# Chapter 4: Camera Settings, Aperture & F-Stop

- Determines how much light is allowed to enter the camera to reach the imaging sensor and measured in F-Stop. This is controlled mechanically, by opening or closing the camera *aperture*. Different lenses have different apertures, handling different f-stop ranges. Aperture also determines the Depth of Field.
- Lower f-stop numbers indicate that the aperture is more open, allowing in more light. Lower f-stop numbers also narrow the depth of field, causing the area of focus to be relatively shallow, with foreground and background parts of the image being out of focus.
- Examples: 
    - f/1.2 - f/2.8 - lets in a lot of light; shallow depth of field
    - f/4 - f/8 - useful in many scenarios; somewhat wider depth of field
    - f/11 - f/32 - best for bright settings; wide depth of field
- The “depth of field” is the distance between the nearest and furthest in-focus objects in an image. A narrow depth of field will have a very narrow area in which objects will be in focus. A wide depth of field will put most elements of the image in focus. Turning the focus ring will adjust the position of the in-focus area, or *focal point*.

<div align="left" dir="ltr" id="bkmrk-shallow-depth-of-fie"><table border="1"><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>Shallow Depth of Field

</td><td>Aperture

</td><td>Wide Depth of Field

</td></tr><tr><td>Aperture = f/1.4

DOF = 0.8cm

</td><td>f/4.0

DOF = 2.2cm

</td><td>Aperture = f/22

DOF 12.4

</td></tr></tbody></table>

</div>The **Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens** that is normally kept on the SCiL DSLR cameras has an **adjustable f-stop range**from **f/4** (wide open) to **f/22** (nearly closed). It will retain the f-stop you set through its entire zoom range from 24mm to 105mm.

<span lang="EN">When the camera is set to **video mode**, you can **set the f-stop** on the Canon EOS 5D Mk IV using the **large dial** around the "set" button located at the lower right of the camera body.</span>

![canon_aperture_setting.png](https://scil-wiki.su.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2025-01/scaled-1680-/canon-aperture-setting.png)

<p class="callout info"><span lang="EN">**For a more in depth explanation, visit [Chapter 3: Elements of Exposure, Aperture](https://scil-wiki.su.edu/books/photography/page/chapter-3-elements-of-exposure-aperture "Chapter 3: Elements of Exposure, Aperture")**</span></p>