In the following example, the printed opaque plastic bag is backlit at 1450nm and the bag edge, the zipper, and the vacuum seal areas are visible without interference from the printing on the bag. The bag may then be inspected to ensure none of the contents is stuck in the zipper or in the vacuum seal area, which may lead to leaking or spoilage.

Second, exposure isn't only set by your aperture. Your shutter speed and ISO settings also affect exposure, and you'll need to do some trial and error to figure out how to get the exposure you want. That’s why people call these three settings the ‘exposure triangle'.’

SWIRwavelength

Prime lenses are often used for portrait photography, who want to capture clean, sharp images with minimal distortion. Prime lenses are also often used by landscape photographers. While they generally require the use of a tripod or other stabilising device due to their narrow field of view, prime lenses offer a number of advantages that make them a popular choice among professional photographers.

The size of the aperture (the f-stop number) also determines the ISO that's needed to achieve a correct exposure. A small aperture (large f-stop number) will require a lower ISO setting, while a large aperture (small f-stop number) will require a higher ISO setting.

The size of the camera aperture (the f-stop number) determines the amount of depth of field in an image. A small aperture (large f-stop number) results in a large depth of field, while a large aperture (small f-stop number) results in a shallow depth of field.

Here's an example to illustrate how this works. Let's say you're taking a picture of a flower garden with a 50mm lens at f/8. The depth of field would be approximately 2 feet (0.6 meters). This means that objects within 2 feet of the camera would appear sharp, while objects beyond that would start to become blurry.

R.J. Wilson, Inc. is offering cameras from SWIR Vision Systems to expand the range of applications that can be addressed using Short Wave Infrared imaging (SWIR). These cameras feature patented CQDTM Sensors based on colloidal quantum dot (CQD) technology, with thin film photodiodes fabricated monolithically on CMOS-based silicon readout arrays. CQD technology reduces the cost per MP of SWIR cameras, compared to those with indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) sensors.

It's important to understand that aperture is not a setting on your camera, but rather a characteristic of your lens. The aperture is determined by the physical size of the diaphragm, which can be changed by swapping out lenses or adjusting a zoom lens.

For example, let's say you're taking a picture of a person with a 50mm lens at f/2. The amount of diffraction would be minimal. If you wanted to use a smaller aperture (larger f-stop number), the amount of diffraction would increase.

That's our post! As you can see aperture is an incredibly important aspect of digital photography. Some of the jargon isn't easy to understand, and probably won't become second-nature until you've had some practice out in the world.

This mode is also sometimes called "semi-manual" mode because the photographer still has some control over the exposure. For example, if the scene is very bright, the photographer can choose a small aperture to avoid overexposing the image. Conversely, if the scene is darker, a larger aperture can be used to let in more light. Aperture priority is a popular mode for many types of photography, including portrait, landscape, and still life. It is also a good choice for beginners who are not yet comfortable with manual mode.

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Applications in the semiconductor industry, such as bonded wafer target imaging, require the use of high magnification optics. Navitar’s Resolv4K modular high magnification lens system is available with special SWIR coatings to permit its use with SWIR Vision Systems cameras. The wafer images shown herein were made with the Navitar Resolv4K lens system with the SWIR coating.

The size of the aperture (the f-stop number) also determines the minimum focus distance of the lens. The minimum focus distance is the closest distance that the lens can focus on an object and still produce a sharp image.

In the example below, the contents within plastic packaging become visible because the SWIR back and front lighting pass through the printed packaging. This is ideal for food packaging to verify the contents are correctly packaged or are present at all.

The size of the aperture (the f-stop number) also determines the amount of diffraction that occurs. A small aperture (large f-stop number) will cause more diffraction, while a large aperture (small f-stop number) will cause less diffraction.

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So, we’ve talked about aperture and f-stop. But as we mentioned above, changing your aperture settings will likely require you to make some adjustments to the other settings in the exposure triangle.

Bokeh is a technique in photography that is used to create a soft, blurred background. This effect is achieved by using a large aperture and keeping the subject in focus while the background is out of focus.

