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Android Photography Knowledge: Aperture

By Avery Pacheco, 22/07/2016, updated on 21/01/2022

In this guide, we will give a lesson of Android photography knowledge: Aperture.

As Android phone hardware is becoming increasingly similar, manufacturer pays more attention on the Android camera. The smartphone camera is not only able to defeat digital camera but able to rival SLR camera (single lens reflex camera). Nevertheless, most companies have no access to obtain high-quality camera components because of Sony, the world's top manufacturer, who reserves the best for itself and cut the supply. That's why most manufacturers still apply lens with no more than 1300 pixel. Now, users recognize that pixel is not the one and only factor that determines the quality of the Android phone camera. They now attach great importance to the Aperture. Manufacturers also claim that they are selling smartphone with excellent aperture, lens, and more when advertising for their Android product.

What's Aperture

Aperture refers to a configuration that can adjust the control of the light reaching the lens. We can control the amount of light come with the help of aperture.

The lens aperture is usually specified as an f-number, the ratio of focal length to effective aperture diameter. It can be calculated via this formula: f-number N = f/D, with focal length f and aperture diameter D. Note that f/2.8 is bigger than f/4.0. That's to say, the bigger the number D is, the smaller the value of N will be.

Although we cannot regulate the light by adjusting the lens and diameter of the camera lens, we can achieve the goal by adding aperture into the camera lens. In a word, aperture is something like a door in the wall, which is able to control the amount of light that comes into the house. And the size of the aperture has positive correlation with the amount of light.

Aperture Value

Generally, Android aperture ranges widely, including F/1.0, F/1.4, F/2.0, F/4.0, F/5.6, F8.0, and F/11. For example, Xiaomi 4 applies Sony XMX214 F/1.8 big aperture, which is good for shooting photos.

Aperture Value of Android Phone

Xiaomi 4: F/1.8Samsung Galaxy S6: F/1.9Xiaomi Note: F/2.0Huawei Honor 6: F/2.0OnePlus: F/2.0Lumia1020: F/2.2

Big Aperture Accelerates the Shutter Speed

Big Aperture can speed up the Shutter. If the shutter speed slows down, a fast moving subject in the camera fame will get blur. So, when the aperture is wider, you can capture the fast moving subject in time. And we may know that photography is an art of light. More specifically, the amount and proportion of light determine the quality of a photo. So, you should strictly control the light that comes into the camera lens. Only then can you capture a successful photo with your Android camera.

Blur

Wrapping up

For those who always take photos of their babies or pets, a wider aperture is their better choice.Currently, most Android cameras come with an F/2.2 aperture but manufacturers claim that their products are equipped with an F/1.8 aperture. So when purchasing an Android camera, it is better you get to know the specification of the phone, especially the aperture.