Saturday, March 22, 2014

Can somebody explain basic DSLR terminology to me?




Burninrock


I recently purchased a Nikon D3000 DSLR. And I want to use it to it's full advantage along with understanding what I'm doing. So can you explain the basic terminology to me? Particularly what i'm looking at on the screen.

http://dpinterface.com/reviews/nikon-d3000/nikon-d3000-autorotate.jpg
(^^ best example I could find of my screen on the web)

Also, I have recently become aware that the depth of field is determined by the lens speed. However, I have no clue about how to "read" or analyze lens specs. So could somebody give me an explanation to these things? Thanks!



Answer
OK I'll tell you a few things about those icons and numbers on your camera's display.

Up there it says A. A means Aperture priority mode. Aperture is the hole in the lens through which lens passes and hits the sensor. In A (read aperture priority mode), you select how much light you want to come into your camera and your camera will automatically choose the right shutter speed to compensate. The shutter is a physical shutter (!) in front of the sensor and it opens and closes. When it opens, light hits the sensor. The duration that the shutter is open is known as shutter speed. Here, your shutter speed is 1/500. Meaning that the sensor will be exposed to light only for 1/500th of a second (which is very very very fast).

[894] means that you can take 894 photos before running out of memory.

Your flash is off.

Your exposure compensation is set on 0.0.

Flash compensation is 0.0 too.

Qual means the quality of the photo and it's divided into 2 parts: L and NORM. Norm means that the quality of your images will be normal (some cameras have fine, normal, basic, extra, etc). L means large, i.e. the size of your image will be large.

ISO Hi1 is your ISO. ISO is the sensitivity of your camera's sensor to light. The higher the number (100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, Hi1=6400, Hi2=12800), the more sensitive the sensor to light. But the more sensitive the sensor, the more noise your photos will have.

Your autofocus is on center.

WB is set on AUTO. WB is the temperature of your photos.

Your Metering is set on Evaluative/Matrix.

Those squares on each other means that you are in continuous shooting. As long as you hold the shutter release button, the camera will continue taking photos.

AF-S means that the lens mounted to the camera is an AF-S type of lens.

I gave you the very basic information about those icons and numbers. Read the manual and you'll learn everything about them in detail.

BTW, the depth of field is determined by aperture, focal length and your distance to the subject.

You can Google all these terms and learn more about them or watch videos about them on YouTube.

Whats the difference between these two cameras?




itsmebekah


Whats the difference between a cannon dslr camera (t3) and a cannon power shot digital camera? Other than the price? I am looking to get a cannon camera, but im a total newbie with cameras and i need your help.... All i know is one is $550 and one is $350... Thanks!


Answer
The DSLR has a lot larger sensor (over 10 times as large) and can capture more light. More light means better low light performance.

And just as important, the lens is immensely better on a DSLR. Not only in it's light gathering capability, but also its optical clarity, quality, and having fewer defects (all lenses do have some defects though).

And there are a lot of other highly advanced features in the typical DSLR that no compact camera has; full manual exposure capability, FIFO buffer (results in low shutter delay), a real shutter (electro-mechanical), phase-detect focusing, but to name a few. They are too numerous to mention - so go to a camera shop and have them explain the features.




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