Digicam Glossary

Aperture

This is the opening in the lens that allows light to reach the image sensor. In most digital cameras, the size of the aperture can be adjusted to restrict or boost the amount of light hitting the sensor. This will be done automatically in Automatic mode, but cameras with Aperture Priority mode will also enable you to set the aperture manually. The aperture is measured in f-numbers, with the lowest number (eg f2) representing the largest aperture size and the highest (eg f8) representing the smallest.