Photo light calculator

Aperture f

f/0.7 f/1 f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.2 f/2.5 f/2.8 f/3.2 f/3.5 f/4 f/4.5 f/5 f/5.6 f/6.3 f/7.1 f/8 f/9 f/10 f/11 f/13 f/14 f/16 f/18 f/20 f/22 f/28 f/32

Shutter speed

1/8000 sec 1/6400 sec 1/5000 sec 1/4000 sec 1/3200 sec 1/2500 sec 1/2000 sec 1/1600 sec 1/1250 sec 1/1000 sec 1/800 sec 1/640 sec 1/500 sec 1/400 sec 1/320 sec 1/250 sec 1/200 sec 1/160 sec 1/125 sec 1/100 sec 1/80 sec 1/60 sec 1/50 sec 1/40 sec 1/30 sec 1/25 sec 1/20 sec 1/15 sec 1/13 sec 1/10 sec 1/8 sec 1/6 sec 1/5 sec 1/4 sec 1/2 sec 1 sec 2 sec 4 sec 5 sec 6 sec 8 sec 10 sec 13 sec 15 sec 20 sec 25 sec 30 sec 40 sec 50 sec 60 sec 1 min 2 min 4 min 5 min 6 min 8 min 10 min 13 min 15 min 20 min 25 min 30 min 40 min 50 min 60 min 1 hr 2 hr 4 hr 5 hr 6 hr 8 hr 10 hr 13 hr 15 hr 20 hr 1 day

ISO sensitivity

ISO/ASA 100 ISO/ASA 160 ISO/ASA 200 ISO/ASA 320 ISO/ASA 400 ISO/ASA 640 ISO/ASA 800 ISO/ASA 1250 ISO/ASA 1600 ISO/ASA 2500 ISO/ASA 3200 ISO/ASA 5000 ISO/ASA 6400 ISO/ASA 12800 ISO/ASA 25600 ISO/ASA 51200 ISO/ASA 102400

Neutral Density

No ND filter ND101: 1 stop 50% ND102: 2 stops 25% ND103: 3 stops 12.5% ND104: 4 stops 6.25% ND105: 5 stops 3.13% ND106: 6 stops 1.56% ND107: 7 stops 0.78% ND108: 8 stops 0.39%

Calculate!

Camera settings

Aperture: f/5.6 - average aperture, could be cheap kit lens

Shutter: 1 sec - long exposure, needs tripod

ISO: 100 ASA - lowest ISO, very little noise

No Neutral Density filter

Scene lighting: EV5

-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
starlight to dim ambient light						moon eclipse to night home interior					neon lights to landscape after sunset					bright light to weak sun					bright daylight to direct sunlight

• Pure Exposure Value: EV₁₀₀ = 4.97 (based on shutter & aperture)
• Luminance: 4 cd/m² = 0.37 cd/ft²
• Luminance: 1.17 fL (foot Lambert)

Explanation

• Explanation: EV is an estimation of how much light you need for a decent photo with these settings.
• This can be natural light (sun, moon), artificial continuous light (lamps) or strobes.
• If your camera settings indicate EV10 and you actually have EV=15 in your scene, your photo will be overexposed. If your settings need EV=10 and you actually have EV=3 your photo will be underexposed.

Examples

• Definition: 1s at f/1.0: EV0
• Sunny 16 Rule : EV15
• Shooting film in broad daylight : EV12
• Extreme ISO in dark places (bars at night) : EV0
• Long exposure in broad daylight: EV12

References

Exposure value

Scantips: Exposure Value (photography)

Based on work at web.forret.com and fredparker.com