Exposure and Shooting Modes

-Fully automatic modes:

These modes let the camera adapt the shutter speed, ISO and aperture based on what it sees using algorithms programmed for different situations. When using these modes the camera also controls the focus and the use of flash. The most recognizable example of an automatic mode is the green box or "Auto" mode.

This is known as the fully automatic mode and has several advantages and drawbacks. An advantage is that when using this mode the photographer skips the steps of adjusting ISO, shutter speed and aperture. The drawback is that the camera doesn’t have the photographers eyes, so often the camera will over-adjust based on lighting and other situational elements losing the image the photographer wanted. This can create photos that are blown out or in which the focus is placed where it wasn't wanted. The other automatic modes are represented on a camera with symbols like some of those shown above, standing for modes like portrait, landscape and action shot. Each mode has different settings for adjusting the specifics of the shot and can be useful or crippling.

-Program exposure mode (P)

Shown as a “P” on your camera dial, program mode is very similar to full auto mode. In this mode the camera selects aperture and shutter speed based on the situation but allows the photographer to change the ISO. To change the brightness of a photo in this setting or any of the program modes the photographer needs to use exposure compensation. The use of flash is optional in this setting as in the Av and Tv modes.

-Aperture priority mode (Av)

In Av mode the photographer first selects an aperture and ISO for the photo wanted. The camera then reacts to the aperture chosen and the setting of the photo and sets the shutter speed to create a well exposed photograph.This mode is useful in creating a large or shallow depth of field and purposefully blurring the foreground or background of a photo.

-Shutter priority mode (Tv)

In the Tv or shutter priority mode the photographer first sets the shutter speed ISO and the camera then reacts to said selections by choosing an appropriate aperture. This can be helpful in situations where movement is desired to be frozen or purposefully blurred.

-Manual exposure

In manual exposure mode the photographer is in complete control. This has some benefits and some drawbacks. The biggest benefit is that you can fine tune your settings to achieve the photo you want but it takes longer to get an exposure, while in the auto camera settings you can quickly get an exposure but have far less control. 

-Light Meters and how they work

The light meter is the device which determines if the photo is being exposed correctly. Seen below, to achieve a correctly exposed photo, the arrow above the number line should be directly above 0. To change a setting, such as the ISO for example, it is necessary to also “stop down” or “stop up” (double or half) either the shutter speed or the aperture.

Generally, if the photo is under or over-exposed, changing one (or more) of the three settings will fix the problem. However, it’s also important to take into consideration the fact that if you are shooting a fast-motion shot, for example, you will need to have a fast shutter speed, which darkens the exposure. In that case, you would need to change either the aperture or ISO in order to keep the shutter speed fast while lightening the image in a different way.

-The Stop

The “stop” on a DSLR camera simply means that you are either allowing less or more light into the camera lense, and is done by changing either the ISO, shutter speed, or aperture. Generally, people refer to this as either “stopping up” or “stopping down.”

The stop is a relative unit of measure. "Stopping up" means to increase the amount of LIGHT, not number. In any setting, whether it be the aperture, ISO or sutter speed, when you stop up you double the amount of light let in, and when you stop down, you half the amount of light let in.

http://tubularinsights.com/f-stop/

https://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/what-are-stops-in-digital-camera-settings/

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/what-is-a-stop-of-exposure-in-photography

http://www.myphotocentral.com/articles/how-to-use-light-meter/

http://www.littlebellows.com/blog/2015/09/23/can-i-just-use-my-cameras-internal-light-meter

https://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-learn-your-cameras-light-meter-and-master-manual-mode/

https://digital-photography-school.com/aperture-priority-and-shutter-priority-exposure-lesson-1/

http://www.photographybay.com/2011/06/14/camera-modes-full-auto-aka-the-green-square/

All About Lenses

Standard Lens - A very basic lens, it's similar to perspective of the human eye, therefore it will capture an image the way that our eyes typically see it. Pros: It has a wide aperture and therefore shoots in dark conditions very well Cons: It has a fixed view, meaning it can’t zoom. They typically have a focal length of 50mm

Macro Lens - Typically used to photograph very small things; insects, individual flowers, small objects.

Pros: The construction of the lens makes it so that there is especially good contrast and a sharp image. 

Cons: It isn’t specifically designed to take photos of anything but close up objects. 

Telephoto Lens - a zoom lens that can magnify much more than a regular 

Pros: They can photograph things very far away while still maintaining resolution integrity.  
        Cons: They’re larger and heavier than typical lenses. 

Wide angle lens - A lens designed to be able to photograph a very wide subject. Think “wide screen” vs. “full screen” 

Pros: You can capture a lot within your frame, more than a typical lens would allow. Additionally, they can purposefully distort the image when it’s being captured if you start to use very wide angle lenses like 

        “fisheye” lenses. This can also be a con.

