4, 1:1.8, 1:2.8, 1:5.6 and so on. Naturally, the greater this ratio, the greater the lens aperture. Therefore, fast lenses are considered to be those with a ratio of 1:2.8, 1:1.8, 1:1.4 or more.

For the record, the fastest lens in the world was made in 1966 for NASA, which used it to photograph the dark side of the moon. It's called the Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 and its aperture ratio is 1:0.7; only ten such lenses were produced.

Every photographer, whether a beginner or a professional, knows that the fastest lenses are portrait lenses with a fixed focal length. And of course, every self-respecting photographer has such a lens in his arsenal. Another advantage of fast primes is that they are relatively inexpensive, for example when compared with fast zoom lenses, but no less high quality.

Fast lenses are ideal for portrait photography because they provide low aperture, which is very important for.

Which portrait lens to choose, with aperture 1.2, 1.4 or 1.8?

There is the fact that beginners want to buy a faster lens, and of course sellers are happy to sell them this lens, which costs several times more. The only question is whether you need to overpay for an f/1.4 aperture if you practically never use it!

?

Then I took another photo, in which everything is fine: the face is in focus and the background is blurred, but the aperture was already f/2.8.

I messed up a lot of shots before I realized that f/1.2 should be used only if there is not enough light to shoot, and then this doesn’t always help, it’s easier to increase it, especially if you have . Sometimes, even with a 50mm prime with an f/2.8 aperture, you can miss and many details will be out of focus, so I always play it safe, especially when photographing models; in good lighting, I use an aperture of no less than f/3.2.

As you can see, the depth of field is quite noticeable.

Many amateur photographers strive to purchase a fast lens for their photographic equipment. With its faithful help, you can take beautiful portraits, beautifully blurring the background and drawing bokeh, or shoot handheld in difficult low-light conditions without carrying around a bulky tripod. The market now offers quite a wide variety of models of high-aperture glass. Their choice depends only on the capabilities of your wallet and your desire.

But sometimes there are super-fast specimens. And even though they are not always designed for photography, the value of their aperture makes us admire these monsters. Our TOP includes 10 lens models whose aperture value is less than f/0.8.

1. GOI ChV 20mm f/0.5

The mirror-lens lens was produced in the USSR in 1948 by the State Optical Institute. The f/0.5 value is essentially the theoretical limit of lens aperture. And it was our opticians who, in the difficult post-war years, created an ultra-high-aperture optical system. After this, various delegations came to the USSR in order to learn from experience, but no one has dared to repeat such a design since then.

2. Signal Corps Engineering 33mm f/0.6

This lens, produced post-war for the US Signal Corps by German scientists brought to America, was presumably intended for night vision or x-ray use. The sticker on the lens reads “ World's Fastest Lens“, which means “The fastest lens in the world.” Who knows, maybe at that time he was one.

3. GOI Iskra-3 72mm f/0.65

Follower number 1 on our list was also released by the bright minds of the USSR. By its design, it is mirror-like, and it was used in the field of radiography.

4. Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7

For some reason, this lens is considered the fastest aperture all over the world. Although, as we can see, he is only in 4th place in our TOP. Designed in 1960 specifically for a NASA mission to photograph the dark side of the Moon, the Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 was produced in only 10 copies. But only 6 of them were transferred to NASA. One more copy remained in Carl Zeiss, and the remaining 3 were sold to the famous director Stanley Kubrick. He used them to film the candlelight scene in the film Barry Lyndon (1975). You too can feel like Kubrick - the company P+S Technik rents out the lens in conjunction with the PS-Cam X35 HD camera, which anyone can use.

5. Fujinon 50mm f/0.7

Glass from the Japanese brand Fujifilm does not spoil much information about itself. So we will be glad if anyone buys it for their Nikon or Canon and shares their impressions. Fortunately, at various auctions it is sold at quite affordable prices - in the range of $500-$600.

6. Irtal-3 100mm f/0.7

The longest-range representative from our list. 100mm at f/0.7 is worthy of respect. But you won’t be able to use the lens in the classical sense of the word, since its optical component is made of pure germanium, which does not transmit visible rays. This is an infrared lens and can be used as a thermal imager.

7. Carl Zeiss Jena R-Biotar 100mm f/0.73

This specimen was previously used on old X-ray machines. Those that had a fluorescent screen. Those. they did not print pictures, but only allowed you to look through a person in real time. In order to reduce the radiation dose and quickly obtain an image, it was desirable to make the aperture ratio higher, for which it was useful this hero. You can read more about the lens at the link.

