Re:Comparing iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 14 for Astrophotography
by wyager on Wednesday May 31, 2023 @02:19PM
(#36141775)
> fstops are a ratio of focal length to aperture size
This number in isolation is completely useless for telling anything about how the resultant image is going to look. As opposed to, say, equivalent focal length, which tells you valuable information (about FoV) independently of any other spec.
> I wish they would just give us the angle of view in degrees instead
I agree, it would be nice if they just used invariant specs for everything. FoV angle and linear aperture diameter would be sufficient for most use cases.
Like I said before, trying to normalize different aspects of images and the resultant quality by trying to make f-stops something they aren't only confuses and obscures what is actually happening and prevents sensible discussions of camera systems.
The 35mm equivalent focal length is used just to give an idea about FOV. I wish they would just give us the angle of view in degrees instead. Then maybe people would stop trying to mangle what fstops means in regards to DOF, the amount of light the sensor sees, SNR etc. Compare similar sensor systems, stop trying to cram one into the other.