hackermom, I mean this with earnest sincerity - so please take it in that nature; In fifteen years of photography, photography classes, photography magazines, and photography books - I have never, ever, had anyone suggest that ƒ is synonymous with light transmission.
It is possible, that I, and every photographer, photography magazine, photography book, photography instructor, technical reference, manufacturer, and Wiki-Page, has been using the term incorrectly all this time - but could you stop for a second and possibly consider that perhaps you might be the one using it somewhat differently than everyone else?
At the very least - look at a camera, and note that when you set the "F-Stop" to, or read it to be, say, F/3.5, it does precisely the same thing to the camera if you are in a completely pitch-dark room or outside on a very sunny day.
That alone should suggest that F-Stop is not a measure of light, but instead of something else, and, perhaps also consider that it is, as I have suggested numerous times on this thread, the ratio of the focal length to aperture diameter.
It is possible, that I, and every photographer, photography magazine, photography book, photography instructor, technical reference, manufacturer, and Wiki-Page, has been using the term incorrectly all this time - but could you stop for a second and possibly consider that perhaps you might be the one using it somewhat differently than everyone else?
At the very least - look at a camera, and note that when you set the "F-Stop" to, or read it to be, say, F/3.5, it does precisely the same thing to the camera if you are in a completely pitch-dark room or outside on a very sunny day.
That alone should suggest that F-Stop is not a measure of light, but instead of something else, and, perhaps also consider that it is, as I have suggested numerous times on this thread, the ratio of the focal length to aperture diameter.