Tuesday, 10 January 2017

Camera Terminology Explained Series, Part 6 (O-R)


Optical Zoom

Zoom lenses help you to get a closer view of far-away subjects.

Optical Zoom lenses are true zoom lenses similar to the ones you would find on a traditional SLR camera.

Optical Zoom lenses adjust the lens itself and produce better quality images compared to a Digital Zoom lens which adjusts the image in the camera by enlarging the image at the center of the frame and cropping the outside edges.  Digital Zoom lenses as a consequence lose definition and image quality suffers.


Orientation Sensor

Some cameras feature an Orientation Sensor that senses when you have turned your camera from a horizontal position to a vertical position, i.e. from landscape to portrait mode, and encodes this information into the image so that when you play it back, for example on a TV screen, it will automatically display the picture the correct way up.


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RAW Files

RAW files are basically uncompressed images as opposed to say a JPEG file which is compressed immediately after the picture is captured.  Because RAW files are uncompressed they take up much more space on a memory card, but the advantage of RAW files is that they give the photographer total control over adjustments and processing the photo on a computer.  As a consequence, there is no loss of image quality with a RAW file which you would normally get with a JPEG file.

In old school terms, the RAW file is like a film negative that would be developed in the dark room.  In the case of RAW files, the RAW file is the negative and computer is effectively your dark room.  You have total control over things like temperature adjustments, white balance, color, tint, hue, contrast, brightness, sharpness, and exposure.

Basic computer image programs may have problems opening RAW files, which is why many high-end cameras come with RAW camera editing software which enables you to process the images and offers the ability to then save the image in a more commonly recognised format such as JPEG or TIFF.


Red Eye Reduction

The Red Eye effect is caused by the flash reflecting off the subject’s eyes and making them look red.  Compact cameras which feature an integrated flash that is located close to the lens tend to have the biggest problem with red eye.  Many cameras now offer a feature called Red Eye Reduction which works by firing a series of low-powered flashes before the main flash which helps to eliminate the Red Eye Effect by causing the eye pupil to close.

For professional photography, photographers prefer to use a separate flash unit which is mounted on a bracket above and to the side of the camera lens which helps to eliminate the Red Eye effect.

Once you’ve taken a picture and discover later that your subjects have the Red Eye effect, you can always remove it with a software image editing program on the computer, although this is not always effective at giving a completely natural look.


Resolution

The resolution of an image is basically the number of pixels that are used to create the image, with the higher number and smaller pixels giving a better quality image with sharper edges and more detail.

Optical Resolution is the resolution at which the camera can physically capture an image.

Interpolated Resolution is a process using algorithms to add pixels to an image based on original values from the image.


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Further reading/articles in the Camera Terminology Explained Series:

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