JT Spunk | Photography

Can some one help explain some camera terminology?

Hi,

Since you will be reading the manual as you should (unlike the other lazy clueless people here — good for you), I’ll give you a quick run down.

1. ISO is a measure of sensor sensitivity. The more sensitive the sensor (the higher the ISO) the quicker it collects light. However, as you increase the ISO the images produced by your camera will become increasingly noisy. The noise reduction software in your camera will try to combat the noise, but, like most cameras, it will have a tendency to smudge details that you will want. Higher ISO is desirable when the flash is not available, dark environments (indoors, nighttime, candlelight, etc.), and fast action (sports, children, animals, etc.). The general rule is to keep the ISO as low as possible while still being able to accomplish what you want.

2. The aperture is also known as the iris. It controls the light entering through the lens. The wider the aperture (the smaller the f/number) the more light is let through. In addition, the depth of field is shallowest when the aperture is opened to the maximum. When you stop down the aperture, the amount of light decreases and the depth of field increases. Learn more about depth of field here:

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/tech/dof.html

3. Don’t bother using it — disable it if you can.

4. Macro mode enables the camera’s lens to focus on subjects closer than the regular working distance. Read more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macro_photography

5. Woah, big topic. Learn all about it here:

http://photo.net/learn/making-photographs/exposure

6. A histogram is basically a chart of your exposure. You can use it to check the balance of an exposure or the exposure of the current scene (if a live histogram is available). Learn more about histograms and how to interpret them here:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml

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