Camera Parts and Functions
Camera Parts
Lens
Controls direction of light
coming into the camera;
focuses the photo
Aperture
Controls the amount of light
admitted into the camera. How
much light is allowed in.
Shutter
Controls length of exposure.
How long the light is allowed in.
Exposure
(no not the dirty kind)
Exposure is the total amount of light received by
a photosensitive surface or an area of such a
surface, expressed as the product of the degree
of illumination and the period of illumination.
Or simply put: taking a photo determined by
the proper intensity of light and time, taking
into account the films’ sensitivity.
Or even more simply
Intensity
Megapixels
Time
Exposure
When taking a photo consider these three steps for light:
1. know your ISO, choose the correct one
2. Adjust the aperture
3. Adjust the shutterspeed
ISO (film’s sensitivity to light)
Affects quality of picture = the slower (lower numbers)
create more graininess (a sandlike appearance) and
show less detail
• ISO 50 / ISO 100: Bright Sun, Portrait Mode,
Beach, Snow, Indoor Flash
• ISO 200 / ISO400: Cloudy Day, Sports, Fast
Shutter Speeds Bright Sun, Landscape
• ISO 400 + : Low Light, Indoor Without a
Flash, Night, Fast Shutter Speeds During
Cloudy Day
Megapixels (digital ISO)
• Digital cameras capture images as pixel
elements, known as pixels
– 1 megapixel = one million pixels
• The more pixels, the higher the image resolution
– resolution = picture quality (how good it looks)
Aperture
• Measured in F/stops
• affects the sharpness of your
picture, but in a different way.
• changes the depth of field, the
depth in a scene from foreground
to background that will be sharp
in a photograph.
– Smaller apertures increase depth of
field while larger ones decrease it.
Depth of Field
• Where and how much of the scene a
camera is focusing on
Shutter Speed
• controls exposure
• control over how motion
is captured in a
photograph.
– The longer the shutter is open,
the more a moving subject will
be blurred in the picture or that
you will move and cause
unintended blur to the whole
photo
Aperture
Shutterspeed
• They work in tandem or seesaw
Meter
• The meter measures the amount of light in the
scene and calculates the best exposure value.
• Most cameras have exposure meters built into
them. Some in-camera meters set exposure
automatically
• All in-camera meters are reflective – measure the
light reflected by the subject.
Types of Camera
Old School vs. New School
Old School (film cameras)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Simple
Rangefinder
Single Lens Reflex (SLR)
Twin Lens Reflex (TLR)
View
Press
Simple vs Rangefinder
Simple
• Fixed focus, aperture
and shutterspeed.
Rangefinder
• Focusing device
(rangefinder)
• Variable aperture and
shutterspeed
SLR vs TLR
Single Lens Reflex
• Sames lens for viewing,
focusing and exposure.
• Variable shutterspeed,
aperture and lens
Twin Lens Reflex
• One lens for focusing and
viewing
• One lens for exposure
• Vairable shutterspeed,
aperture and lens
View vs Press
View
• Viewing and focusing done on
ground glass plate.
• Changeable lenses
• Variable aperture and manual
shutterspeed.
Press
•
•
•
•
Rangefinder for focus
Ground glass for viewing
Changeable lenses
Variable aperture and
shutterspeed.
New School (Digital)
• Simple
• Rangefinder
• Point and Shoot
– Camera Phones
• Fixed Lens
• Single Lens Reflex
Point and Shoot
•
•
•
•
•
Variable shutterspeed, aperture
Mode settings!!!
fewer controls than other digital cameras
Small, bordering on tiny.
Zoom lenses (optical and digital)
•
Camera Phones
– Convienent and fastest growing purchases
– image quality is improving very slowly and doesn't yet match that of
dedicated cameras.
Zoom Lenses
•
•
Optical zoom
true zoom- as the lens extends the
object gets closer
produces the best quality images
•
•
•
•
Digital Zoom
simulated zoom enlarges the
central portion of an image.
actual length of the lens does
not change.
pre-crops the center area of an
image.
resolution is reduced, giving the
appearance of zooming in.
Fixed Lens vs. SLR (digitally)
Fixed Lens
• Variable shutterspeed,
aperture and focus
• Non changeable lens
• Same lens for viewing,
focusing and exposure.
Single Lens Reflex
• Sames lens for viewing,
focusing and exposure.
• Variable shutterspeed,
aperture and lens
Film vs. Digital
All cameras are basically black boxes with a lens to gather the light, a
means to focus the image, an aperture that determines how bright the light
is, and a shutter that determines how long the light enters.
Film
•Light enters through the
lens
•Light “burns” the silver
halide emulsion on the
film
•Film is developed
Digital
•Light enters through
the lens
•Pixels collect light
intensities
•Converts into digital
number and
retranslates for the
screen
Settings and Modes
Automatic Modes
AUTO
P
AF
• Auto- fully automatic, point-and-shoot mode;
camera selects all settings.
• Program AE - camera automatically sets the
shutterspeed and aperture based on the
brightness of the scene. User can adjust
some settings such as exposure
compensation, white balance, ISO, focusing
and metering modes.
