aperture ranges on digital bridge cameras

[seany65]

Sorry if I've bunged this in the wrong place, but I can't think of where else to put it.

I've been looking at reviews of fuji digital bridge cameras as I've been considering getting a cheap S/H example of one of the discontinued finepix S-series. One set of reviews seem to imply that the lenses on at least some of them have a very narrow f-number range.

It's difficult to explain as I can't find the ruddy pages I saw this.:bang:

Anyway I'll have ago:

I'm used to the idea that a zoom lens's maximum aperture gets smaller as the focal length gets longer, eg f3.5 to f6.5.

But the reviews seems to imply that at the wide end, the range of apertures that can be used would be something like f3.5 to f6.5, NOT for example, f3.5 to f16, and at the long end would be something like f6.5 to f9, NOT for example, f6.5 to f16.

This is only an made up example, but shows what I think the articles mean.

have I got this correct? Do some digital cameras only have narrow useable f-number ranges?

 

[seany65]

I've found some of the reviews I was talking about in my previous post:

"The Fuji S1800 has a two-step aperture, offering either f/3.1 or f/6.4 at wide-angle, and either f/5.6 or f/11 at telephoto, using an ND filter."

This one is for the finepix s1500:

"... Apertures range from f/2.8 to f/6.4 at wide angle, or f/5.0 to f/8.0 at telephoto..."

This is for a different fuji:

"...The Fuji S2550HD has a two-step aperture, offering either f/3.1 or f/6.4 at wide-angle, and either f/5.6 or f/11 at telephoto, using an ND filter..."


Is this 'feature' just onFuji cameras, or is it most bridge cameras?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Kenzie]

My HS 10 will do f2.8 to f8 wide and f5.6 to f8 full zoom in aperture priority mode but f2.8 to f11 in manual mode.

Sent from the darkroom

 

[Dwig]

I would expect this to be a normal thing, and it is a good thing. You wouldn't want to suffer the resolution loss caused by shooting at smaller apertures that f/8 or so. Even f/8 is excessively small at the wide end of the zoom range on cameras with such small sensors.

The short focal lengths used by small sensor cameras encounter "the wall" (point where diffraction effects produce significant low of resolution) at a much wider relative aperture (read: f/stop) than the longer focal lengths typically found on larger format cameras. This is because the diffraction issues are a factor of the wavelength of the light relative to the absolute diameter of the aperture and not the size of the aperture relative to the focal lenght (f/stop).

 

[seany65]

Thanks for the replies.

@Dwig, Hmmm. It didn't occur to me to even think about the smaller sensors.

Are the sensors in cameras like the slightly older, lower-end nikon dslrs affected in this way?

I've only got a vague notion of the sensors these cameras use, as it's only an hour or so since I began to think about a second-hand cheap nikon dslr, as I thought it would be an idea to get one that can use my MF lenses with at least manual metering/focusing.

 

[Oscuro]

Darlings,
Only rarely will the "resolution loss" be a factor to disappoint you. Yes, it can be seen if there are A and B versions of the exactly same subject to compare. It simply isn't an issue if you have made an interesting picture.

Mme. Oscuro

 

[sepiareverb]

... a second-hand cheap nikon dslr, as I thought it would be an idea to get one that can use my MF lenses with at least manual metering/focusing.

There can be no metering with MF lenses on many of the older bodies, do some research.

 

[seany65]

There can be no metering with MF lenses on many of the older bodies, do some research.

I have been. I found a table with a list of Nikon's digital cameras on it, with info about what lenses they are compatible with.

It's not always completely clear what the writers mean though, eg. The nikon Df has "MF" in the "AI, AIS, E" column, but they don't say if this means it can do just Manual Focus, or whether it means it can do all functions bar Auto-focus, as most entries in this column have "MF 1" or "MF 1, 2" or "MF 4" etc. There's a list of notes at the bottom that explain what the numbers mean, such as "4. Manual exposure mode only. The meter will not operate..."