f- stops?

I just bought the Digital Rebel, my first camera that's not a point & shooter. What the heck is an f-stop, and where do you set it on the Rebel? I've been through the manual and can't seem to find anything on it. I see posted photographs with the f-stop and other information along with it. This may be a dumb question, as I'm probably missing the obvious, or it's something one should know before they invest in a decent camera!

William.

f/stop is our verbal shorthand for focal ratio. It is a means of quantifying the amount of light passing through the lens. This is really Photography 101 stuff, and it's easy enough to learn, but I really suggest you get a book on basic photography and brush up on it a little. It won't take long to learn the correlation between aperture and shutter speed, and the roles they play in achieving a properly exposed image.

If you aren't interested in getting into the subject in this depth, you might be better served with a point 'n shoot camera.

Like I said, though, this is pretty easy to learn, so don't be afraid to jump in.

Try doing a search on "Aperture" in your manual or look in the index. f-stop is another another name for aperture value although f-stop can also mean other things that aperture value is not.

f-stop relate to the size on opening to the film/sensor at the back of the lens, when shutter opens up, the size of this "hole" (or more professionally, aperture) determines the amount of light that goes on to the film/sensor.
Obviously, larger the aperture, more light goes in and picture is brighter
But remember, larger the f-stop number is, the smaller the aperture gets.
Also size of aperture determines the depth of field. The larger the aperture (smaller number of f-stop), the less depth of field you get.
Now that you got a 300D, it cheap to take test shots and see the results yourself.

Canon Digital Learning Center
http://www.photoworksh​op.com/canon/
Online Tutorials
http://www.photoworksh​op.com/canon/rick_samm​on.html

How Cameras Work
http://entertainment.h​owstuffworks.com/camer​a.htm
SLR vs. Point-and-Shoot
http://entertainment.h​owstuffworks.com/camer​a7.htm

Jodies Coston's Free Online Photography Course - Excellent!
http://www.morguefile.​com/ver3/classroom.php

PhotoCourse - "A Short Course in Digital Photography."
http://209.196.177.41/​contents.htm

Photo basics:
http://photos.msn.com/
http://photos.msn.com/​department/photobasics​.aspx
http://www.grumpysworl​d.com/photoguide/photo​guide.htm
http://www.grumpysworl​d.com/photoguide/basic​s.htm

Understanding Exposure - A Complex Subject Made Simple for Beginners
http://www.luminous-landscape.com …/understandexpo​sure.shtml
Accurate Exposure with Your Meter
http://www.kodak.com …er/products/tec​hInfo/af9/