How should I compare lens speed using T-stops instead of just f-stops?
Asked 3/14/2014
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When comparing two lenses for low-light use, is maximum aperture alone enough, or should actual light transmission also be considered? I’m trying to understand how much transmission loss matters in modern lenses, whether primes usually transmit more light than zooms, how much coatings and complex optical designs affect exposure in practice, and whether manufacturers publish this information. For example, could a 35mm f/2 prime ever be effectively as fast as, or faster than, an 18-35mm f/1.8 zoom because of better transmission?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
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You can look at DxOMark's Lens Ratings, and particularly the Optical Metric Scores, which include a T stop measurement. I don't put too much stock in DxOMark's overall numbers (which don't have much practical impact for real use), but if you're interested in this particular thing, here's a way to tell.
Manufacturers do not typically give this number, so the measurements DxOMark gives are probably your best bet. Fortunately, they have measured a lot of lenses.
As you can see from the numbers, it's pretty typical for the light loss to be about a third of the stop from the nominal f number, although sometimes it's almost a full stop, and occasionally it is almost nothing — and you are right that in the latter case, it's usually prime lens designs. But not always; for example, the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM is measured as having a T stop of 1.8.
I think coatings can make a difference here, but that's clearly not the only factor, or the main one.
Another big factor is certainly going to be rounding, not just for precision but because a lot of camera and lens numbers are actually given as "close-enough" standardized values — see How to test actual focal length? for example. This is for a number of reasons, starting with variance in focal length with distance, overall irrelevance of being exact in real use, and almost certainly also because when more impressive numbers can be written on the box without really lying, of course they will be.
As for overall impact: sure, it can make a difference, and sometimes every bit counts, but overall, if the difference is less than a stop, it's not worth sweating over.
And of course, depth of field isn't affected.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
12y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
If you want to compare actual light reaching the sensor, use T-stop rather than f-stop. F-stop describes the geometric aperture; T-stop reflects real transmission losses through the lens.
In modern photo lenses, transmission loss is often around 1/3 stop from the nominal f-number, though it can range from almost none to nearly a full stop in some cases. Simpler prime designs often transmit a bit better than zooms, but that is not guaranteed.
So yes, transmission can narrow the gap between two lenses, but in practice it usually won’t overturn a clear aperture advantage unless the difference is already very small. A 35mm f/2 could be closer to an 18-35mm f/1.8 than the f-numbers alone suggest, but an f/1.8 lens generally still has the speed advantage unless its transmission is unusually poor.
Manufacturers usually do not publish T-stops for still-photo lenses; this is more common with cine lenses. For photo lenses, you’ll usually need third-party measurements from review sites that test transmission and report T-stop values.
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