Cons: They don’t have much zoom capability.

Fisheye Lens: A lens with a VERY wide angle, sometimes up to 180 degrees - these are so wide that they distort the actuality of the image, which can be desirable or not. They’re sometimes used for photographing sports or architecture, giving a very distinct stylistic feel.
        Cons: Many times you can see the edge of the lens within your photo 

Tilt/Shift Lens - A lens where you can change the perspective of your shot in the camera, instead of in post editing. When taking a photo of a building, you can correct it so that you don’t see the perspective change from your position below the building. You can keep the actual straight lines of architecture in real life, all within your camera.

Difference between Zoom and Prime
       Zoom Lens: A lens without a determined focal length, meaning it can zoom in and out

       Prime Lens: A lens with a determined focal length, meaning it can’t zoom in and out

Additionally, there are other lenses called “specialist lenses” which have specific functions to the condition they’re being used in, such as soft focus or infrared lenses! 

Focal Lengths:

Focal length is related to the distance to the principal point of focal point, usually measured in mm. The mm does not relate to the actual size of the length of the lens, rather it is the calculation of an optical distance from the point where the light rays converge to form a sharp image of the object to the digital sensor. A shorter focal length wider angle of view and a lower magnification. You can see some examples of the focal distance in the images below.

Crop Factor:

35 mm Camera or " Full Frame" has been an industry standard. Due to the manufacturing of cameras and the popularity on the rise, there are many cameras which have been made that carry a variety of image sensor sizes. This causes image cropping. If compared, taking a photo from the same scene using a full frame camera and a camera that has a smaller image sensor but using the same size lens you will find the image of the second camera to be a smaller area of the scene. This is best shown through the images below.

Angle of view: Another thing to consider when looking at the focal length and crop factor is to consider how this affects the angle of view or "field of view." This viewing angle is measured in degrees and changes as your lens changes. The more angular your lens is the more of the scene you can capture. The more you zoom the less you will capture. Consider these common focal lengths of both full frame cameras and crop sensor cameras and how the angle of view changes.

Full Frame:

-28mm lens = 74 degree angle

-35mm lens = 62 degree angle

-50mm lens = 46 degree angle

-85mm lens = 28.5 degree angle

-135mm lens = 18 degree angle

-250mm lens = 13.7 degree angle

Aps-C/Crop Sensor:

-18mm lens = 74 degree angle

-23.5 mm lens = 62 degree angle

-35mm lens = 46 degree angle

-55mm lens = 28.5 degree angle

-90mm lens = 18 degree angle

-120mm lens = 13.7 degree angle

(This is a rounded example)

(This continues as the lens focal length goes up your field of view and what you can capture goes down)

Works Cited: http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/lenses

http://cow.mooh.org/projects/tiltshift/howdoesitwork.html

http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/images/underwater_olympus.jpg

https://static.bhphotovideo.com/explora/sites/default/files/_olympus-m_zuiko-digital-ed-300mm-f_4_is_pro-lens.jpg

http://assets3.radiox.co.uk/2017/24/arcade-fire-creature-comfort-video-1497612790-article-0.png
https://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/fish_eye_lens_example.jpg
https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/7963/7963106_sa.jpg
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/819CuluuYQL._SL1500_.jpg

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/understanding-focal-length.html

https://photographylife.com/what-is-crop-factor

https://digital-photography-school.com/crop-factor-explained/

All About Cameras

Cameras allow us to capture moments. They allow us to freeze time, to remember. This draws people in. We all want to remember certain things!

A camera is made up of three fundamental components – optical (lens), chemical (film/digital), and mechanical (camera body). These three components make it possible to have these incredible machines.

The first photographic processes began in 1819, as people discovered how light could be used to reveal the image they were looking for. The first practical ‘camera’ came around in 1839. These first cameras consisted of two small boxes and a lens which was used to capture the light. A chemical process using mercury, iodine, and salt was invented to create a lasting image. Since then, photography has come a long way. We now have very high-tech cameras that allow us to take incredible pictures with excellent quality. But had it not been for innovation in the 1800s, we would not be where we are now when it comes to cameras. 

There are several different kinds of cameras, and it can be very confusing when first starting to learn about them. Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras (DSLRs) or Single-Lens Reflex cameras (SLRs) are different than simple point-and-shoot digital cameras because they use a hinged mirror to divert the projected image through the viewfinder. When the shutter closes to take the picture, this hinged mirror flips up and allows the projected image to expose onto the sensor.

Image by Esrar Ravi 10/18/2010. Sourced from Flickr.

This process results in high quality images, with better lighting and resolution than an average digital camera. DSLR cameras first became popular in the early 2000s, and replaced a lot of film-based single-lens reflex cameras. For a long time the majority of people that used these cameras were professional photographers, but recently DSLRs have become more and more popular among a large variety of people. There are advantages and disadvantages of DSLR cameras, and it is definitely worth taking into account all of these.

