What does the F mean on cameras?

[sps_addict]

I don't have much time to play with my camera, but I thought I understood how to use my camera. My issue is lately my pictures have been turning out dark. When I do post-processing on it, it is grainy. Also what does F mean?

I've been playing with the iso and shutter speed, but it is either too bright or too dark. How can I get a balance in between? I've been told to combine my bright and dark shots and I should be able to get a good coloration. Huh? How do I do that (post-processing)?

Thanks

 

[30galreefkeepr]

the F is for F-stop it relates to the width of focus line, if your F-stop is made really low, you'll end up with a small very thin focus line in which things in front and behind will be blurry. The wider the f-stop the more wide the focus line will be and therefore take away some snap from what you are focusing on.

 

[30galreefkeepr]

Also...try to take your camera to manual mode and do a manual white balance and also exposure. You should be able to get a nice shot at maybe 1/16th-1/20th maybe higher, depends on your camera.

As for the combined shots (you'll need a tripod) take your photoshop out and layer the two shots, then find the best overlay method that brings out the good points from the bright and the dark shots. Works well sometimes.

 

[sps_addict]

Ah, thanks for the info. I'll give it a try.

 

[jwedehase]

F refers to aperture size, which is the diameter of the curtains on the backside of your lens. The larger the F number, the smaller the opening, and vice versa. "Focus line," as referred to, is more commonly called Depth of Field (DOF) and refers to the distance between the closest thing in focus, and the largest thing in focus. The smaller the aperture (or the larger the F number), the greater the DOF.

Try this, as well as all the other information here:

http://www.ximinasphotography.com/lessons/lesson03/exposure.html#Aperture