Get involved with the 2018 camera giveaway at mattgranger.com/win LINKS Canon 85mm f1.2: geni.us/KWaQAwJ Nikon 70-200mm (latest): geni.us/70200e Awesome TAMRON 70-200: geni.us/tamron70200g2
This is actually really good news. As a concert photographer, I'm most concerned with light gathering and I bought the Tamron 24-70 2.8 because it was more affordable. I'm looking at a 70-200 next, and this video makes me feel better about getting the Tamron over the Canon. I was mainly looking at the Tamron because it's more affordable, but I felt like I may have been making a poor choice as I see more photographers here in LA with the Canon. Seems like the Tamron may be better for my purposes, while being cheaper to boot!
nothing gives me more pleasure then to listen to someone who knows what hes talking about ,great stuff and by the way awsome move with the 1dx i would love a video about how you will set it up since I'm sure your not going to leave all settings as it came out of the box thanks and great luck with it
Matt - Just found this gem of a video today (4/23/17). Goes to show that an old dog like me can still learn a "new trick." Thanks for the understandable clarification of a "T" stop. Of course, using a camera's TTL meter will automatically compensate for any difference. BUT...your good explanation indicates why my images "may" be slightly underexposed when using a hand meter. Thanks again.
For those that are not annoyed by manual focus, the Cinema lens are really great, and there is a possibility to get the Rokinon/Samyang lenses for very very affordable prices. When you mesure in T stops its very simple to get your exposure right while you change lens, cause the amount of light getting in will always be the same. Im using it for filming of course, but, even they are heavier, without autofocus, lets say, completely manual, I surprise myself almost not using my other lenses anymore even for photography. Cause the result just looks great
I'm extremely annoyed by manual focus for two reasons; I have no focus peaking built into my camera and if I'm using a photography lens, most of them have that annoying af dynamic geared focusing making manually focusing a nightmare.
Very informative video, thanks. I noticed this when shooting my most recent weather vid. Had to put an ND8 filter on the end of my Samyang 35mm F1.4 with t value 1.7 where as the 70-200 2.8 with its t value 3.4 was able to film ok in same light without needing ND8 to pull back the light a little. Same ISO and 1/50 sec F8, the difference was amazing back to back.
You're right Matt. My Canon 24-105 f/4L has a t stop according to DXO of f/5.1. And if I use sunny f/16 rule on a bright sunny day I get about 2/3 stop underexposure, which proves it.
Thanks for putting this out there. While the faults of any lens may not be the topic of concern, you have shown ratings on a page like DXOmark that does measure lens performance on more than one scale. Implicit recommendations to buy lenses with better T-stop performance are created, but offsetting faults are there, they do become relevant and should be mentioned...actually more relevant comparing lenses than engines + final drive performance. T-stops are useful first in comparing lenses.
At first I didn't creat about the T value until I leant the destruction the ISO do the dynamic range. A lens with good at T value keeps the ISO low and the dynamic range high.
One of the important aspects of the T-number is that it's supposed to be a calibrated measurement instead of just a rough calculation (and that's what the aperture numbers are). The theory is that if you swap, e.g., a 20mm at a T-number of 4 with a 70mm at T 4, you end up with the same transmission, and thus the same brightness. It becomes quite obvious to see why such calibration would be desirable for shooting movies on film, and in extension why the T-number is prevalent in movie lenses.
I literally learned about DXO mark sharing a lens T-stop value only a couple of days ago. While they have quite the collection, I just wish they had more lenses tested. The prohibitive cost of cinema lenses makes my eyes water; however, I love the long focus throw, the higher number of aperture blades, and the explicitly stated t-stop value upfront. My dream lens is a 50mm f/t 0.95~1.2 with 20 blades aperture and a long focus throw for precise manual focus... aahhhhh... one can only dream!
Before multi-coating the difference between F and T stops was even bigger. The early zooms from the 1970s were a stop slower than single focal length lenses, which had far fewer elements.
Exellent information Matt! But in still photography, T-number doesn't matter that much nowadays because sensor signal processing techology = very good modest to high ISO quality.
