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Posts Tagged ‘Camera’

If you’ve recenly moved up from your point and click camera to one that bases itself more on an SLR type camera, or is indeed an SLR, you will have no doubt noticed that there are a many more options for your to play with to get the perfect picture, but what does each one do?

Exposure

This refers to the amount of light collected by a camera’s sensor to create a photograph. It is important to gauge how much light is needed for the photo; too much light and the picture will be blown out (too bright), not enough light, and the picture will be too dark. There are three main factors that contribute to and affect exposure and depth-of-field; aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. An understanding of each and how they relate to each other is necessary to get the right amount of exposure for your subject and lighting conditions. Most modern cameras have a light meter to show how much light the sensor is collecting, and indicate the best exposure for your shot. Many cameras also have an “Auto” mode that will set aperture, shutter speed and ISO for you. To move beyond the AUTO Mode and get good photos, you need to understand exposure, framing and focus, and have the ability to manually adjust your camera’s settings to achieve the desired effect.

Aperture

This is the size of the lens opening that allows light to hit the sensor. When looking at the settings on a camera, aperture is called F-stop, and shown like this F8.0, or this f/2.8. The size of the F-Stop number is inversely related to the size of the lens opening, so lower numbers mean a larger aperture, which will let in more light to the sensor. Sometimes, the phrase “aperture value” is used instead of F-stop value. Aperture dictates what is actually in focus (depth-of-field). A low F-stop can be used to focus on a single object, blurring the background, and higher F-stop values can be used to focus on a lot of stuff at once.

Shutter Speed

This regulates how long the shutter stays open to admit light to the sensor. The slower your shutter speed, the more light will be gathered by the sensor, thus exposing the photo more. Shutter speed is measured in very small increments of time; seconds and fractions of seconds. With fractions of seconds, larger denominators indicate faster shutter speed. For most hand-held photos, shutter speeds of 1/60 of a second or faster will be optimal. Because it is very difficult to hold a camera perfectly steady for any length of time, lower speeds (longer exposure time) often result in blurry photos. Some cameras come with image stabilization, which helps with camera shake. Also, using a tripod is a good idea if you need a longer exposure for your shot.

ISO

This expresses the light sensitivity of a digital camera’s sensor. Film ISO is not adjusted on the camera, but film can be bought in several ISO values. Higher ISO number means the digital camera’s sensor is “getting more out of” the light it receives. Higher ISO settings are good for low-light situations, when you need the camera to make as much use of available light as possible. Lower ISO settings are preferable when there is plenty of available light. The higher the ISO, the more noise (grain, in film) you will get in your photo. Generally, it is best to use the lowest ISO setting that will also allow for proper exposure.

Since F-stop and shutter speed affect the amount of light received by the sensor, and ISO dictates the sensor’s sensitivity to that light, they can be manipulated together for just the right exposure.

As with any skill, good photography takes a lot of practice, all the best sports photography and wedding photography shots have been taken after learning and of course practicing for years, but the satisfaction of taking beautiful, artistic photos is well worth the trial and error.

Buying the right photographic equipment cannot be rushed. To avoid regrets and wastefulness your purchasing decision must be based on a solid foundation – not on what the adverts tell us. A number of questions will guide us in reaching a decision.

* First of all you must think how is it going to be used?
* What do you want to photograph?
* How often will you use your equipment?
* Are you going to travel with it to remote locations?
* How serious are you about photography?
* Do you think your photographic interest will grow?

You can produce great photographs with any brand of DSLR camera. After the entire camera itself doesn’t take the picture. You, the person behind the camera does this job. The camera body is not the main factor in creating a good image. For example, the old photographic masters created great images with camera bodies that compared to what’s available today can only be described as very basic boxes that held the film in place and little more. This is not to say that all cameras are created equal. Far from it, some are better suited to a specific purpose while others offer all kinds of facilities and sophistication.

It’s the quality of the lens mounted in front of the camera and the way in which the lens is used by you, the photographer – the way in which you proceed in your picture taking, that’s most responsible for the quality of the resulting photograph.

Digital photography revolutionised manufactures of photo equipment. Some gave up, others merged, still others diversified and a few entered the digital field as makers of equipment.

However, two manufactures captured and maintain a large portion of the market. Nikon and Canon. These two are the dominant professional brands. They offer broad choices both in camera bodies and lenses. The quality is excellent but their lenses are very expensive.

An informed decision must be made when first purchasing a camera system. Equipment for one brand is not interchangeable with the other brand name. A serious photographer over a period of time will spend thousands of pound in camera bodies, lenses and the rest. Once you decide to buy one brand your loyalty to that manufacture will most likely remain for the rest of your photographic life unless money isn’t a problem for you. I must add that gear for these two brand names maintain their second hand value very well, perhaps making it possible to start again with a different new camera system without incurring a major financial loss.

Buy the best equipment you can then practice a lot to learn to use that equipment in the best possible manner. The very best equipment, the most expensive camera and lenses available can only be as good as the photographer using them.

Lenses – What to Buy?

This is the most expensive and critical purchase. Again the decision of what to buy is dependent on the answers to the above questions. For example, a portrait photographer will use different lenses to a wildlife photographer. So, what do you specialise in?

Is the photographer photographing scenes? Birds? Wildlife larger than birds? Scenes and Wildlife?

To photograph birds you’ll need a 600mm lens if you want to fill the frame with action. These lenses are very expensive and heavy. I found a compromise – I purchased a 300mm, f/2.8 and a 2x converter. This raised the 300mm lens to 600mm with a f/5.6 to work with.

I found this system to be the second best option. The system is still expensive but not so much. It’s also very heavy so your tripod must be able to offer a firm support. For example, my Sigma 120-300, f/2.8 lens without the converter and camera weighs about 2kg.

In contrast, a landscape photographer doesn’t need a 600mm lens. To compress the elements in a scene a 300mm lens will do. The aperture is also not a critical factor. However, a landscape photographer will certainly need a wide-angle lens to create drama.

If you’re thinking in buying a camera system sit down first and analyse some of these questions plus a few others you come up with. Then shop around for the system that fits your needs.

Carlos Pereira received a qualification from the British Institute of Professional Photographers. He developed a successful business in the UK as a wedding and Portrait photographer. He received further training in the USA from Monte Zucker, a master photographer.

His Wildlife and Portrait photographs have been published in the UK and European photographic magazines.

He concentrates his photography as a travelling photographer and a teacher, offering his expertise as a nature photographer through digital books.

His vision has been moulded by the classic portraiture that was his business for a number of years.