Before describing the advantages and disadvantages of DSLR cameras, it is important to understand three key elements of these cameras. It is important to understand and know the difference between shutter speed, ISO, and Aperture. Shutter speed is the amount of time it takes for the shutter on the camera to capture an image. For instance, if trying to capture something that is moving really fast, like a bullet, the shutter speed can be increased so that the camera can take multiple, very fast shots to capture the moving bullet. ISO increases the camera’s sensitivity to light. In brighter conditions, the ISO can be lowered so that the pictures aren’t too exposed, and when the natural lighting is not bright enough, the ISO can be increased to let in more light. Lastly, aperture is the ability to change the depth of field that the DSLR camera is capturing. For instance, when taking a portrait of one person, a small depth of field is most beneficial because it allows the camera to focus on the person being photographed, while blurring the background. In contrast, a large depth of field would be used when taking a group portrait, so that the camera will focus on every person in the photograph. There is more information about each of these topics in other posts on this blog.

Disadvantages: 
-Large size. They are pretty heavy,
bulky, and can often be a hassle to
carry around.
-Can be expensive.

Advantages:
-Interchangeable lenses. Very
versatile.
-Develop you own sense of style, and
fine tune which lenses they prefer.
-excellent speed, responsiveness,
and shutter speed.
-great for action/movement, as they
are able to catch very brief
moments.
-capture great photos even when the
lighting isn’t great.
-Lack of ‘noise’ thanks to the ISO
feature!

A DSLR camera also allows the photographer to have complete control over his/her photographs. The photographer is able to change the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture of the camera for each and every photo, depending on what they are trying to achieve. Although these cameras do have an automatic setting, it is very valuable to learn how to use shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Learning these skills, and using a DSLR camera manually can result in photographs that are of a much higher caliber.

 

DSLR with a variety of lenses
Image by Allyn Bernardo 10/10/2009. Sourced from Flickr.

Another type of high end digital camera growing in popularity is the mirrorless camera. A mirrorless camera functions similarly to a DSLR, but the mirrorless camera foregoes the mirror system used to reflect light and create an image in the view finder of a camera. By using a small LCD screen as the viewfinder instead, or even foregoing the viewfinder to just display the image on the screen, mirrorless cameras are much smaller and weigh a lot less than DSLRs. They are more comparable to the dimensions of a point and shoot camera.

mirrorless camera in comparison to these options:

Comparing sizes: left- DSLR, right- mirrorless
Image by Nando Harmsen 6/19/2016. Sourced from Flickr.

Although smaller and simpler than DSLRs, mirrorless cameras still have large sensors and interchangeable lenses. Of course, there is a wide range in the quality of mirrorless cameras just as there is for DSLRS, but mirrorless cameras tend to function just as well.

Advantages:   
-Greater potential shooting speed                                     Disadvantages:

-Portable (smaller, lightweight, etc)                                -More expensive lenses

-Shows what the final image will look                            -Fewer lens options available

on the screen with light adjustments                               -Viewfinder/LCD view can be grainy in low light

-superior filming quality                                        -shorter battery life (constantly powering the electronic viewfinder or LCD screen)
           

In addition to these two options, there are several other kinds of cameras available. The most  prevalent cameras on the 
market are point and shoot cameras, a simplified digital camera, and cameras on smart phones. These cameras are generally 
seen as lesser cameras when compared to DSLR of mirrorless cameras, as they are not used professionally. However, they 
can take good pictures, depending on what you are looking for. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of a DSLR or 

mirrorless camera in comparison to these options:

Advantages over phone or point and shoot:            Disadvantages:

-interchangeable lenses                                            -more expensive

-bigger sensor                                                          -less portable

-more megapixels                                                    -needs more regular cleaning

-image stabilizing                                                     -more complicated

-easier control of different functions                       -can be less convenient for sharing pics

DSLR vs point and shoot

Image by Marc Crowther 5/14/13. Sourced from Flickr.

There are also a couple more options for professional cameras such as medium or large format cameras. These cameras 
are generally film, but can also be digital and are distinguished by their large image sensor size. Medium format 
cameras record an image in material larger than 24 by 36 mm and smaller than 4 by 5 inches, which is what a large format 
camera  uses. These cameras were quite popular near the beginning of photography, and their main benefit is that their 
pictures have unparalleled resolution. However, as the retail cost of these cameras generally begins around $10,000 and 
developing film is less convenient due to diminished demand than it has been in the past, these cameras are generally only 
used by some professionals and a few camera enthusiasts.

Large format camera

Image by Massimiliano Acanfora 6/30/2017. Sourced from Flickr.

Sources:
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/dslr-vs-mirrorless-cameras,news-17736.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_format_(film)