GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAMERA

Adding automatic features would cost a lot more. AUTO MODE / MANUAL MODE Twenty or so years ago you would be able to buy an all manual camera, for a fairly reasonable price. Adding automatic features would cost a lot more. Now a days, you can buy an automatic camera for a fairly reasonable price. Adding the Manual features is what will cost you much more.

MANUAL FEATURES

On the flip side, auto mode cant compose your shots for you. Auto mode will make all of critical decisions required to take a good photo. It will FOCUS, select EXPOSURE settings, calculate CORRERCT COLOR SETTINGS, and many other decisions. On the flip side, auto mode cant compose your shots for you. Sometimes it will not come up with the best decision. However, it is extremely capable and will almost always make a very good decision when it comes to taking a picture.

POINT-AND-SHOOT OR SLR The digital camera market is divided into two major categories, POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERAS AND SINGLE LENS REFLEX (SLR CAMERAS) The term Point-and-shoot covers a huge range of sizes, body designs, and capabilities.

POINT AND SHOOT CONT. With a Point-and-Shoot camera, you usually use the LCD screen on the back of the camera as your viewfinder. With this screen you can check the current status of your photo, and use the OPTICAL VIEWFINDER (help frame your shot.) Your P&S camera may also contain a built in flash, amongst other things. If your camera has an optical viewfinder then your camera has two lenses, your viewfinder looks through one, while the other is used to focus light onto the image sensor.

SLR Single Lens Reflex essentially means that your camera’s viewfinder looks through the same lens that is used to focus light onto the image sensors inside the camera body. The advantage of the SLR viewfinder, is that it shows a much more accurate framing than the viewfinder on a typical point-and-shoot camera, it also shows the effects of any filters or lens attachments that you might have added.

SLR CONT. SLR along with P&S allows you to use the LCD screen, located on the back of the camera. HOWEVER, the optical viewfinder on an SLR will be much brighter and clearer, than what you see on an LCD screen on any other camera.

Compact Interchangeable Lens Camera CILC Sitting between point-and-shoots and SLR’s is a new category of camera that has many of the quality and usability advantages of an SLR, but that is closer to the size of a point-and-shoot. They have removable lenses and larger image sensors, as well as high end features such as full manual control. The CILC camera has better image quality and control than that of a P&S camera. Unlike an SLR it will not offer the optical viewfinders - only electronic LCD viewfinders.

Battery, Media Card, Power Switch Obviously all cameras require one to operate, and you should know how to install and remove the battery, as well as how to charge it. Media Card This is a small memory chip that your camera uses to store images while your shooting. Power Switch Turn camera on and off.

A LONGER FOCAL LENGTH MEANS A MORE TELEPHOTO LENS. Shooting in Auto Mode Shooting mode determines which decision the camera will make and which decisions will be left up to you. Auto mode will make up most of important decisions from exposure settings, as well as many other important parameters, such as whether the flash should fire. Framing your shot: look through the viewfinder, and frame your shot. Don’t be afraid to zoominzoomout. Focal Length: With camera lenses, the length of the lens is measured in millimeters and is also referred to as the focal length. A LONGER FOCAL LENGTH MEANS A MORE TELEPHOTO LENS. For example, a 200mm lens provides a greater telephoto capacity than that of a 50mm lens.

Pressing the Shutter Button Pressing the shutter button may seem easy, but there are certain things to understand. Proper use of the shutter button is how you control your camera’s autofocus and metering features. With your shot framed, press the shutter button down halfway. You should feel a halfway point where the shutter button kind of stops, This means your camera’s focusing mechanism has been activated.

Pressing the Shutter Button Cont. Once it locks focus, a few things may happen. Your camera has different focus points (squares) and with the shutter button pressed down on, these squares will light up showing you the subject that will be in focus. If you have a “touch screen” LCD screen you can press on where you want your focus points to be in the photo. This will help with subjects that are on the side of the frame. Your scene may also contain several potential subjects that are all positioned at the same distance, creating multiple focus points on your LCD screen.

