The iris diaphragm made its appearance as an adjustable lens stop in the 1880s.
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An analogous device in a photographic lens is called an iris diaphragm.
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The iris diaphragm in most modern still and video cameras is adjusted by movable blades, simulating the iris of the eye.
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J. H. Brown, a member of the Royal Microscopical Society, appears to have invented a popular improved iris diaphragm by 1867.
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A lens will most often have an aperture adjustment mechanism, usually an iris diaphragm, to regulate the amount of light that passes.
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In a photograph, the number of blades that the iris diaphragm has can be guessed by counting the number of spikes converging from a light source or bright reflection.
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The iris is a coloured muscularly operated diaphragm in front of the lens which controls the amount of light entering the eye.
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Straight blades result in polygon shape of the diaphragm opening, while curved blades improve the roundness of the iris opening.