• Auto Focus AF- camera selects depth of
field and subject of focus.
Auto Scene Modes
•
Portrait – photos of people during the day. Aperture is larger (less depth of field,
blurry background), “ISO” is slower for less fine detail, shutterspeed is variable,
but quicker to avoid capturing movement. Flash used when necessary. Focus is
3-10 ft in front of you.
•
Night Portrait - take photos of a subject against a night scene. Aperture, focus
and “ISO” are same as portrait but shutterspeeds are low - Use of tripod
recommended. The built-in flash and red-eye reduction are enabled.
•
Landscape - take photos of wide scenes. Aperture is small to pick up detail,
shutterspeed is vairable, “ISO” is fast for detail. No flash. Focuses on a distant
object 10 - ∞ ft.
•
Night Scene - photograph nightscapes. Same as Landscape but with slow
shutterspeeds. Use of tripod recommended. Focus is 10 - ∞
•
Macro - take close-up shots of small objects, flowers and insects. Aperture small
for detail, shutterspeed is fast, and “ISO” is fast. Focus is 0-3 ft. Hold the camera
steady or use a tripod.
•
Sports- take photos of a fast moving subject. Aperture is smaller (more depth of
field), fast shutter speeds to “freeze” the action and fast “ISO” to capture more
light. Best when taking photos bright light; pre-focusing recommended. Focus is
3-10 ft.
•
Slow Shutterspeed –intentionally blur moving objects. Aperture small for deetail,
shutterspeed is slowed to blur movement and “ISO” is slowere for less detail.
Focus is 3-10 ft.
Auto Special Lighting Modes
•
Beach/Snow - photograph beach, snow and sunlit water scenes.
Exposure and white balance are set to help prevent the scene from
becoming washed out looking.
•
Fireworks - shutter speed and exposure are set for shooting fireworks;
pre-focusing & use of tripod recommended.
•
Party - take photos in a dim lit room; aperture and shutter speed are
automatically adjusted for room brightness. Captures indoor background
lighting or candlelight. Hold the camera very steady when using this
mode.
•
Sunset - take photos of sunsets and sunrises; helps keep the deep hues
in the scene.
•
Aquarium (Underwater) - selects ISO, white balance and color balance
to photograph fish and other items in an indoor aquarium.
•
Foliage - photographs autumn, garden and similar scenes in vivid colors.
•
Backlight - eliminates dark shadows when light is coming from behind a
subject, or when the subject is in the shade. The built-in flash
automatically fires to “fill in” the shadows.
Semi-automatic/Manual
Modes
Tv •
Shutter priority (Tv) - User selects shutter speed
and the camera automatically selects the aperture.
Av •
Aperture priority (Av) - User selects aperture and
the camera automatically selects shutter speed.
M•
Manual mode- User manually selects the shutter
speed and aperture. An Exposure Display visible on
the LCD or electronic viewfinder shows the amount a
photo will be over- or underexposed. Long exposures
are taken in manual mode.
Drive Modes
• Single Shot- Press on the shutter release button and takes one
picture
• Continuous or Burst- Press on the shutter release button and
it takes continuous pictures until you release the button
• Self Timer
– used is to take photos of a group or scene, or when you want to
take a self-portrait.
– The camera must be set on a tripod or level surface
– taking close-up shots.
– taking photos in low light without a flash or shooting long
exposures.
Flash Modes
A
•
Automatic mode — Flash triggers automatically when the camera determines more light is
needed in a scene. Turn off this mode in places that forbid inside flash photography such as
museums.
•
Red-eye reduction — Fires the flash several times just prior to exposing a photo. Reduces
the reflection in a subject’s eyes that causes red-eye. The rapid flashes cause a subject’s
pupils to contract and helps minimize the red-eye effect. Inform subjects before using this
mode as the pre-flashes can cause people to look startled.
•
Forced (fill-in) flash — Keeps the flash on in situations where automatic mode would keep it
off. Used when additional illumination is needed, such as when the main source of light is in
the back of a subject or shadows prevent details from showing. Can be effectively used
outside when subjects are within the flash range.
•
Suppressed flash — Turns the flash off.
•
Slow sync (also called night scene) — Use to capture a dimly lit background at night. The
flash fires briefly to light the foreground subject. Tripod or other camera support
recommended.
SLOW
REAR •
Rear-curtain sync — Similar to slow synch but flash doesn’t fire until right before the shutter
closes. Tripod or other camera support recommended.
Sources
http://afbgraphics.com/Client4/ART141%20Intro%20to%20B&W%20Ph
otography/LECTURES/class_2_CAMERACONTROLS_EXPOSURE
.ppt#340http://afbgraphics.com/Client4/ART141%20Intro%20to%20
B&W%20Photography/LECTURES/class_2_CAMERACONTROLS_
EXPOSURE.ppt#340,30,Bring
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/camera-modes/flashmodes/
https://www.images.google/imgres?imgurl
http://www.photo.net/equipment/digital/basics/digital_zoom_vs_optical_
zoom.jpg&imgrefurl
http://www.shortcourses.com/guide/guide1-3.html