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what does 1:4-5.6 means on the lens. Does it means that the focal length is from f4 to f5.6 only? Or does it means that it has a range from f1 to f5.6?

mattdm
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Steph
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4 Answers4

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It means it's a zoom lens that can open as wide as f/4 when zoomed out to the widest angle of view. When zoomed in to the longest focal length it will only be able to open up to f/5.6. For some lenses minimum aperture will be something like f/22 for all focal lengths, for other lenses it might be around f/22 on the wide end and f/32 on the long end.

Remember that apertures are expressed as ratios or fractions, so f/4 means 1:4 (the aperture is 1/4 of the focal length) and f/5.6 means 1:5.6 (the aperture is 1/5.6 of the focal length).

So 1:4-5.6 could also be expressed as 1:4-1:5.6, f/4-f/5.6.

Michael C
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Steve Ives
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  • I am alittle confused still. I am new to this. Can I ask you another question. So if I want to buy a len that have a aperture of at least f1.8 (a len that have a range but at least can go down to f1.8), how will it look like on the description of the lens? – Steph Nov 25 '16 at 10:32
  • For example if I buy Sony ILCE-6300 Body + 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens. How do I know what is the aperture range? – Steph Nov 25 '16 at 10:33
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    @Steph That's the E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS to give it it's full title. As you can see it's F3.5 at 16mm and F5.6 at 50mm. Any lens will have it's minimum aperture in it's full title. – Steve Ives Nov 25 '16 at 10:36
  • Oh I think I understand your 1st answer, that means that aperture is from f4 to f22 to f4. So the widest is f5.6. Thanks! I got it. But can you explain to me the other question that I ask? – Steph Nov 25 '16 at 10:36
  • @Steph F4 should be the minimum really 0 F5.6 is considered quite slow. F2.8 is in the range of fairly professional lenses - they will be bigger and heavier. F1.8 and below are getting quite specialised, especially for zoom lenses (yes there are exceptions - you can get a relatively cheap 50mm F1.8 for example). – Steve Ives Nov 25 '16 at 10:37
  • Thanks Steve! I understand now.. So it ranges from f3.5 to abt f22. So f3.5 is the widest. (I wanted the widest range but I misinterpret so the smallest.) thanks alot! – Steph Nov 25 '16 at 10:39
  • I see. I am actually interested in purchasing a camera that can take pictures of the milky way and from some reading, it seem that a small aperture is needed. So I thought f1.8 will be needed. Is a camera like the above good enough for a newbie? Shd I get is f1.8 lens? – Steph Nov 25 '16 at 10:41
  • @Steph If a lens will go to F1.8, then you'll definitely see that in the full lens description and it'll be on the lens body - maybe round the front element. Manufacturers often produce multiple lenses with the same zoom range/focal length but different maximum apertures, so if (for example) someone says they have a Canon 85mm, they might be asked "Which one, the F1.2 pr the F1.8?". Other lenses only come in one type, so if I say I have the Canon 24-105, people know that's the F4 'L' because that's the only lens with that zoom range that Canon produce. – Steve Ives Nov 25 '16 at 10:41
  • @Steph F1.8 is a LARGE aperture It lets in lots of light so needs shorter exposure times. Ask on here about lenses for astrophotography. I think fast (ie. F1.4-F4) lens with a focal length of 25-50mm are recommended, depending upon what you want to take pictures of. For the Milky Way, you'd need a wide-angle lens and very dark skies. – Steve Ives Nov 25 '16 at 10:44
  • I see. in that case, are you able to recommend the most basic camera body and len that I can consider purchasing? – Steph Nov 25 '16 at 10:46
  • @Steph The Sigma 50-100mm F/1.8 is labelled 1:1.8. – Itai Nov 25 '16 at 18:24
  • @SteveIves There's also the EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM as well as the newly introduced EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS II. – Michael C Nov 26 '16 at 00:34
  • @MichaelClark thanks - didn't know about the STM version. – Steve Ives Nov 26 '16 at 16:28
  • @Steph Here's a question that talks about what types of lenses are good for astrophotography: http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/43114/what-lens-characteristics-are-important-in-star-photography/43116#43116 – Michael C Nov 27 '16 at 01:38
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It means that the ratio of the focal-length to aperture is f/4 at the wide end of the zoom and f/5.6 at the telephoto end. This is commonly done to saved weight and costs compared to a constant aperture zoom lens which simply has one ratio, say 1:4.

These numbers say nothing about the focal-length, it is just a ratio which is how aperture is often expressed as a dimensionless f-number rather than the physical diameter of the entrance pupil. So if it is a 50-200mm lens for example, the maximum aperture at 50mm is f/4 which means the entrance pupil is 12.5mm wide. At 200mm, the maximum aperture is f/5.6 which makes it about 36mm across.

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Itai
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My 2 cents.

f number, f stop, relative aperture, or N is a relationship between the focal length and the diaphragm.

N=f/D

  • f = Focal lenght

  • D = Diameter of entrance pupil.

It is relative. It varies if one of the two numbers change.

If the focal length gets smaller, N gets smaller, and if gets larger N also increases.

Remember if the N number gets larger, the image gets darker.

enter image description here

So 1:4-5.6 says that the aperture wide open on that zoom lens will change between thoose values acording to the focal length.

Rafael
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  • D is diameter of the entrance pupil, not the physical diameter of the diaphragm. – Michael C Nov 26 '16 at 07:46
  • For some zoom lenses, aperture remains constant. What is your opinion about those lenses? Are they better than variable maximum-aperture lenses? – Chanchal Raj Oct 04 '17 at 08:46
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When we talk about lens, two key values stand out.

  1. Focal Length. This is a measurement, usually in millimeter units, that tells us about the size of the image the lens produces and the angle of view presented. A short focal length lens delivers a “wide-angle view”. A medium focal length yields what is termed a “normal” view. A long focal length magnifies, we call this view “telephoto”.

  2. Focal Ratio. We divide the focal length by the working diameter of the aperture. The result is a ratio that we shorten to “f-number”. Since a ratio is void of dimension, we can use this focal ratio to compare any lens with any other lens, regardless of focal lengths. The lower the focal ratio, the more light the lens is capable of gathering. In other words, a f/4 lens gathers more light than a f/5.6 lens.

We all desire to mount lenses what work well in feeble light. Thus we prefer “fast” lenses. By fast we mean lenses with f-number closer to 1. Now the f-number and the focal length are intertwined. As we zoom a lens to higher magnifications (longer focal length), the ability of the less to pass light is reduced. At elevate magnification, your lens functions at f/5.6.When you zoom into the range of “normal” and “wide-angle”, your lens gathers more light and functions at f/4. In other words, the light gathering ability is not constant throughout the entire range of the zoom. A constant aperture is a feature of a more expensive zoom lens. Don’t anguish, your lens is quite good, it is a “general purpose” zoom some call a “kit lens”.