Only yesterday I realised what a big deal the t-stop is. Pitching my kit zoom lens at f3.4 vs a vintage Rokkor at the same aperture,iso and shutter speed ... The difference is huge! I always thought an f3.4 is the same light regardless of the lens. Gosh I tried shooting northern lights with the kit lens needing 3-5 seconds of exposure time at ISO 1600
Great tutorial! Is there a website where you can get the F-stop conversions to T-stop conversions for each make and model, and also for each F-stop opening?
hey MATT your videos are always quite interesting.... one of the few on youtube who knows how to make it interesting..... mark wallace, matt granger.....hmmm I would say superman & batman from marvel....lol
Thank you Matt - a few questions come to mind. Is the difference between F value and T value linear through the aperture range of the lens. Is there a sharpness trade off when the F and T values are close, maybe cine lens designers counting on the persistence of vision trade sharpness for brightness? Is it the case that a prime lens will always have a better F to T relationship over a zoom - more glass more loss etc. Love your work - don't change your name, branding identity is important ok
You got it wrong, Matt. F stop is determined by the diameter of the front glass element. Aperture can be located further in the light path and can be of a significantly smaller diameter than the front glass element.
Awesome. I didn't know any of this! Still i wonder when looking to the canon 85 is that difference in T value of just 0.1 really worth double the price? I always wonder with this kind of thing whether you'll actually see the difference.
Handy site that DxOmark. I did notice that my 50mm f1.4's T value improved from 1.6 to 1.5 when I swapped the camera to show results on my D800 (from D300). Does an improvement in sensor actually affect a lens' T value?
The difference between F stop and T stop can be demonstrated easily on STF lenses, like the Sony/Minolta STF 135mm F2.8 T4.5. The light loss is due to the use of an apodization filter that provides the high-quality bokeh effect.
thats quite some info which i guess many of us wudnt had even thought about while buying a lens. thumbs up and thanks Now another question is what do you prefer as a prime lens for a APS-C sensor camera since a 50mm doesnt remains a 50mm on cropped sensor compartively as it does on full frame sensor. Do you think that a 35mm 1.4 for instance is better to be used on a cropped sensor as it will reduce the crop factor somewhere close to 50mm?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but although the T stop number is better on some of those cheaper lens surely its down to the quality of the glass for image quality? Quality that some of the big boys, Canon, Nikon, Sigma can't be beaten on? Otherwise why wouldn't we just buy lenses on value of the T-stop?
Get involved with the 2018 camera giveaway at mattgranger.com/win
LINKS
Canon 85mm f1.2: geni.us/KWaQAwJ
Nikon 70-200mm (latest): geni.us/70200e
Awesome TAMRON 70-200: geni.us/tamron70200g2
This is actually really good news. As a concert photographer, I'm most concerned with light gathering and I bought the Tamron 24-70 2.8 because it was more affordable. I'm looking at a 70-200 next, and this video makes me feel better about getting the Tamron over the Canon. I was mainly looking at the Tamron because it's more affordable, but I felt like I may have been making a poor choice as I see more photographers here in LA with the Canon. Seems like the Tamron may be better for my purposes, while being cheaper to boot!
Did you just made an analogy between a car and a camera? Awesome!!!!! Vast knowledge mate very vast knowledge! Keep on teaching Master!!!
nothing gives me more pleasure then to listen to someone who knows what hes talking about ,great stuff and by the way awsome move with the 1dx i would love a video about how you will set it up since I'm sure your not going to leave all settings as it came out of the box thanks and great luck with it
Excellent, that was the most simple and clear explanation I've seen. Thanks.
Yes, thanks Matt. Excellent information and T-stops should be talked about much more and strongly considered when buying a new lens.
absolutely correct, it is just a measure of light transmission - not overall quality
For some reason the explanation of the difference between the two terms never really stuck, but this time it did. Thanks for making this!
Matt - Just found this gem of a video today (4/23/17). Goes to show that an old dog like me can still learn a "new trick."
Thanks for the understandable clarification of a "T" stop. Of course, using a camera's TTL meter will automatically compensate for any difference. BUT...your good explanation indicates why my images "may" be slightly underexposed when using a hand meter. Thanks again.
For those that are not annoyed by manual focus, the Cinema lens are really great, and there is a possibility to get the Rokinon/Samyang lenses for very very affordable prices. When you mesure in T stops its very simple to get your exposure right while you change lens, cause the amount of light getting in will always be the same. Im using it for filming of course, but, even they are heavier, without autofocus, lets say, completely manual, I surprise myself almost not using my other lenses anymore even for photography. Cause the result just looks great
Y-A d'Ouradou 为爱度 lucky rich pal
I'm extremely annoyed by manual focus for two reasons; I have no focus peaking built into my camera and if I'm using a photography lens, most of them have that annoying af dynamic geared focusing making manually focusing a nightmare.
