are measured in f/stops, which are based on the area
of the opening. A typical range of f/stops on a lens
may span from f/2 (wide opening) to f/22 (very small
opening). Like shutter speeds, apertures are also
most often set in increments to the power of two.
For example, an aperture of f/8 lets in twice the
amount of light as f/11.
Aperture and shutter speed share an inverse rela-
tionship. Each controls a different aspect of the
image. If the goal is to capture fast motion, a faster
shutter speed is needed. In order to achieve that
fast speed, it is usually necessary to open up the
aperture to compensate for the short shutter speed.
Likewise, smaller apertures allow for a great
amount of depth of field. Depth of field is what
allows the photographer to control the amount of
focus in the image. For example, if someone is pho-
tographing a flower with a mountain range for a
background, they could have both in focus if they
use a very small aperture, such as f/22 or f/32.
However, since these f/stops constitute very small
openings, a longer shutter speed is usually required
to make up for the exposure lost by closing down
the aperture.
CHRISTYESissonSeealso:Brownie; Camera: 35 mm; Camera: Diana;
Camera Obscura; Camera: Pinhole; Camera: Point-
and-Shoot; Eastman Kodak Company; Exposure;
Lens; Light MeterFurther Reading
Adams, Ansel.The Camera (Book 1). Boston: Little Brown
& Co., 1995.
Kemp, Gregg.The Pinhole FAQ. (Accessed 19 June 2001).
http://www.pinhole.com/resources/FAQ/.
Kingslake, Rudolf.Optics in Photography. SPIE (Interna-
tional Society for Optical Engineers).#2000 The Society
of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Langford, Michael. Basic Photography. Boston: Focal
Press, 2000.
Leggat, Robert, Ph.D.A History of Photography: From its
Beginnings until the 1920s. http://www.rleggat.com/
photohistory/index.html(accessed May 5, 2005).
London, Barbara, and John Upton.Photography. (7th ed.)
New York: Prentice Hall. 1998.
Schaefer, John.An Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Techniques of
Photography, Book 1. Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1992.
Stroebel, Leslie D., ed.Basic Photographic Materials and
Processes. Boston: Focal Press, 2000.
Wilgus, Jack and Beverly Wilgus.The Magic Mirror of Life:
a search for camera obscura rooms.http://brightbytes.
com/cosite/collection.html(accessed May 5, 2005).CAMERA: DIANA
The Diana Camera is a plastic ‘‘toy’’ camera that
contemporary photographers have embraced for its
simplicity and unique quality of image. The camera
was manufactured by the Great Wall Plastic Fac-
tory of Kowloon, Hong Kong, beginning sometime
in the early 1960s through reportedly the early
1970s. It was imported to the United States by the
Power Sales Company of Willow Grove, Pennsyl-
vania, and only sold by the gross (twelve dozen),
with a price ranging from one to three dollars each.
Though Diana is the best known brand name, the
camera was marketed under other names including
Anny, Arrow, Arrow Flash, Asiana, Banier, Ban-
ner, Colorflash Deluxe, Debonair, Diana Deluxe,
Diane F, Dionne F2, Dories, Flocon RF, Hi-Flash,
Justen, Lina, Lina S, Mark L, MegoMatic, Merit
Mirage, Pnanx Photon 120, Pioneer, Raleigh, Reli-
ance, Rosko, Rover, See, Shakeys, Stellar, Stellar
Flash, Tina, Traceflex, Truview, Valiant, Windsor,
Zip, and Zodiac. Two cameras that are currently
being manufactured are popular successors to the
Diana, the Chinese-made Holga and the Russian-
made LOMO.
Technically, the Diana camera has a plastic
body, light blue and black, and a plastic lens. The
standard model has a single shutter speed that,
because of its inexpensive nature, varies in speed
from^1 = 30 to^5 = 8 of a second. Other models have a B
(bulb) setting, and the F model even has a built-in
flash. Included on all models are three aperture
settings, illustrated by drawings: sunny (f-16), sun
with clouds (f-6.3), and cloudy (f-4.5). The camera
also allows for limited manual focusing with three
settings: 4 to 6 feet, 6 to 12 feet, and 12 feet to in-
finity. The camera uses 120 film, making sixteen
exposures that are approximately 22 inches. TheCAMERA: AN OVERVIEW