Here is a handy little site I just found

STM

Senior Member
It calculates the difference in f/ stops between two stops you enter or you can enter in one f/ and the amount in f/ stops and it will calculate the difference second one for you.

F-Stop Calculator
 
Last edited:

WayneF

Senior Member
Sometimes you need a calculator, but that one is suspect.

Enter 6.1 and 7.2 and you get this: :)

calc2.jpg


Mine at Photographic Tables, Aperture f-stop, Shutter Speed, ISO and EV gives this:

calc1.jpg



EDIT: Oops! Hasty. I see now, it was adding to a f/stop value, but I was computing difference between two.


FWIW, you can use the same calculator

to enter two distances for direct flash, and it computes stops difference for the inverse square law.
That is at Four Flash Photography Basics we must know - Inverse Square Law

or enter two Flash Guide Numbers, and it computes stops difference (to be meaningful, of course both GN have to be for the same zoom or coverage, or at least the real numbers actually used).
It is at Compare Power Rating of Flashes with Guide Numbers

Or the f/stops.
Photographic Tables, Aperture f-stop, Shutter Speed, ISO and EV


But it is the same calculator (same formula).
 
Last edited:

480sparky

Senior Member
I wrote an Exel spreadsheet that does that, and have it on my phone.

And it does aperture, shutter speeds and ISOs too.



Quick, how many stops difference is there from ISO 160 : 1/640 sec : f/7.1 and ISO 400 : 1/80 sec and f/13?



Stopcalculator.jpg
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Here's a tip... Most of the Nikon cameras allow you to set/increment the light meter in 1/2, or 1/3 stop increments.... Turn that off so your camera increments the aperture in full 1 stop increments, then it becomes a simple 1-click turn of the aperture dial... or you can memorize the range from F2.8 to F22...
 

WayneF

Senior Member
You really want exposures to only the nearest full stop precision? Each exposure could be off up to 1/2 stop? Just set it to 1/3 stop.

I pity the poor photographer who can't even remember those seven numbers. :) I was thinking, like, those numbers are on every lens. But I guess they are not anymore. :)


All that seems obvious, but the very best tip is if you meter your flashes with an incident meter, set it to 1/10 stops.

Then it reads like f/8 plus 0.7 stop or f/5.6 plus 0.2 stop. Then you can trivially know the difference in your head (obviously 1.5 stop here). And this bypasses the issue that what we round off and call f/11 is technically f/11.3, which matters in calculations.
 
Last edited:
Top