I don't want to give this a thumbs up, I want to give it a heart or something. Well done sir!
Thanks for keeping those old posts alive !
Best photo teacher on the tech side of things I've ever learnt from! Get your geek out!
IMO this is the best video you've put out in a while Matt, really clear and simple. Thanks!
I love it when you talk real photography.
Thank you mat.
Very informative video, thanks. I noticed this when shooting my most recent weather vid. Had to put an ND8 filter on the end of my Samyang 35mm F1.4 with t value 1.7 where as the 70-200 2.8 with its t value 3.4 was able to film ok in same light without needing ND8 to pull back the light a little. Same ISO and 1/50 sec F8, the difference was amazing back to back.
You're right Matt. My Canon 24-105 f/4L has a t stop according to DXO of f/5.1. And if I use sunny f/16 rule on a bright sunny day I get about 2/3 stop underexposure, which proves it.
Excellent video Mr Granger. Well explained, to the point, plenty of examples. Thumbs up.
Thanks for putting this out there. While the faults of any lens may not be the topic of concern, you have shown ratings on a page like DXOmark that does measure lens performance on more than one scale. Implicit recommendations to buy lenses with better T-stop performance are created, but offsetting faults are there, they do become relevant and should be mentioned...actually more relevant comparing lenses than engines + final drive performance. T-stops are useful first in comparing lenses.
I was wondering what was difference between the two. Really well explained thank you!
At first I didn't creat about the T value until I leant the destruction the ISO do the dynamic range.
A lens with good at T value keeps the ISO low and the dynamic range high.
Well the 'T' thing is a new one for me ... great info man and very well explained (love your car transmission analogy!) thank you!
Finally an explanation what were wrong with my lenses, why they trow different results between different lenses.
thank you Matt =)
One of the important aspects of the T-number is that it's supposed to be a calibrated measurement instead of just a rough calculation (and that's what the aperture numbers are). The theory is that if you swap, e.g., a 20mm at a T-number of 4 with a 70mm at T 4, you end up with the same transmission, and thus the same brightness.
It becomes quite obvious to see why such calibration would be desirable for shooting movies on film, and in extension why the T-number is prevalent in movie lenses.
Thank you matt .. video from 9 years ago helping newcomer like me.
Sweet explanation, no waffle straight to the point
Well you learn something new every day. Certainly on this channel.
Learned something new today. Nice.
Great explanation with some good analogies Matt. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for this Matt, it's explained something I've been thinking about in the past and didn't quite understand.
I literally learned about DXO mark sharing a lens T-stop value only a couple of days ago. While they have quite the collection, I just wish they had more lenses tested. The prohibitive cost of cinema lenses makes my eyes water; however, I love the long focus throw, the higher number of aperture blades, and the explicitly stated t-stop value upfront. My dream lens is a 50mm f/t 0.95~1.2 with 20 blades aperture and a long focus throw for precise manual focus... aahhhhh... one can only dream!
Amazing... Yet another reason to go w/ the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 Excellent. Great Vid!
Your maximum possible F stop is limited by the front diameter, but the aperture is determined by the blade opening diameter.
Great heckle once again DP. lucky for us you were early to upload clips from White Chicks and other copyright material.
Thanks Matt Granger for this informative tutorial!
Before multi-coating the difference between F and T stops was even bigger. The early zooms from the 1970s were a stop slower than single focal length lenses, which had far fewer elements.
Exellent information Matt!
But in still photography, T-number doesn't matter that much nowadays because sensor signal processing techology = very good modest to high ISO quality.
Always enjoy your videos. Informative and easily understood.
Keep it up !
Excellent video, Matt! I love your technical stuff and I'd love to see some more videos like this!
Brilliant theme coverage! Thank you Matt!
nice revision. Those films and youtube are still not the domain of Australian law.
Sigma 35mm f1.4 (T1.5) FTW! Made me love this lens that much more!
Great video Matt, i already did have some kind of clue what T-stop was, but now you've teached it to us in a very good way! :)
HA! Thanks Matt, The website just informed me that my lenses are not very good. Great video.
Incredibly helpful video!
Dug for those crazy klingon forehead expressions of that guy ;)
You're right. Although the Tamron has more t stop, dxomark says the Tamron has more chromatic aberration and vignetting.
True. Besides, the power of post-processing fixes almost everything ;)
As usual, great video Matt
When are you gonna drag yourself to Melbourne again?
