f/Stops vs T/Stops

Promo Code: NORTHRUP

Have you ever wondered why photographers refer to F-Stops, and cinematographers rely on T-Stops? In this video, Tony discusses the differences between the two - what they mean, and how they can be applied to various lenses...

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[SAFbikes]

YOU GUYS HELPED ME PASS MY FAA 107 WITH A 90!!! thanks

[octapusxft]

I think it is a lot better when a youtuber advertises sponsors himself within the video than watching the automated ads with their intrusiveness, their increased volume and their unrelated commercial

[ErnestoSuePhotography]

The best explanation I have seen on the difference between f and t stops, awesome video.

[dunnymonster]

It's technically impossible to have the F stop and T stop identical. The biggest reason for the difference is usually the amount of elements the light has to pass through. The quality of the elements, their configuration, coatings and other glass additives will also affect light transmission. As a general rule prime lenses tend to have closer f stop/ T stop ratings than zooms mainly because they have less elements given their simpler design. I do think however that all lenses should show both the F stop and T stop.

[jesstermann]

Hate to admit how long I've been a photographer, but your video did a good job of explaining f/stops. I think those who didn't cut their teeth on "old school" f/stops can appreciate the optical effects an aperture can produce (bokeh), and understand T-Stops if they equate the "T" to light Transmission, which accounts for the variance of brightness you mentioned. As for how it affects different sensor sizes, I'm pretty sure there is more to it than filters or lens coatings or pixel density since in today's cameras so much of the image quality is the result of what the image processing software built into the firmware does.

[Fly]

Interesting topic Tony, but you leave me wondering if this can be used to my advantage, like using the Sony STM for outdoor portraits. You can get the bokeh of f/2.8 while shooting at T/5.6 - like a built in ND filter.

[mythdusterds]

This video was news to me. I had never heard of T-Stops before prior to reading the title to this video. I was thinking that T-Stpps were derived to British tea time going into this video. Now I am probably going to check for the T-stops for the lenses I own to see where they each stand and see if I need better lenses. This may help when taking pictures in low light situations or want more light to capture things.

[saiiiiiii]

Great explanation! Leaves no questions.

[KamilKW]

Big thanks for this video. Never have I heard about T stops before, even thought I've been a photo and video enthusiast for over 10 years now.

[Bennettsto]

Gosh Tony, why do your nerdy videos have to be so good.

[Digniax]

Glorious. Such an educational video. I have learned on this day! Thank you and happy birthday.

[yourtallness]

It would be worth mentioning that the 100mm STF lens has this deviation between f-stops and T-stops due to the apodization filter, which is intentional.

[TopOfThePopsRedubbed]

As a Sony A7 owner I'd love to see more video related uploads. Keep up the great work - cheers.

[percentnet]

How are you doing your experimentation to figure some of these differences out, not only in this, but other videos as well? In this case did you look it up on dxomark or did you figure it out yourself? As a software developer I love the amount of science you bring to all of your videos and tutorials, but lately have been wondering how you figure this stuff out.

[chrisviolette]

Probably the best argument for metering TTL vs. external metering ever made.

[moritz]

Well, one reason why photographers might still use f-stops, is because when you had the old film days of shooting video, they NEEDED to know that the lenses performed the same in regards to the light pass-through (therefore using T-stops), but in photography, half a stop or even a quarter of a stop oflight is well spent, if you can have a wider aperture and therefore shallower depth of field... So it still makes sense for photographers to use the f/ value, because in our case (especially today), it has a bigger impact on the final result. Still, it would be great to know the T-stop of the lens, so manufacturers should include that in the product details ...

[paulinefollett]

Good video. Great examples. Well presented.

[YelovXD]

9:08 the one on the right actually blurred the background more I think. Didn't you say the bokeh is the same, but it gathers less light ?

[moshe]

Never heard of t-stops before. Awesome video.

[fernandoopoka]

Thank you so much Tony! im really glad with your tutorials!