Understanding Camera Basics

Understanding Digital Cameras

DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and mirrorless cameras are the most common types used by photographers.
Both types come with interchangeable lenses, allowing for a broad range of shooting scenarios.
The sensor inside the camera body is responsible for capturing light and turning it into an image.
Megapixels relate to the resolution of the resulting image. Higher megapixel count generally results in better quality.

Most cameras come with a range of different shooting modes.
Auto mode makes all choices for you and is good for beginners.
Program mode (P) allows you to adjust flash, white balance and other settings, but automates aperture and shutter speed.
Aperture Priority (A or Av) lets you manually set the aperture, while the camera adjusts other settings.
Shutter Priority (S or Tv) allows you to manually set the shutter speed.
Manual Mode (M) gives you full control over all camera settings.

The aperture is the opening in the lens that lets light into the camera.
A lower f-number (like f/1.8) signifies a larger aperture opening, which lets in more light.
A higher f-number (like f/22) means a smaller aperture opening and less light entering.
Aperture also affects depth of field. A large aperture has a shallow depth of field (only a small part of the image is in sharp focus), while a small aperture has a large depth of field (most of the image is in sharp focus).

The shutter speed dictates how long the image sensor is exposed to light.
Slower shutter speeds (like 1 second) mean the sensor is exposed for a longer time, resulting in more light and potentially motion blur.
Faster speeds (like 1/1000th of a second) expose the sensor for less time, freezing motion.

ISO controls the sensor’s sensitivity to light.
Lower ISO values (like ISO 100 or 200) mean less sensitivity and are ideal for well-lit scenes.
Higher ISO values (like ISO 1600 or 3200) increase sensitivity, good for poorly lit scenes, but they may introduce digital noise, reducing image quality.

White balance corrects the colouring of the image, adjusting for the temperature of the light source.
Your camera likely has WB presets for tungsten, fluorescent, daylight, cloudy, and flash scenes among others.
Manual white balance adjustment is available in most DSLR and mirrorless cameras.

Cameras offer manual and autofocus settings.
Autofocus works well for most situations, but for precision, manual focus may sometimes be needed.
The camera’s AF points can be manually selected or auto-selected depending on the shooting scenario.

Your camera’s metering modes provide different ways of determining the correct exposure.
Centre-weighted metering gives preference to the centre of the frame, useful for portraits.
Spot metering measures light at a single point, ideal for high-contrast scenes.
Matrix or evaluative metering evaluates the light in the entire frame for an average reading.

Remember to practice using these settings and techniques to get a feel for how they influence your photos.