f8 challenge - DPChallenge Forums

07/11/2006 05:10:08 AM · #1

We have had a few challenges with timed exposure, why not have a challenge with fixed aperture. You would still get lots of variety in shots with different lenses and distance to subject.

crayon

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1

07/11/2006 05:12:20 AM · #2

*hands in the air*
what is significant about F8.0?
seems like an "in-between" F-stop to a newbie like me.

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital

07/11/2006 05:13:56 AM · #3

From what I understand it generally the sweet spot for sharpness with most lenses. But thats just what I heard...

LalliSig

07/11/2006 05:16:51 AM · #4

Originally posted by crayon:

*hands in the air*
what is significant about F8.0?
seems like an "in-between" F-stop to a newbie like me.

There is a famous quote by someone famous that goes something like this "F8 and be there", basically means that itÂ´s an "do it all" aperture, works for most subjects, most lenses are at their sharpest around f8 and you basically canÂ´t go wrong with it, so to speak.

Anyway, I like the sound of this challenge and I would play, most p&s cameras where you can set an aperture can do this one so bacially you just need a camera with manual settings to be in this one, much more fair than the 30 second challenge where not nearly all p&s cameras could do 30 seconds or more.

crayon

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1

07/11/2006 05:19:42 AM · #5

Originally posted by Larus:

Originally posted by crayon:
*hands in the air*
what is significant about F8.0?
seems like an "in-between" F-stop to a newbie like me.

There is a famous quote by someone famous that goes something like this "F8 and be there", basically means that itÂ´s an "do it all" aperture, works for most subjects, most lenses are at their sharpest around f8 and you basically canÂ´t go wrong with it, so to speak.

Anyway, I like the sound of this challenge and I would play, most p&s cameras where you can set an aperture can do this one so bacially you just need a camera with manual settings to be in this one, much more fair than the 30 second challenge where not nearly all p&s cameras could do 30 seconds or more.

Thanks for the explanation. It's funny because I just posted a thread earlier today asking about how to find the sharpest aperture for a lens! And yes, at least F8 is something more cameras could do as compared to the 30-seconds challenge (I'm still suffering post-trauma from that challenge, lol)

Message edited by author 2006-07-11 05:21:11.

Bud

Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i

Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

07/11/2006 06:22:46 AM · #6

You could count me in:)

kteach

Nikon D50

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6

07/11/2006 06:50:40 AM · #7

Sounds interesting.. I'm still learning and haven't done much with setting the aperture as the priority. Would the f/8.0 be added as an extra rule and shots without the exact aperture would be disqualified? We certainly don't need more arguing about these things!

Uusilehto

Canon EOS-1D

Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.4 Jena/Flektogon MC

07/11/2006 08:30:00 AM · #8

Now, this would be an annoying challenge for me as I have about 10 lenses (should add the rest to my profile) and only two report aperture. The second one of these is jammed to f/2.8.

maestro

Nikon D50

Quantaray AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 High-Speed for Nikon

07/11/2006 08:40:25 AM · #9

To me this would really only be good for dslr users and would be another argument for the Point and Shoot gang. If it is an exclusive where there is another challenge for the point and shoots to enter then it may be good. It would be a free study though unless you make a special rule that it must be a specific category? I see about 700 entries in this though. :)

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

Olympus 12-45mm f/4.0 Pro

07/11/2006 08:43:05 AM · #10

This sounds like a "Free Study" to me.

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

07/11/2006 09:32:14 AM · #11

which means we're pretty much all in :)

Originally posted by OdysseyF22:

This sounds like a "Free Study" to me.

hyperfocal

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

07/11/2006 11:47:32 AM · #12

Best idea I've heard suggested in a while.

kyebosh

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 80-200mm f/2.8L

07/11/2006 11:49:35 AM · #13

Let's make it F1.0 (jk jk jk!!!)

good idea though :-)

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

07/11/2006 03:21:12 PM · #14

Originally posted by maestro:

To me this would really only be good for dslr users and would be another argument for the Point and Shoot gang.

I have used to have used a few point and shoot cameras and they all were capable of shooting at an aperture of f8, so I don't think there would be a problem there.

It would be stipiulated as a rule that it has to be f8.
Challenge DescriptionYour challenge this week is to shoot your subject matter with and aperture of f8.
Extra rule: Your Exif data must show and aperture of f8 or will be disqualified.

I think this would be a fun easy challenge but but then would have tons of entries like bokeh, flowers, green. And I think SC was swamped checking Straight from Camera validations, and this challenge would have tons of photos needed to be validated, so maybe use this after a couple weeks when the challenges are more specific and the total entries have been small. any more thoughts?

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/12/2006 03:36:32 PM · #15

The problem with this, if indeed it is a problem, is that the shorter the focal length, the smaller is the actual f/8.0 aperture. On point 'n shoot cameras, with their small sensors and very short focal lengths, f/8 at maximum telephoto might deliver DOF equal to, say, f/22 on a dSLR with a 200 mm lens.

