Aperture vs. Shutter Speed?

Question

Assuming proper + exposure ... WHAT is the "visual difference" between 500 @ f/5.6 or 250 @ f/8 ?

Answer 1

the real answer to this question is 'nothing'. f/5.6 @ 500 and f/8 @ 250 are equivilant exposures. successive shutter speeds and f/stops are either twice as much light or half as much light depending on the direction you're going. f/8 lets in half as much light as f/5.6 but 250 lets in twice as much light as 500. so you have the exact same exposure using either one. 250 is a fast enough shutter speed to capture motion and the difference in depth of field (how much of the picture plane is in focus) is negligible between f/5.6 and f/8. most likely you would see no discernable difference between the two.
the link below explains exposure value and equivilant exposures.

Answer 2

Not much, when you get down to it. Slower shutter speeds give you greater depth of field and faster ones will "freeze" action, which can be exactly what you want or not, but the two combinations you list are almost twins.

5.6 and 8 both give reasonable depth of field, and unless you're "shooting" small game on the wing - butterflys or birds - 1/250th of a second will freeze most actions. Not a hummingbird or a bumble bee, of course.

If you want a real demostration, shoot something like a rose bush in a garden on a hill that overlooks a city. (Portland, Oregon has a great one.) Use a tripod. Stand 6 feet away. At f/22, assuming the wind isn't blowing, you should be able to count the petals in most of the blossoms AND the windows in the office buildings beyond, but you'll be using 1/8th of a second, so the bees will be blurry.

At f/2 and 1/1,000ths of a second, one of the blossoms should be razor-sharp, the skyline will be an indistinct blur and the bees will be "caught" in mid-air.

If you don't live in Portland and don't have a rose bush handy, any good beginning photography book in the library will have some demonstartion pictures.

Answer 3

The visual difference is stopping the image on one hand or having great depth of field. If you want to stop the motion of a race car then the wider aperature with a higher shutter speed. But if want to show the cars the crowd and what ever else in the framing of the picture, use a lower speed and a tighter aperature setting. Then you will show the cars in motion with the crowd having detail.

The use fo either is correct depending on what you hope to show in this visual essay.

Answer 4

I would think sharper image on 500 f/5.6 because at 250 f/8 the film is still exposed for a longer time.

Answer 5

There isn't going to be a whole lot of difference between those two exposures. Using f8 will give you a little bit more focus than using f5.6. The higher f-stop you use, the more overall focus you will get. Using a low f stop only allows you to have one area such as the foreground in focus. Using f22+ you're whole image will be in focus- fore, middle, and background.

Answer 6

Just sharper image, more DF (depth of field).
Te exposure is the same, the film receives the same amount of light, but the smalles aperture (f:8) gives you better DF.