For example, let's say you're taking a picture of a person in low light with a 50mm lens at f/2. The lowest ISO setting you could use to get a correct exposure would be 3200. If you wanted to use a lower ISO setting, you would need to use a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number). Conversely, if you wanted to use a higher ISO setting, you would need to use a smaller aperture (larger f-stop number).

Bokeh can be used to create a dreamy or romantic look, or to make the subject stand out against a busy background. It is also often used in portraiture to help the subject stand out from the background. Bokeh can be created with any type of camera, but it is most commonly associated with DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.

What about the third part of the exposure triangle, ISO? ISO is a measure of the camera's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive the camera is to light. This means that less light is needed to achieve a correct exposure.

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Reading this post won’t help you master it, though. The best bet is to grab your photo and start experimenting in the real world!

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Most DSLR cameras from companies like Nikon and Canon will have a lower f-stop number (or maximum aperture) of f/1.4. This a very wide aperture opening, and will let in a lot of light.

If you want everything in your image to be sharp and in focus, then you'll want to use a small aperture (large f-stop number). This is often desirable for landscape shots, group photos, and other situations where you want everything to be sharp.

First, aperture controls the depth of field in your photograph. What is depth of field? It’s the distance between the nearest and furthest objects in a scene that appear ‘sharp’ in an image. The larger the aperture, the shallower the depth of field and the smaller this distance will be. This can be useful for isolating a subject from its background.

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Although standard visible wavelength glass lenses can be deployed with SWIR cameras, SWIR-specific lenses include optical coatings that enhance the lens capabilities and image quality within the SWIR range.

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As we've explained, changing the aperture can have a big impact on your image. But how do you know which aperture to use? Well, it depends on the look you're going for.

Aperture is one of the most important concepts in digital photography, yet it is often misunderstood. Here’s the simple definition: Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens through which light passes.

As a result, prime lenses typically have a wider maximum aperture than zoom lenses, making them well-suited for low-light photography and achieving shallow depth of field effects. The wider aperture also allows for greater control over the placement of focus within the frame.

The f-stop number is calculated by dividing the focal length of the lens by the diameter of the aperture. For example, if a lens has a focal length of 50mm and an aperture diameter of 25mm, the f-stop would be 2 (50/25).

SWIR lighting is available in a number of form factors and in specific SWIR wavelengths for back lighting or front lighting from Effilux and Smart Vision Lights.

In silicon wafer inspection, SWIR cameras can see through the wafer. Backside illumination enables alignment mark inspection for bonded wafer pairs and viewing the alignment of bumps between the two bonded wafers. Frontside SWIR illumination can be used to detect micro-cracks and voids that can’t be seen in visible light images.

As you might expect, the larger the aperture, the more light that enters the camera. This is important because it allows you to control exposure.

Let’s tackle shutter speed first. Now, what is it, exactly? Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is open and exposes the camera's sensor to light. The longer the shutter is open, the more light that enters the camera.

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Aperture is one of three camera settings — along with ISO and shutter speed — that impact how well (or not) your photo is exposed. These three settings are often called the ‘exposure triangle.’

So what is aperture? Here’s a simple definition: Aperture is the size of the opening in your camera lens (the word is literally a fancy way of saying 'opening). This determines how much light enters your camera and hits the image sensor.

Water is visible at 1,450nm and other SWIR wavelengths, making it appear dark in the acquired image. In produce sorting, bruises, as shown below, appear as dark spots based on the increase in water volume at that location. This capability can also be used in determining whether the item is dry and ready for further processing, such as for grain moisture content, dyed textile moisture, processed particle board moisture content, and for seal/packaging inspection for high-moisture goods.

Generally speaking, a higher f-stop number will result in a photo with a small area in focus and a large area out of focus. On the flip side, a small f-stop number will result in a photo with a large area in focus and a small area out of focus.

Liquids typically absorb SWIR wavelengths and often appear dark, enabling fill-level verification behind plastic labels or within tinted or opaque plastic vials and bottles.

It sounds complicated, and some of the terminology ('f-stop', ‘bokeh’) doesn't help! But as with most aspects of photography, it all gets a lot simpler after you start experimenting with different apertures in the real world.

