Exposure Value Calculator
Calculate exposure values from camera settings, explore equivalent aperture and shutter combinations, and reference common lighting conditions by EV.
Calculate EV from settings
Select your exposure settings to find the Exposure Value
Exposure Value at ISO 100
EV 11.9
LV 11.9
Light Value
Overcast day, open shade
Understanding Exposure Values
An Exposure Value (EV) is a single number that represents a combination of aperture and shutter speed. Each increment of 1 EV corresponds to one stop of light — doubling or halving the exposure.
EV = log2(f² / t)
where f is the f-number and t is the shutter time in seconds. This formula gives EV at ISO 100. When working at a different ISO, the camera settings shift accordingly — a higher ISO means you can use a faster shutter or smaller aperture for the same scene brightness.
Light Value (LV)
Light Value describes the brightness of the scene itself, independent of camera settings. Numerically, LV equals EV at ISO 100. When someone says "the scene is LV 15," they mean a correct exposure at ISO 100 requires EV 15 settings (for example, f/16 at 1/125s).
Practical use
- Many handheld meters display EV directly — set it on your camera and read off equivalent aperture/shutter pairs
- The equivalents table lets you quickly find all combinations for a given scene brightness
- Knowing common EV values helps estimate exposure without a meter
- Negative film has latitude — when in doubt, err toward overexposure
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