Camera Technology
Taking a look at any modern mirrorless or DSLR camera, you’ll notice a slew of controls, buttons, and dials. Atop nearly all cameras sits a large dial labeled with many letters and icons. This is our mode dial. It is how we control the level of power we give to our camera or take for ourselves.
One of the wonderful things that modern electronic digital and film cameras give you is many high-tech options for your image making. One of the horrible things that modern electronic digital and film cameras give you is many high-tech options for your
Back in the good old days, during the infancy of autofocus, you had two options when it came to autofocus: On or Off. Now, with advancements in technology, many cameras, even simple point-and-shoot cameras, have a dizzying array of high-tech autofocus modes to choose from. Honestly, they can be intimidating to even to the most experienced shooters.
Before we dive in, be forewarned: almost every manufacturer has proprietary autofocus technology, nomenclature, and features. Even more confusing, the interface to access these modes can often
Before there was autofocus, there was focus. The camera is a light-tight box that is used to expose a photosensitive surface (film or digital sensor) to light. In order to focus the light onto the surface, most cameras (and your own eyes) use a lens to direct the light. Why did I say, “Most?” Well, there are many types of cameras around that do not rely on lenses to focus light. The “pinhole camera” is a box with a tiny hole on one end and a photosensitive surface on the other. Light comes through the tiny opening and is projected onto
Every facet of photography is about controlling light, from the amount of light we allow to enter our camera via the aperture of a lens to the duration of our exposure set by the shutter speed. But how does the camera measure the brightness of the scene to set these settings automatically? How do you, the photographer, know how much to adjust your exposure settings to achieve a specific result for the final image? This is achieved with an in-camera light meter.
What Is Metering?
Metering is how a camera evaluates the available light to
Shutter speed is a measurement of time that a camera's shutter is open—allowing light, usually after it has passed through a lens and through the aperture diaphragm, to strike a photosensitive surface, like film or a digital sensor.
This article is part of a multi-part series of about photographic Exposure.1. Introduction: The Exposure Triangle2.
ISO, which stands for International Organization of Standards, is a measure of the sensitivity of film or a digital sensor to light.
This article is part of a multi-part series about photographic Exposure.
1. Introduction: The Exposure Triangle
2. Aperture
3.
Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens. Some lenses have fixed apertures, but most photographic lenses have variable apertures to control the amount of light entering the lens. This aperture is regulated by a diaphragm made of overlapping blades that can be adjusted to vary the size of the opening through which light passes. The size of the opening also has a secondary effect on the photograph, as the diaphragm also changes the angle at which the light passes through the lens. We will discuss two "side effects" of changing the
With the ever-increasing number of pixels manufacturers can cram onto a single digital image sensor, the optics themselves are beginning to become the limiting factor in image quality. This is making it all the more important to stop down our lenses in an effort to squeeze as much sharpness from them as possible. Unfortunately, while stopping down is a great way to sharpen pictures, if we go too far, we end up with deteriorating image quality. This optical effect is called diffraction.