Free calculator · runs in your browser

Exposure Value (EV) Calculator

Turn an aperture, shutter speed and ISO into a single exposure value — a clean way to compare settings and judge how bright a scene you're exposing for. The same engine the Viewpoint app uses, in your browser.

Exposure value (EV)—
Shutter (seconds)—
In the app

Expose for the moment, not the math

Viewpoint plans the shot around the light: golden hour, blue hour and the night-sky window for your exact location and date, with the sun and moon mapped. The EV math here is the same the app runs — the app is where you put it to work, offline at the trailhead.

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What is exposure value?

Exposure value (EV) is a single number that captures the combination of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Every "stop" of light is one EV: halve the light and EV goes up by one, double it and EV goes down by one. It's a handy common language — two very different aperture/shutter/ISO combinations that give the same brightness share the same EV.

How this calculator works

It computes EV from your aperture, shutter speed and ISO on the standard photographic scale (EV is referenced to ISO 100). Enter the shutter as a fraction like 1/125 or as seconds like 0.5 or 2.

Related

For long exposures, see the ND filter & long-exposure calculator. All in the Viewpoint app.

For how aperture, shutter and ISO trade off, read The exposure triangle, explained.

More calculators

Depth of fieldNear & far focus limits and total depth of field. Hyperfocal distanceThe focus distance that's sharp to infinity. ND & long exposureYour shutter time with a neutral-density filter. Star trailsTrail arc length and total sky rotation. Astro shutterSharp stars via the 500 and NPF rules.