Camera Terminology Explained Series, Part 7 (S-Z)

Shutter Speed

The Shutter Speed is the length of time the shutter is open to let light in.  Shutter Speed is used in conjunction with Aperture (how wide open the lens is) to determine how much light is let in for correct exposure of the image.

Bear in mind when choosing Shutter Speeds, that a slow shutter speed will blur a fast moving subject where as a fast shutter speed will capture the action as if it’s stopped.  With this in mind, you can use different shutter speeds creatively to capture different effects.

Also bear in mind that there is a slight delay (known as shutter lag) between the time you press the shutter release button and the time the image is actually captured.  The shutter lag is basically due to the fact that the camera takes time to focus and calculate the exposure.  Many cameras have a feature whereby you can press the shutter button half-way down to enable the camera to focus before pressing the button all the way down to capture the picture which will help to reduce the camera lag.

Some cameras feature a Shutter Speed Priority mode which allows you to choose the shutter speed you would like to use and the camera automatically determines the correct aperture based on the current light conditions of the scene.


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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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Camera Terminology Explained Series, Part 5 (K-N)

Macro

Many lenses come with a Macro mode which allows you to focus really close-up on smaller objects, such as flowers or insects.  The distance you can shoot in macro mode will vary from camera to camera, with some allowing you to focus from as little as 1” away.

Metering Modes

Average Metering basically averages the light metered from the entire scene to determine the overall exposure, without concentrating on any particular area of the scene.

With Spot Metering, the camera will measure a very small area of the scene, typically in the middle of the viewfinder, to adjust the overall exposure value for that specific area.  Some cameras allow you to press the shutter button half way down to spot meter an area and then move the camera round to recompose the shot while holding the spot metering in place.

Some cameras have a feature whereby you can select a different off-center spot for metering.

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Camera Terminology Explained Series, Part 4 (I-J)

Image Resolution

Image resolution is the detail an image holds.  The higher the resolution, the sharper and clearer the image becomes.  For cameras, image resolution is measured in pixels, with the more pixels giving a better image.  The amount of pixels is particularly important if you want to print out your photos and enlarge them.  Generally speaking, the higher the amount of pixels in your image, the larger print-out you can have that will still look sharp.

Cameras are described in ratings by megapixels.  The higher the megapixel, the sharper and clearer the image will be.  However, you need to bear in mind that the higher the megapixel, the more space each image will take up on your memory card.


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Camera Terminology Explained Series, Part 3 (E-H)

Exposure

Exposure is the amount of light you let into the camera that is read by the image sensor.  Exposure is controlled by a combination of aperture (how wide the lens is open determined by f/stop) and shutter speed (the amount of time the shutter is open).

Over Exposure is when you’ve let too much light in to the camera for the scene and the image will appear too light, looking washed out with little color or definition.

Under Exposure is when you’ve not let enough light in to the camera for the scene and the image will appear too dark.


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Camera Terminology Explained Series, Part 2 (C-D)

Continuous Auto Focus

Cameras with the Continuous Auto Focus feature are continually working all the time, i.e. they are continually focusing without you pressing the shutter button.  This gives you the ability to take shots quickly without worrying about delays or having to give the camera time to focus.

Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration is also referred to as purple fringing.  This is where an unwanted purple highlight is found in photographic images, usually around or between dark/light objects.  This can typically be a common problem with low megapixel cameras or long telephoto zoom lenses.


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Camera Terminology Explained Series, Part 1 (A-B)

Aperture

The aperture on a camera denotes how wide open the lens is, determined by an f/stop number.  A small f/stop number such as f/2.8 denotes a wide open lens, whereas a high f/stop number such as f/22 denotes a small opening of the lens.

A wide aperture (i.e. a low f/stop number) gives a shorter depth of field and helps to keep close up objects in focus while blurring out the background, whereas a small aperture (i.e. a high f/stop number) gives a longer/sharper depth of field for objects further away.

The aperture is used in conjunction with shutter speed to determine how much light you let in to the camera to take your photo at the right exposure.


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