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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> What's your favourite f-stop?
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01/22/2007 02:52:46 PM · #1
This probably started as a joke question for interviews, but it is also a fairly defining component of a photographer's style.

Some shoot very shallow all the time, others shoot with a great deal of depth. It can be the difference between being the selected photographer or not for some jobs.

So - what's your favourite f-stop ?
01/22/2007 02:55:37 PM · #2
2.0 =]
01/22/2007 02:57:25 PM · #3
Kind of a strange question. I think it is more dependant on subject and lens than anything else. But I'll give it a whirl with my three lenses:

105mm AIS - f2.5 or f4
35mm - f4
20mm - f8

This is just a "general" course. I have been know to use my 105 at f11 just as often.
01/22/2007 02:58:42 PM · #4
I have a thing for F/6.7 Not sure why, maybe just because it seems an odd number to me. But that's for when I'm just playing around.

F/2.8 and to a lesser degree, F/4, can't be beat for most work. And I like small stops, like F/22, for when I'm doing landscapes.
01/22/2007 03:01:29 PM · #5
Wide open with whatever lens I'm using. I'll stop down a little for focus or bright lights, but I generally prefer blurry backgrounds because it puts the focus where I want it.
01/22/2007 03:01:32 PM · #6
1,8 and 11
01/22/2007 03:06:25 PM · #7
f1: so wide you can shoot cheetahs in the dark (or so I've been told) :-D
01/22/2007 03:08:14 PM · #8
Wide open [:D]
01/22/2007 03:15:03 PM · #9
The one that works best for the given situation.
01/22/2007 03:16:36 PM · #10
I prefer f/11 or f/16 for landscapes (DOF and Sharpness).
Waterfalls about f/16 or f/22 (often with a 2 stop ND filter)
Macro- 5.6 or 8, sometimes wide open depending on what I am shooting.
01/22/2007 03:19:17 PM · #11
Most of the time im wide open unless its a landscape or something like that. I don't normally use tripods, so I appreciate the extra speed.
01/22/2007 03:23:35 PM · #12
Originally posted by tryals15:

2.0 =]

I wish!
01/22/2007 03:35:36 PM · #13
2.0 or 64

64 because that would mean I actually owned equipment that went down that far ;)
01/22/2007 03:43:52 PM · #14
The one that gives me the results I want.
01/22/2007 03:47:38 PM · #15
Originally posted by Spazmo99:

The one that gives me the results I want.

There's the answer I thought everyone would give. :)

My camera has deep DOF no matter the F-stop unless I'm zoomed in a long way or I'm in macro mode.
01/22/2007 03:48:20 PM · #16
I really like f 2.8 but f 4 is a good zone to be in for most of my outdoor shooting. It was fun shooting at 2.8 for the flowers I was into last week.

I'm now trying to find a shallow zone for food, that works artistically yet provides the right amount of info detail. Close up it's either f6 or f10. Betty Crocker shots from the 50's-60's f11 to f16.

Message edited by author 2007-01-22 16:19:48.
01/22/2007 03:49:37 PM · #17
wide open as fast as the lens goes, or 11 usually for most things that don't need that sort of speed.
01/22/2007 03:55:03 PM · #18
400MM F8
01/22/2007 03:57:08 PM · #19
01/22/2007 03:59:56 PM · #20
2.8 is my fave. I rarely go above 5.6
01/22/2007 04:03:35 PM · #21
The majority of what I like to shoot keeps me shooting between f/1.4 and f/4. I'm an existing-light kinda guy, I hate resorting to flash, and do so only when necessary.
I do like shooting landscapes, so occasionally do shoot at f/11 or f/16... except that night landscapes require f/4 or below, yet again!
01/22/2007 04:05:41 PM · #22
1.4, esp. for landscapes :)
01/22/2007 04:09:27 PM · #23
With my Sigma (70-300mm) I tend to go as wide as I can so I can get a higher shutter speed.

1.8 with my 50mm. Of course I may reconsider this since I had so little DOF in my Battle of the Sexes entry. (And got marked accordingly).

Still learning where its better to have little DOF versus a lot. I guess when it comes to composition you have to think in terms of 3 dimensions not just two...
01/22/2007 04:14:23 PM · #24
I shoot wide open. 1.8 on my 50mm for sure. Of course it depends somewhat on the situation, but I usually prefer a shallow depth of field
01/22/2007 04:28:53 PM · #25
Originally posted by kirbic:

except that night landscapes require f/4 or below, yet again!


Although I do very much light the star-twinkle effect I get on points of light when I shoot at f16 or above at night...
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