Since the "point" of using aperture (aside from getting correct exposure) is to control your DOF, this is a wildly uneven playing field. For any given equivalent focal length, the dSLR people will have relatively shallow DOF and the point 'n shoot people will have relatively deep DOF: so what, exactly, IS the challenge?

Shutter speed, on the other hand, is a constant between various cameras, at least insofar as they are capable of varying their shutter speeds; that is to say, the effect you get from a 30-second shutter speed will be the same regardless of the type of camera you use to make the image.

R.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

07/12/2006 03:40:45 PM · #16

Robert has an excellent point. What f/8 really means from a practical perspective is vastly different for different formats. It's even different between APS-C (1.6 and 1.5-crop) and FF 35mm DSLRs. For many point-n-shoots, f/8 is pretty much as small as is practical, before diffraction severely impacts sharpness.

Bud

Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i

Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

07/14/2006 07:43:41 AM · #17

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

While this is an interesting point, it is not a reason to NOT have an f8 challenge. the 30 second exposure challenge could and was widely varied by changing the aperture opening, the ISO settings, using ND filters or as I did, shooting with an IR filter.

f8, I think, would be a great challenge. of course, maybe we want to also have a f22 or an f2 challenge. Or, maybe it is time to just do the Deep DOF II and the Shallow DOF II.

Anyhow, I am still all for this.

deapee

Kodak V803

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

07/14/2006 07:54:02 AM · #18

I disagree with robert and kirbic...So what. f/8 yields different results on different cameras. It also yields different results at 10mm and 400mm...doesn't that mean we should make it a f/8, 100mm, 1.6x size sensor challenge only?

No...if you can shoot at f/8, shoot at f/8 and enter the challenge. We don't want all the photos looking the same.

This challenge would be a great idea for some people who don't 'explore' their cameras to learn a little about their camera, read up on what aperture is, what it does, and how to control it.

Heck, it sounds a lot more 'learning-based' than repeating challenges that have already been repeated three, four times.

So yeah, I'm all for something new...let's do it.

hyperfocal

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS

07/14/2006 02:51:11 PM · #19

Originally posted by deapee:

Ditto, ditto, ditto!

kyebosh

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 80-200mm f/2.8L

07/14/2006 03:00:20 PM · #20

how would you handle lensbabies which are capable of F8 but do not record it in the exif. There are other lenses like this to consider as well.

ursula

Fujifilm X-T2

Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

07/14/2006 03:03:34 PM · #21

I like the idea, "Sunny F8" :) That's an old thing.

But Robert and Kirbic are correct, F8 is different for P&S vs. DSLRs, different cameras/lenses.

There would be at least a few suspicions of DNMC.

ursula

Fujifilm X-T2

Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

07/14/2006 03:06:25 PM · #22

Originally posted by kyebosh:

how would you handle lensbabies which are capable of F8 but do not record it in the exif. There are other lenses like this to consider as well.

Is there any lens data recorded when using lensbabies?

I guess you'd have to use a lens that record the info for this challenge. :)

Message edited by author 2006-07-14 15:07:07.

coolhar

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

07/14/2006 03:20:53 PM · #23

Originally posted by Uusilehto:

Now, this would be an annoying challenge for me as I have about 10 lenses (should add the rest to my profile) and only two report aperture. The second one of these is jammed to f/2.8.

It'll be easy for you to decide which lens to use when shooting for this challenge. ;)

I think I understand the points made by my buddy the Bear and by kirbic. They are valid. But I'd still like to see us go ahead with this challenge, including a special rule to make sure everybody really does shoot at f8. Although the results will vary considerably depending on focal length and sensor size, the lesson to be learned remains constant. And that is to learn what kind of results to expect from one's equipment when using this [classic/famous/celebrated/widely discussed] aperture setting. After voting is finished we'll know what equipment was used for each entry and see the varying results, and gain a further understanding of the insight Robert and Fritz have given in this thread.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

07/14/2006 03:55:04 PM · #24

Originally posted by coolhar:

Originally posted by Uusilehto:
Now, this would be an annoying challenge for me as I have about 10 lenses (should add the rest to my profile) and only two report aperture. The second one of these is jammed to f/2.8.
It'll be easy for you to decide which lens to use when shooting for this challenge. ;)

I think I understand the points made by my buddy the Bear and by kirbic. They are valid. But I'd still like to see us go ahead with this challenge, including a special rule to make sure everybody really does shoot at f8. Although the results will vary considerably depending on focal length and sensor size, the lesson to be learned remains constant. And that is to learn what kind of results to expect from one's equipment when using this [classic/famous/celebrated/widely discussed] aperture setting. After voting is finished we'll know what equipment was used for each entry and see the varying results, and gain a further understanding of the insight Robert and Fritz have given in this thread.

That actually makes sense; amazing how different things look from the other end, eh? Where Fritz and I are saying, "where's the common ground that makes this a viable challenge?" Harvey is saying "what makes it interesting will be the after-the-fact cruising of the images to see what f/8 actually means with different lenses/cameras in different circumstances." And I have to agree with that, sure. It WOULD be interesting.

But oy, vey, the validation requests :-)

R.