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The relation between the aperture of a lens and the brightness of the image produced by it on the photographic emulsion is often misunderstood, yet it is of the greatest importance to the photographer who wishes to make the best use of the equipment. The tremendous efforts of lens designers and manufacturers that have been devoted to the production of lenses of extremely high relative aperture are an indication of the need that exists for brighter images and âfasterâ lenses.
In this chapter, we are concerned with the flow of light from an object, through a lens, to the image. Several photometric terms must be understood before we can give a precise statement of this effect, and of the factors that control the brightness of the image projected on the film in a camera.
The illumination (illuminance) produced by a lamp at any distance from it is found by dividing the candle power of the lamp by the square of the distance (the inverse square law). Thus, a 50-candle lamp will produce, at a distance of 3 feet, an illumination of 50â9 = 5.6 foot-candles. The illumination in a well-lighted factory or classroom may reach 50 foot-candles, and in motion-picture or television studios, illuminations as high as 200 to 300 foot-candles are common.
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