Understanding Digital Camera Jargon The More Uncommon Terms
In part one of understanding digital camera jargon we looked at four of the most common terms you here. Now let’s look at some of the more uncommon digital camera jargon. You’ll certainly be ready to make a wise digital camera purchase after you’ve finished reading part two.
1. ISO
ISO has its roots in film cameras. ISO, or International Standards Organization, refers to how sensitive your camera is to the light in your photographs. Digital cameras allow you to change your ISO on the fly, something one could not do with a film camera. ISO can also be looked at as film speed. For example, if you owned a film camera and purchased 400 ISO film setting your digital camera to a 400 ISO would be the same.
A low ISO such as 100 ISO is not very light sensitive and fairly slow, where as a 400 ISO is more sensitive to light and faster. The darker the subject area you are photographing is, the higher the ISO number you will need to avoid that ugly blurring. So the higher the ISO value the better right? Not really, the higher the ISO value the moregrainy the picture will come out, this is because the picture will have a greater noise value, many of today normal digital cameras have around 100 to 400 ISO.
2. Hot Shoe
So you properly have never heard of hot shoe, beside a friend or family member maybe pointing out your new shoes, but this is different. hot shoe is the top of the camera. This is where your camera will enable you to accept flash and other accessories. The cheaper point and shot camera will normally not have them but most SLR cameras will. Sadly, every manufacture has their own hot shoe design so if you buy a flash for one camera and then later buy another brand it won’t be interchangeable.
3. Aperture
If you’ve ever tried to capture an image only to be rewarded with a blur, then you’ve been exposed to aperture. Aperture is how the camera captures light as it enters the lens. Adjusting your aperture controls your field depth. Aperture is related to your f stops.
If you have a basic camera then your aperture setting will be adjusting automatically. However with an SLR camera you will have the ability to set the aperture on your lens.
4. What is the Depth of Field
There are 3 factors that affect the deapth of field, they are the focal length, this is the distance from your target to the camera. Depth is the best distance where your images looks it’s sharpest. This is all depending on the camera, aperture and focal distance.
The depth of field will not drop from sharp to un-sharp. Instead it occurs as a steady transition with everything immediately in the back of or in front of the focus distance beginning to lose its sharpness.
5. Metering
To achieve accurate exposures consistently you need to know how your digital camera meters light. Metering is actually the brains behind how the camera calculates the aperture and shutter speed, based on ISO speed and lighting conditions. Metering options can include evaluative zone, partial, matrix, spot metering, and center-weighted. Understanding these metering options will improve your photographic intuition.
Now your Ready to Review the Best Digital Cameras or the Waterproof Digital Camera section.
Filed under Wi-Fi. Tags: digital camera, focal length, hot shoe, ISO, jargon, metering
0 Comments.