erinjay64 wrote:
There is no such animal as "the best______________". Different apertures provide different effects. Some people prefer one effect, while other people prefer another. A head shot for a model's portfolio may be better with a softly blurred 'bokeh filled' background, for which the largest aperture (smallest number...f/1.4, etc) you can get may be "most preferred." For family portraits of loved ones on a once in a lifetime vacation, in front of recognizable landmarks-Old Faithful geyser, etc-you'd probably prefer a sharp background, which means a smaller aperture (bigger number...f/11, etc) would be more suitable. As a general rule, any lens is sharper a stop, or two, or more, in from it's largest than at it's largest. If you have a 1.8 lens, it will give sharper images at something like f/2.8, or 3.5, than at f/1.8. There are no all around, always, under all circumstances, universally "best" anythings...apertures, lenses, cameras, speedlights, or anything else. What is best under one circumstance, for one purpose, etc, is not best for another.
There is no such animal as "the best_________... (
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It's basically what I would have said, but I would have added, "the best f/stop is the one that gets the job done." Not being flippant, but being honest. The larger the f/stop, the less depth of field; the smaller the f/stop, the greater the depth of field.