8. Leica Leitz 65mm f/0.75

Like the previous model, this Leica was most likely used in the field of radiography. But some people did see color photographs taken with the lens. These were mostly pictures of flowers. close-up. Naturally, the depth of field of the images was very small, but in the focus area the picture looked very good.

9. Rodenstock TV-Heligon 50mm f/0.75

Initially, the German-made lens was also intended for x-ray use. But many craftsmen adapted it for use with cameras, which the manufacturing company itself took advantage of. Now, at various online auctions, this medium format glass can be purchased for a wide variety of mounts - Nikon, Canon, and even Micro 4/3.

10. Canon TV-16 25mm f/0.78

The last copy on our list has soft focus, can create beautiful bokeh and reproduces colors perfectly. But it has pronounced vignetting. Although if you use glass for its intended purpose, i.e. as a portrait painter, in many cases this will only work to your advantage.

Instead of a resume

Nowadays, few people need lenses with such aperture values. After all, they have the main significant drawback - very small zones of sharpness. But progress inexorably moves forward, and who knows what it will lead to in a couple of years?.. Maybe similar models will end up in mass production.

In everyday life, many photographers often understand the same thing by the words ‘Aperture’, ‘Aperture’, ‘Relative aperture’.

If everything is greatly simplified, then the F number (aperture number) is responsible only for the ratio of the geometric opening of the lens to its focal length - that’s why you can also find the definition that the F number is called geometric aperture ratio. In fact, aperture is the ability of the lens to transmit light, and this ability is influenced not only by the ratio focal length lens to its diameter (i.e. geometric parameters). A huge role in the possibility of transmitting light is played by the optical design of the lens, which tends to transmit not all of the incident light.

An ideal lens would transmit all the light that falls on it, but due to reflection, re-reflection and absorption by the optical elements of a real lens, only part of the light flux reaches the photosensitive element, which forms the final image. Therefore, different lenses with different optical designs, but with the same relative aperture, can create different exposures in photographs, all other factors being equal. This is very often encountered in cinema, where you need to edit a lot of short videos, for example, those filmed from different angles, into one large one. Moreover, if a scene is filmed from different angles with different optics with the same F value, then in the final stitching you can get different brightnesses, which will look very bad when viewed. This is the most primitive example that videographers often give.

To make it more convenient to work with photo and video equipment, there is a so-called T number (from the English ‘Transmission’ - transmission, transmission). The T number is the F number adjusted to reflect the light transmission efficiency of the lens. The T number shows the equivalent of a lens with a certain F number that would transmit 100% of the light. For example, if a 50mm, F/1.4 lens transmits only 50% of the light, then an ideal lens with a T number of 2.0 will correspond to it. You can use the T number in the same way as the F number.

Example. If we have a 100mm T 4.0 lens, then no matter what its actual aperture or F number is, it will still transmit the same amount of light as any other lens with the same T number, for example some 50mm T 4.0. At the same time, the 100mm T 4.0 and 50m T 4.0 can have completely different F number values. If you put a neutral density filter on such lenses, then you can say that their F number values ​​will be preserved, and the T numbers will change to the darkening level of the filter. Thus, T-stop (analogue of the F number step) is in many ways more convenient to use.

I came across information on the Internet that photographers are being deceived, indicating on the lens body is not the real aperture value. In fact, no one is deceiving anyone, there are simply certain differences between the concepts of “aperture” and “relative aperture”, which an experienced photographer knows about. On the lens, the usual value of the relative aperture is indicated (it is also called the maximum aperture, or F number), but how much light such a lens actually transmits can sometimes be found only in the instructions for the lens.

When I was writing the text for this article, I found the instructions for a modern lens, read it from cover to cover, but still could not find information about the light transmission of the lens. Therefore, the manufacturer can still be slandered for incomplete information about lenses.

Due to different light transmission coefficients, even small paradoxes with the aperture number F can arise. For example, let's take two lenses - (a lens for cropped cameras) and (a full-format lens). It would seem that the first lens has a slightly higher aperture ratio than the second. But if you try to shoot with these lenses using a cropped camera, you may find that the amount of light projected onto the camera matrix by the first lens will be less than the second. This is due to the fact that the cropped lens has stronger vignetting at F/1.8 and has different luminous flux losses in the optical circuits.

