Improving your vocabulary for LF

[Heroique]

One to start off – mainly for well-meaning beginners, or veterans who can't break the habit:

When comparing two aperture sizes, it's usually best to avoid the adjectives, "bigger," "larger," "smaller," "lesser," etc.

Better would be "wider" and "narrower."

Poor vocabulary: "I'm using a bigger aperture."

• Better #1: "I'm using a narrower aperture" (if by "bigger aperture" you mean a bigger f-number – for example, f/22 instead of f/16)
• Better #2: "I'm using a wider aperture" (if by "bigger aperture" you really do mean a wider aperture)

Poor vocabulary: "I'm using a smaller aperture."

• Better #1: "I’m using a wider aperture" (if by "smaller aperture" you mean a smaller f-number) – for example, f/8 instead of f/11)
• Better #2: "I'm using a narrower aperture" (if by "smaller aperture" you really do mean a narrower aperture)

In the spirit of improving discussions around here, what's your top suggestion about the many problematic words of LF?

[richardman]

How about just "larger opening." There's no ambiguity. Wider aperture still has the same issue.

[Heroique]

That also sounds like it would help reduce ambiguity and clarify posts.

Another problem word, when used w/o a clear context, is "perspective."

Some people mean "geometric perspective" (for example, using back tilt, or back swing, to manage converging lines); other people mean "viewpoint perspective" (tripod/camera location, lens rise, lens shift).

So go ahead, tell us what you really mean! ;^)

[Vaughn]

Open and close.

As in "open up the aperture more and let some light hit that film!"

or

"Close that puppy down for more DoF."

[evan clarke]

I'm using f4... I'm using f64...etc,etc.

[vinny]

large means big hole, small means little hole. simple. that's it, officially. Alotta folks don't c it that way.

[Heroique]

Another important word that needs our help is the geometric term "plane" – as in plane of focus.

In many discussions, this "plane" mysteriously grows in thickness or depth, usually by "closing that puppy down" (Thanks, Vaughn).

But a plane, in a manner of speaking, is always infinitely flat.

[Vaughn]

So it is not the words themselves that need our help, but instead, the people using them improperly.

[DennisD]

This idea of " improving vocabulary " is an excellent thought.

Perhaps some of the resulting suggestions (or at least brief examples) could be mentioned in the User Guidelines of the Forum. That may help to better acquaint newcomers and users with importance of clear wording in posts.

Otherwise, this thread will ultimately be lost in the endless flow of forum posts.

Dennis "as far as I'm concerned, f64 really is a smaller aperture even though it's a larger number" D.

(With sincere apologies to Rick Denny. I won't do it again. )

[Heroique]

So it is not the words themselves that need our help, but instead, the people using them improperly.

That's right, but I think several important LF words often need to be rescued from our occasional (and habitual) misunderstanding and abuse.

Sometimes, I can even hear these words calling for our help.

On the other hand, I don't think they need our help – no matter how loudly they call – when people simply misspell them. They can survive that. So can the poorest of the spellers here, many of whom post the best images and know what they're talking about.