This is a truly helpful video, thank you so much Matt.
wow thanks for this video
i have a rokinon t1.4 and a canon f1.2 and i never knew how they compared now i do thanks :)
thanks for making this video! I never would have known about t-stops if it weren't for this! omw to dxo now!
Learned something new today. Thanks Matt!
Very interesting Matt,
I learnt something new today, thanks to you.
Appreciate the straight-forward explanation. Thanks!
Thank you for this video , I was not aware of this "t" factor , but now it is clear :)
cheers Maher
Very well explained thanks Matt!
Only yesterday I realised what a big deal the t-stop is. Pitching my kit zoom lens at f3.4 vs a vintage Rokkor at the same aperture,iso and shutter speed ... The difference is huge! I always thought an f3.4 is the same light regardless of the lens. Gosh I tried shooting northern lights with the kit lens needing 3-5 seconds of exposure time at ISO 1600
Thanks James
Wow! Thank you for the information. I was wondering for a while!
This is why I love your videos!
Great lesson as usual Matt. I was just wondering about it couple of days ago. Now I got it :)
Thanks you. It was well explained. I now understand better the difference.
Great tutorial! Is there a website where you can get the F-stop conversions to T-stop conversions for each make and model, and also for each F-stop opening?
hey MATT your videos are always quite interesting.... one of the few on youtube who knows how to make it interesting..... mark wallace, matt granger.....hmmm I would say superman & batman from marvel....lol
Thank you Matt - a few questions come to mind. Is the difference between F value and T value linear through the aperture range of the lens. Is there a sharpness trade off when the F and T values are close, maybe cine lens designers counting on the persistence of vision trade sharpness for brightness? Is it the case that a prime lens will always have a better F to T relationship over a zoom - more glass more loss etc. Love your work - don't change your name, branding identity is important ok
You rock Matt!
Well done Matt.
Thanks for sharing this old one - didn't know f vs t difference :)
That was a very well done and informative video
Really explains aperture well
Thank you for being a great teacher... :)
All your videos are a great help! I have Sigma for lenses, will check them out on the site later today...
You got it wrong, Matt. F stop is determined by the diameter of the front glass element. Aperture can be located further in the light path and can be of a significantly smaller diameter than the front glass element.
This was extremely educational. Thank you
Awesome video Matt!
Killer explanation!
Cool information, thank you. And hey, My Tamron lens did pretty well!
yep - and at a reasonable price.
Thank you for the breakdown - very clear!
Brilliant, thanks mate
Awesome. I didn't know any of this! Still i wonder when looking to the canon 85 is that difference in T value of just 0.1 really worth double the price? I always wonder with this kind of thing whether you'll actually see the difference.
Handy site that DxOmark. I did notice that my 50mm f1.4's T value improved from 1.6 to 1.5 when I swapped the camera to show results on my D800 (from D300). Does an improvement in sensor actually affect a lens' T value?
Great piece of info. Thanks for posting!
Great video, thanks!
Thanks!
Amazing video, and very informative!
Ohh, finally someone that pronounces Nikon right. It's Nee-con, not Ni-con
This was a very useful video. Thank you!
great video Matt, thanks.
Excellent info, Matt
Keep up the good work.
J,M,
Hi there! excelente video! you solve all my questions. What do you have to say about the diferences between Rokinon's 35mm f1.4 and the T 1.5?
Lovely explanation. Much appreciated.
That was really good !!!:) well done . You really do Learn something everyday !!thanks
Well that explains the problem I had with the canon 70-200mm USM at the rodeo. I was having to shoot at my highest ISO.
Thanks for the info, it has been very useful
The difference between F stop and T stop can be demonstrated easily on STF lenses, like the Sony/Minolta STF 135mm F2.8 T4.5. The light loss is due to the use of an apodization filter that provides the high-quality bokeh effect.
I never understood the diff...
Thanks Matt!
thats quite some info which i guess many of us wudnt had even thought about while buying a lens. thumbs up and thanks
Now another question is what do you prefer as a prime lens for a APS-C sensor camera since a 50mm doesnt remains a 50mm on cropped sensor compartively as it does on full frame sensor. Do you think that a 35mm 1.4 for instance is better to be used on a cropped sensor as it will reduce the crop factor somewhere close to 50mm?
Interessting. Learned something new with this.
This is an awesome video thanks Matt, you always have all the answers ;)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but although the T stop number is better on some of those cheaper lens surely its down to the quality of the glass for image quality? Quality that some of the big boys, Canon, Nikon, Sigma can't be beaten on? Otherwise why wouldn't we just buy lenses on value of the T-stop?