Many novice photographers strive to use fast optics for the generally accepted reasons - reduction, more flexible control of depth of field, beautiful drawing and excellent image quality. But high-aperture optics provide several more very pleasant (or maybe not pleasant?) nuances.

The first thing I want to note is the brightness of the optical viewfinder. High-aperture optics give a pleasant, bright picture in . With such lenses it is much more convenient to aim manually; you do not need to peer closely and squint your right eye. The human eye adjusts very well to the intensity of light, and therefore you won’t always notice the difference with different lenses, but it is there. Personally, I tried to determine my personal perception of brightness using a fast lens with manual aperture control - . Here's what I noticed:

• The difference between F/1.2 and F/1.4 is not felt at all
• The difference between F/1.4 and F/2.0 is almost imperceptible
• The difference between F/2.0 and F/2.8 can already be easily perceived, but at F/2.8 everything is clearly visible and does not cause any discomfort
• The difference between F/2.8 and F/4.0 is simply colossal, you notice it immediately. Visually, working at F/2.8 is much more pleasant
• The difference between F/4 and F/5.6 is not very noticeable, but at F/5.6 after F/2.0 there remains a feeling of strong limitation.
• As you close the aperture further, everything becomes faded.

Based on my experience (and some others), I came to the conclusion that the most comfortable values ​​for the maximum relative viewing aperture are F/2.8 and below.

You can conduct your own experiment on the brightness of your camera. This is easiest to do if the camera is through . If there is no such function, then you need to use a lens with manual aperture control. An electronic viewfinder is not suitable for this test.

Bokeh Helios-44 with 8 petals. Photo separator

High-aperture optics not only gives a brighter and lighter picture in, but also allows in many cases where Autofocus system handles more accurately and quickly.

Roughly speaking, the stronger the light flux from the lens to the mirror, the easier it is for the phase focusing sensor to focus. I first felt the difference while shooting for a long time in the studio, where I had a weak pilot light from the illuminators at hand. The fast lens that I used for the half-length portrait easily clung to the subject, but when I had to shoot a group of people and use a standard zoom with a medium aperture, it simply refused to focus in such lighting.

I assume that high-aperture optics should improve focusing quality also in Live View mode.

In addition to improvements in the focusing system, the camera, with fast lenses in certain conditions, produces much more accurate metering. I cannot say exactly how much and for what reasons this or that camera improves the performance of the exposure meter, but, based on my experience, for some reason I am sure that there are much fewer errors with high-aperture optics.

In my practice, errors most often occur when using medium-aperture optics and when shooting at closed apertures. When using high-aperture optics at the same values ​​of the F number, there are significantly fewer errors. Of course, small errors are not critical if you shoot in RAW, but still this is a good plus for such lenses.

Also, I notice that high-aperture optics produce less defects due to focusing errors when used at closed apertures. I assume that if a minor error was made when focusing on a fast lens, then when shooting when closing the aperture, the noticeable expansion simply compensates for this error.

For those who don’t know, modern DSLR cameras Always focus with the aperture fully open and close it to the set value only when releasing the shutter.

For example, let's take a fast fifty-kopeck lens with F/1.4 and a regular standard zoom with F/3.5-5.6. We will shoot at 50mm and F/6.3. If a focusing error was initially made at fifty dollars, then due to closing the aperture to F/6.3, the depth of field zone will greatly expand and most likely capture our subject. At the same time, if there was a focusing error in the zoom, then a small change in depth of field when moving from F/5.6 to F/6.3 will not be able to compensate for inaccurate focusing.

True, high-aperture optics also have obvious disadvantages. One of them I want to highlight is the diffraction threshold, which sometimes starts at F/8. Super-fast lenses with F/1.4 and F/1.2 and below suffer especially from diffraction at very closed apertures. Typically the minimum F number they can use is F/16. Low-aperture optics are less susceptible to diffraction because they need to perform less maneuver with the aperture. So the standard “dark” zooms at F/8 are just coming to life and show excellent photo quality. This may be critical only for certain types of shooting, and the threshold is different for different lenses. The features and subtleties I described cannot always be clearly demonstrated, but over time they begin to be felt in practice and influence the work :)

↓↓↓ like:) ↓↓↓ Thank you for your attention. Arkady Shapoval.