Important factors in cameras:
Shutter speed -- How long the shutter is open to capture light to the CCD/CMOS sensor. Number is shown in seconds, or fraction of seconds (in sunny conditions, 1/1600 means the shutter was open for exactly 1/1,600 of a second) In the picture below, the shutter was open for somewhere around 10 seconds (i would guess). The length of the headlights of the cars is determined by how far the car went during the duration that the shutter was open
Shutter -- the plastic mechanical dohickey that covers the CCD/CMOS sensor, which is open in such a way to allow all the pixels on the sensor to get an "equal" time looking at light.
fyi, my shutter looks nothing like this, but this is one TYPE of shutter
CCD/CMOS sensor -- the X-megapixel sensor in which each pixel records the colors it sees. In general, CCD = Nikon, CMOS = Canon
Aperture -- this is a LENS term, and not a CAMERA term. This is the size of the opening of the glass on the lens to show how much of the light the LENS will allow to reach the CAMERA (read: CCD/CMOS sensor). In a low light situation, with a small aperture (small opening in the lens), the shutter speed will need to be longer to collect the needed light to capture the picture. In a wide-open (large) aperture, the shutter speed can be shorter to capture the picture. If you have a wide open aperture and a long shutter speed, the image will be flushed out with white. If you have a small aperture and a short shutter speed, the image will be black. If you haven't figured it out by now, aperture and shutter speed must be BALANCED for a good picture (if working in manual mode). Of course, slight adjustments in either direction can make a picture *slightly* more "overexposed," or in the case of the nighttime car-taking pictures, it would make the car headlight's loooooooonger, because the car moved a longer distance during the time that the shutter was open.
As you can see, aperture is numerically created where the smaller f/ numbers are bigger apertures
Aperture also creates DEPTH OF FIELD. Depth of field is basically the distance in front of your lens that will be in focus. This is dependent on, of course, the distance -- and the aperture.
f/32 (SMALL APERTURE)
f/2.8 (same picture, OPEN aperture)
Now here's a little diagram to show the "mechanics" of depth of field
As you can see, with a wide open aperture and a close object, that which is NOT in focus will have the light not meet the sensor at the same angle as it went into the lens, causing the image to be blurry. it is easier with a small aperture to get all the angles to meet the sensor within a few millimeters, so everything appears to be a good focus.
ISO Speed -- This used to be the film speed you bought for your camera. In digital photography, it's just the sensitivity to light. In short, low ISO (100, or 200) means that the shutter speed will be longer to compensate for the low sensitivity to light, and motion will be greater (car headlight lines will be longer). High ISO (1600, 3200) means that, even in extremely low light, you can capture a good shot with minimal or no blurring -- BUT the darkness will be grainy (they call it noisy). Black will be a combination of deep purples and blues.
I kinda oversimplified a lot of these concepts, but I wanted you to understand what these terms mean. So hopefully I put it into language that many of you can understand. For you professional photographers out there, if I left anything important out (or more importantly, if I got something wrong), please tell me!
Shutter speed -- How long the shutter is open to capture light to the CCD/CMOS sensor. Number is shown in seconds, or fraction of seconds (in sunny conditions, 1/1600 means the shutter was open for exactly 1/1,600 of a second) In the picture below, the shutter was open for somewhere around 10 seconds (i would guess). The length of the headlights of the cars is determined by how far the car went during the duration that the shutter was open
Shutter -- the plastic mechanical dohickey that covers the CCD/CMOS sensor, which is open in such a way to allow all the pixels on the sensor to get an "equal" time looking at light.
fyi, my shutter looks nothing like this, but this is one TYPE of shutter
CCD/CMOS sensor -- the X-megapixel sensor in which each pixel records the colors it sees. In general, CCD = Nikon, CMOS = Canon
Aperture -- this is a LENS term, and not a CAMERA term. This is the size of the opening of the glass on the lens to show how much of the light the LENS will allow to reach the CAMERA (read: CCD/CMOS sensor). In a low light situation, with a small aperture (small opening in the lens), the shutter speed will need to be longer to collect the needed light to capture the picture. In a wide-open (large) aperture, the shutter speed can be shorter to capture the picture. If you have a wide open aperture and a long shutter speed, the image will be flushed out with white. If you have a small aperture and a short shutter speed, the image will be black. If you haven't figured it out by now, aperture and shutter speed must be BALANCED for a good picture (if working in manual mode). Of course, slight adjustments in either direction can make a picture *slightly* more "overexposed," or in the case of the nighttime car-taking pictures, it would make the car headlight's loooooooonger, because the car moved a longer distance during the time that the shutter was open.
As you can see, aperture is numerically created where the smaller f/ numbers are bigger apertures
Aperture also creates DEPTH OF FIELD. Depth of field is basically the distance in front of your lens that will be in focus. This is dependent on, of course, the distance -- and the aperture.
f/32 (SMALL APERTURE)
f/2.8 (same picture, OPEN aperture)
Now here's a little diagram to show the "mechanics" of depth of field
As you can see, with a wide open aperture and a close object, that which is NOT in focus will have the light not meet the sensor at the same angle as it went into the lens, causing the image to be blurry. it is easier with a small aperture to get all the angles to meet the sensor within a few millimeters, so everything appears to be a good focus.
ISO Speed -- This used to be the film speed you bought for your camera. In digital photography, it's just the sensitivity to light. In short, low ISO (100, or 200) means that the shutter speed will be longer to compensate for the low sensitivity to light, and motion will be greater (car headlight lines will be longer). High ISO (1600, 3200) means that, even in extremely low light, you can capture a good shot with minimal or no blurring -- BUT the darkness will be grainy (they call it noisy). Black will be a combination of deep purples and blues.
I kinda oversimplified a lot of these concepts, but I wanted you to understand what these terms mean. So hopefully I put it into language that many of you can understand. For you professional photographers out there, if I left anything important out (or more importantly, if I got something wrong), please tell me!
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