Diffraction is an optical effect that occurs when light waves pass through a small opening. The result is a loss of sharpness in the image.

So as you can see, changing the aperture has an impact on both the depth of field and the shutter speed. It's important to understand how these two factors work together to create the right exposure for your photograph.

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SWIR refers to the light wavelength range of 900nm to 2,500nm. SWIR light is similar to visible light, in that photons are reflected or absorbed by an object, providing the strong contrast needed for high resolution imaging. Much like visible light cameras, SWIR cameras deliver high resolution images at high frame rates.

Many professional photographers use a prime lens for this reason. A prime lens is a camera lens with a fixed focal length. In other words, it can't zoom in or out like a zoom lens can.

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Our advice: read this guide, take your camera off auto mode, and then start taking some photos of your own (maybe for your next photo essay). It might be worth bookmarking this page, taking some photos, and then coming back for another read.

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Aperture is measured in an f-stop number. The lower the f-stop number, the more open the aperture is and therefore more light enters your camera. The higher the f-stop number, the more closed down (or smaller) the aperture is and less light enters your camera.

Standard factory automation lenses for SWIR imaging are available in a range of focal lengths from our optics partners at Goyo, Navitar, Opto Engineering, SWIR Vision Systems, and others.

Now let's say you take the same picture with the same lens, but at f/2. The depth of field would be reduced to about 0.6 feet (0.2 meters). This means that only objects within 0.6 feet of the camera would appear sharp; anything beyond that would be significantly blurred.

To get even higher magnification out of the Resolv4K, SWIR-capable microscope objectives can be used with the Resolv4K. Additional information on the Navitar Resolv4K high magnification lens system is available on our High Magnification Lens page.

The size of the aperture (the f-stop number) also determines the shutter speed that's needed to achieve a correct exposure. A small aperture (large f-stop number) will require a longer shutter speed to achieve the correct exposure, while a large aperture (small f-stop number) will require a shorter shutter speed.

On a DSLR camera, adjusting the aperture is as simple as turning a dial. This adjusts how wide open the lens is, and therefore how much light is allowed in. As we’ve mentioned already aperture is measured in "f-stops", with larger numbers representing a smaller aperture. For example, an aperture of f/22 would be much smaller than an aperture of f/2.8.

If you want to isolate your subject from the background (or foreground), then you'll want to use a large aperture (small f-stop number). This is known as shallow depth of field, and it's often used in portraits and close-up shots.

SWIR imaging is especially good at imaging through silicon (which appears nearly transparent), checking liquid fill levels in opaque plastic containers with labels, verifying liquid coatings coverage on webs, determining whether clear adhesive has been applied, and viewing the contents of opaque plastic product packaging. SWIR is also used to differentiate between black plastics in recycling operations.

Your lens aperture settings will also impact the depth of field in your photograph. What’s more, changing your aperture will impact what you can achieve with your shutter speed and ISO settings.

The contents or features within opaque paper and plastic packaging become visible and inspectable when backlit with SWIR lighting.

That’s right: you can change the amount of light (aperture) and the sensitivity to light (ISO). As you can imagine, changing one of these settings is likely to impact how the other works.

Depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that have crisp details and no unintentional blurring (otherwise known as 'sharp'). It's important to note that depth of field is not an absolute value, but rather it is relative to the distance between the camera and the subject.

Since liquids and adhesives absorb SWIR wavelengths at varying degrees, based on their chemical composition, additional applications requiring the detection or differentiation of clear liquids or contamination, liquid coating coverage, and clear adhesive presence on surfaces can be addressed.

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We provide selected LED and fiber optic lighting, lenses & filters, cameras, sensors, and accessories from the top partners in the industry. Call us at 781-335-5500 to learn more.

Remember, when adjusting aperture, it's important to keep in mind the shutter speed and ISO settings as well. If you need to increase the shutter speed to prevent blur, you'll need to decrease the aperture to compensate. And if you need to increase the ISO to get a good exposure, you'll need to decrease the aperture as well.

Aperture priority mode allows the user to select the aperture while the camera sets an appropriate shutter speed. Aperture priority is often abbreviated as "A" or "Av" on camera mode dials.