F stop and depth of field (Page 10): :thumbup: :thumbup: This is illustrated by the fact that few if any of the respondents to this thread, (myself included) many who are no doubt...

Muddyvalley Loc: McMinnville, Oregon

CaptainC wrote:

Now Norman, nobody ever discouraged the learning process. Your response says more about your political views than addressing the issue. The point was that while it is fine and interesting and fascinating to learn about the inner workings of things, there are times when that knowledge is of more of an academic nature than practical....

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This is illustrated by the fact that few if any of the respondents to this thread, (myself included) many who are no doubt excellent photographers, were able to answer the OP's question as asked and most actually misunderstood the question.

NormanHarley Loc: Colorado

Muddyvalley wrote:

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This is illustrated by the fact that few if any of the respondents to this thread, (myself included) many who are no doubt excellent photographers, were able to answer the OP's question as asked and most actually misunderstood the question.

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oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

NormanHarley wrote:

...what if, just maybe, it were to help someone else in their quest to create better art? Believing that Stephen Hawking's book "does not do a thing for our daily lives" is made from your perceptions and limitations. ...

Practicality gets the amoeba from one reproductive cycle to the next and practicality pays the mortgage.
But expendible income and the pursuit of knowledge lend value to the wonderful status of being human.

NormanHarley Loc: Colorado

oldtigger wrote:

Practicality gets the amoeba from one reproductive cycle to the next and practicality pays the mortgage.
But expendible income and the pursuit of knowledge lend value to the wonderful status of being human.

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Well said, oldtigger! And I am likely to paraphrase your comment in the future! :lol:

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

oldtigger wrote:

Practicality gets the amoeba from one reproductive cycle to the next and practicality pays the mortgage.
But expendible income and the pursuit of knowledge lend value to the wonderful status of being human.

I absolutely agree.

Muddyvalley Loc: McMinnville, Oregon

oldtigger wrote:

Practicality gets the amoeba from one reproductive cycle to the next and practicality pays the mortgage.
But expendable income and the pursuit of knowledge lend value to the wonderful status of being human.

Well said!
However the pursuit needs to be directed or it becomes meaningless to the original goal. Sort of like this conversation, which has evolved into something that has only a very indirect relationship to the OP's question. :roll: :)

NormanHarley Loc: Colorado

rehess wrote:

Learning is fine. My point was that one can be an excellent photographer without that particular knowledge, just as one can be an excellent photographer without having my wife's knowledge of the duality of light (she has a PhD in Theoretical Physical Chemistry).

OP never stated that he wanted to be a better photographer, nor did he ask how this might improve his photographic skills. Just a wild guess here on my part, maybe he wants to become a lens designer.... He wanted to learn, he never requested input on how he would or would not need or use this knowledge in taking photographs.

CaltechNerd Loc: Whittier, CA, USA

I couldn't agree more. I know a lot about light and lenses. It helps when deciding how to adjust aperture and shutter but that's all.

On the other hand, I'm really lousy at spotting the great scene and capturing it in the camera. I really need to learn more about composition. Without that, I'll just be producing more and more perfectly exposed and perfectly focused boring pictures. And I don't need any more, I have more than enough of those already!

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

NormanHarley wrote:

OP never stated that he wanted to be a better photographer, nor did he ask how this might improve his photographic skills. Just a wild guess here on my part, maybe he wants to become a lens designer.

That is a very lofty ambition ... and I wish well to anyone with those ambitions.

At one time I was a software engineer with a defense contractor, where I rubbed shoulders with antennae designers. There is a lot of physics in designing antennae, but those who do that work at a high level are more artists than engineers. There is no simple solution and no direct path to that solution. The same is true of lens designers.

jimedge Loc: Wrexham, north Wales

NormanHarley wrote:

That's a bunch of hyperbola :-D (What? A little mathematical humor seemed appropriate. :lol: )

thanks for injecting a little humour. I still think this discussion should have been held in a good bar!

EdM Loc: FN30JS

rehess wrote:

That is a very lofty ambition ... and I wish well to anyone with those ambitions.

At one time I was a software engineer with a defense contractor, where I rubbed shoulders with antennae designers. There is a lot of physics in designing antennae, but those who do that work at a high level are more artists than engineers. There is no simple solution and no direct path to that solution. The same is true of lens designers.

Yeh, me too. Used to run a 1008 inch chamber good down to a hundred motorcycles. Be surprised how many antennas did not work (meet spec) got rebuild with similar parts and then worked,...

garceh Loc: florida

69rdstr wrote:

I'm new here and to photography. I've done a bit of research and this article helped me considerably.

http://www.uscoles.com/fstop.htm

Thanks. Good info.

garceh Loc: florida

CaptainC wrote:

Oh I know. I was a flight instructor for years - b... (show quote)

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