The doorbell rings, the mail carrier drops off a package, and your "new" used analog 35mm SLR has finally arrived!
You eagerly tear open the box, inspect the camera, hold it, admire it, play around with the controls... and then you notice something else hidden in the packaging: an analog rangefinder camera! You think to yourself: "How awesome is that?!" Your immediate instinct is to pop a roll of film in and head straight outside to shoot. Totally understandable!
But... STOP right there!
While many of you are likely familiar with the fundamental relationship between light, aperture, and shutter speed, anyone who feels a bit rusty is more than welcome to stay and read on. Please don't expect a dry, scientific paper—this text is intentionally kept simple and easy to understand. If you're looking for highly technical deep dives, the internet is vast!
Aperture and Shutter Speed
Inside the camera, the film sits safely protected from light. However, to create an image, light must eventually hit that film. The film is coated with light-sensitive color layers—or silver halides in the case of black-and-white film. These layers are also responsible for the film's distinct "grain" and level of detail.
We control the total amount of light hitting the film using two main parameters: the aperture, which functions just like the pupil of a human or animal eye and the duration of the light exposure, known as the shutter speed.
The standard aperture scale in full stops looks like this:
1 – 1.4 – 2 – 2.8 – 4 – 5.6 – 8 – 11 – 16 – 22 – 32 – 45 – 64
Additionally, there are intermediate steps referred to as half or third stops. The progression in half stops typically runs like this:
1 – 1.2 – 1.4 – 1.7 – 2 – 2.4 – 2.8 – 3.4 – 4 – 4.8 – 5.6 – 6.7 – 8 – 9.5 – 11 – 13 – 16 – 19 – 22 – 27 – 32 – 38 – 45 – 54 – 64
The aperture also controls something else incredibly important in photography! Along with the focus distance set on your lens, it determines the zone that appears acceptably sharp in the image—this is known as the Depth of Field (DoF).
Controlling which areas of an image are sharp vastly alters the overall mood and impact of your photo. That is why choosing the right aperture is one of the most powerful creative tools in photography!
Strictly speaking, a lens can only lock focus on a single, flat plane in space. Anything in front of or behind this plane will inherently be more or less blurry. However, by adjusting the aperture size (abbreviated as f), we can expand this sharp zone.
As a general rule of thumb:
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Large Aperture (= wide open = small f-number) = shallow Depth of Field: Only a tiny slice of the image is sharp, beautifully isolating your subject from the background.
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Small Aperture (= stopped down/narrow = large f-number) = deep Depth of Field: A much wider area from foreground to background appears sharp, which is perfect for landscapes.
Take a look at the depth of field scale on the lenses!
Furthermore, depth of field depends heavily on the focal length being used. To put it simply: wide-angle lenses inherent a deeper depth of field than standard lenses, which in turn provide more depth of field than telephoto lenses. Additionally, the depth of field is always shallower at close-focusing distances than it is at longer distances for any given lens. Technically speaking, a photographer would correctly state that the achievable depth of field is ultimately determined by the magnification ratio.
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time)
Shutter speed can freeze subject movement (avoiding motion blur) and prevents camera movement while holding the camera-lens combination (avoiding camera shake). Of course, a longer shutter speed can also be used intentionally to convey a sense of motion within the frame. For the image of the wind turbines, the camera was tripod-mounted. This eliminates camera shake during longer exposures, while the rotation of the blades is made beautifully visible as creative motion blur through a slower shutter speed—in this case, 1/3 of a second.
In the table below I have given you a few tips regarding the use of exposure times.
Table of the usual shutter speeds in seconds in full steps
Good to know!
To safely eliminate camera shake, there is another simple guideline to follow: always use the reciprocal of your focal length as your slowest handheld shutter speed. Additionally, make sure you have a solid, steady stance and, if necessary, briefly hold your breath right as you press the shutter!
Here are a few examples of how to apply the "reciprocal rule" to standard shutter speed steps:
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For a 50mm lens, the reciprocal is 1/50 sec. = use an exposure time of 1/60 sec.
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For a 135mm lens, the reciprocal is 1/135 sec. = use an exposure time of 1/125 sec.
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For a 200mm lens, the reciprocal is 1/200 sec. = use an exposure time of 1/250 sec.
Aside from camera shake caused by the photographer, we also have to deal with motion blur. This occurs whenever the subject is moving relative to the camera—whether they are approaching, moving away, or crossing right through the frame. Think of fast-moving cars or active children running, jumping, and playing sports.
To freeze this fast action, you generally need very fast shutter speeds. Anything slower than 1/250 sec. or 1/500 sec. simply won't cut it. While many vintage analog models max out at 1/1000 sec. or 1/2000 sec., more modern film cameras offer blazing fast shutter speeds of up to 1/8000 sec.
These "three friends" always work in perfect unison:
Aperture, Shutter Speed, and Film Sensitivity (ISO/ASA/DIN).
In this example, I want to show you the direct relationship between aperture and shutter speed. Let’s assume our light meter calculated a baseline reading of 1/60 sec. at f/8, regardless of the camera mode used, whether it's shutter priority, aperture priority, or full program auto.
Starting from this baseline, every single combination listed in the chart below will result in an identically and correctly exposed image. The only difference is the creative outcome and visual impact, just refer back to the guide on aperture and shutter speeds above! Table 1: Equivalent Exposure Combinations
But what happens when we load our camera with different films that possess varying light sensitivities? In the previous example, our film had a baseline sensitivity of ISO/ASA 100. The table below illustrates the differences that occur when changing film speeds, note that the selected aperture of f/8 remains completely unchanged for this demonstration.
Keep in mind, however: the higher the film sensitivity, the more prominent the film grain will appear in the final image, causing a slight loss in fine details and often impacting color brilliance.
Table 2: The Impact of Film Speed (ISO/ASA) on Shutter Speed at a Constant Aperture of f/8
Naturally, you don't have to limit your adjustments to the shutter speed alone; you can also change the aperture or opt for a completely new combination of both.
You can explore several of these options in the interactive Table 3 below.
Once again, our baseline for this example is a shutter speed of 1/60 sec. at f/8, using an ISO/ASA 100 (21° DIN) film.
It’s really not as daunting as it seems, but keeping these fundamental concepts in mind when you are out shooting will make a world of difference. No matter how many automatic exposure modes your camera features—be it aperture priority, shutter priority, or full program auto—at the end of the day, it all comes down to just aperture and shutter speed. Using them intentionally is what will grant you truly unique and unforgettable images!
Here is an example of a datasheet for a now-discontinued film stock. It contains some very interesting insights and information that I’m sure you’ll find helpful for your own shooting.
Enjoy the read—I absolutely loved this film!
Canon showcased this focal length comparison in an original brochure for the Canon EOS system. Every image was captured from the exact same vantage point—only the lenses were changed. It is a wonderful example to visually compare the effects of different focal lengths!
But now, get out there! Have fun with your new camera and enjoy discovering the wonderful world of analog photography!
Always remember:
No matter what you shoot with, The main thing is that you shoot.