Pressing the Shutter Button Cont. After the camera has focused, it will probably also beep, and will possibly show a “go” indicator of some kind. At this point you can press the shutter button the rest of the way to take the shot. It is crucial that you use the “half-press, wait, full-press” process when using an autofocus camera. The process of metering, and focusing takes time, so it is essential that you engage in the pre-focus step of pressing the shutter button down halfway to give the camera time to take its measurements.

Managing Flash in Auto Mode As previously stated, in auto mode, your camera will decide when and when not to fire the flash. Having said that, their are times when it is inappropriate to fire the flash, even in auto mode. Some cameras have a special “no-flash” auto mode that gives you all the features of auto mode except for automatic flash selection.

Managing Flash in Auto Mode Cont. If you are working with an SLR that doesn't have a no-flash auto mode, then you’ll need to follow this procedure for canceling flash. Half press the shutter button to meter and focus. If the camera thinks the flash is necessary, it will pop up the flash. While still holding the shutter button down halfway, push the flash back down to close it. Now press the shutter button down the rest of the way to take your shot.

Using Auto Mode in Low Light In a low-light situation you might see some strange flashes coming from the built-in-flash or even a bright light being shined into your scene from a lamp on the front of the camera. This is where the “focus assist light” can be used to brighten up the scene, instead of the flash. If, after you half-press the shutter button, your camera doesn’t beep or indicate that focus has been locked, then it be the scene is too dark for the camera to achieve focus, or it might be that it is confused by composition.

Shutter Speed and Status Exposure: Simply is a measure of how much light the image sensor in your camera is exposed to during the shot. Your camera composes three different mechanisms for controlling exposure: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. DEFINE HOW ALL THREE OF THESE WORK IN A SLR CAMERA.

Shutter Speed and Status Cont. The shutter in your camera is a little curtain that sits in front of the image sensor, It opens and closes very quickly to control how much light passes through the image sensor. Shutter speed is a measure of how many seconds the shutter stays open. When the shutter is opened longer, moving objects will appear blurry. With a longer shutter speed, any motion in the camera will result in a soft or outright blurry image.

Shutter Speed and Status Cont. Typically, a scene in bright sunlight, shot with a fairly typical lens, will require a shutter speed around 1/60th of second. Shutter speeds can range tremendously, from 1/8000 of a second to whole minutes...even hours.

Reading Shutter Speed Shutter speed and Aperture are usually shown side-by-side with shutter speed appearing first. Your shutter speeds are almost always fractional - EX. 1/100th of a second. Most cameras show the denominator of the fraction, so if your camera is set at 1/100th of a second it will show a shutter speed of 100.

Playing Back Your Images As you’ve already seen, your camera will always give you a brief review after you shoot an image. Your camera should have a play control that switches the camera into playback mode. On some cameras, Playback is a mode, just like auto mode. Once your in Playback mode you should be able to go through all of your images. You can even zoom into your images, along with panning to the left and right. And of course, you can delete whichever images you don’t want.

Many cameras, therefore, have additional modes called scene modes. Using Scene Modes 80-90% of the images you take, Auto mode will probably be all that you need. It’s capable of making any kind of creative decisions or even of knowing when it might need to bias its decision-making to be able to capture, say, a fast-moving object. Many cameras, therefore, have additional modes called scene modes.

Using Scene Modes PORTRAIT MODE: The camera will chose exposure settings that will help soften the background. Thus creating a sharp focus for the subject. LANDSCAPE MODE: Ensures everything in the shot is in focus, this mode will choose settings that will ensure that objects both near and far are in focus. CLOSE-UP MODE: This mode is used for shooting small objects, flowers, or close-ups of objects. SAND AND SNOW MODE: If you’re shooting a scene with a lot of white, such as a beach or snow covered field, then this modes for you.

Using Scene Modes SPORTS MODE: This mode will bias for fast, motion stopping shutter speeds. Some cameras will also engage a servo autofocus which can track a moving subject to ensure that it is in focus. NIGHT PORTRAIT MODE: causes the camera to fire the flash, but also use a slow shutter speed to expose elements properly that are out side of the flash range.

Snapshot Tips When shooting a portrait or candid of someone, you usually do not need a lot of headroom.