ECU - Extreme Closeup
The extreme close up is used to reveal very small details in the scene. It might be used to reveal horror in a subject (extreme close up of the subject’s mouth as she/he screams). It might also be used in a mystery to show some detail that the detective picks up on or to show some small clue.
CU - Close Up
The close up shot is used to reveal detail. If you are shooting just the head and shoulders of a subject this is a close up.
Head and Shoulders
The head and shoulders shot is used in news broadcasts. If you think about the television news you will realize that this shot reveals enough detail to see the subject’s lips move and the expression on her/his face. Read the rest of this entry »
Nowadays, it’s not enough that there are many different types of memory options for your camera such as CompactFlash, SmartMedia, and Memory Sticks. Now, memory comes in different speeds. Some memory may claim to be 4x, 8x, 16x, or more.
It seems that faster memory cards may result in increased digital camera performance because photos should be written to and read/from memory quicker. However, realize that your digital camera must support the faster read/write mode of your memory card in order to take advantage of the speed increase. If your camera only supports 8x, then spending the extra money to get a 16x card may be worthless, unless you plan on soon purchasing a camera that supports the extra speed. Read the rest of this entry »
Now that you have a good understanding of what the shutter speed is and how to control your camera’s shutter speed, you need some guidelines on what shutter speed is needed in different situations. The following list will give you some idea of where to begin in selecting a shutter speed for specific situations. The speeds listed are the needed speeds to freeze the action under normal conditions. If you want to blur the action, decrease the shutter speed. To adjust for a very fast situation, increase the shutter speed.
* Football - 1/400
* Baseball/Softball/Hockey - 1/350
* Kids Running - 1/350
* People Jumping - 1/250
* Golf Balls - 1/3200 Read the rest of this entry »
SLR and DSLR
SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex and DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex and refers to how the light enters the camera. These are the cameras you see many professionals and serious amateurs lugging around. These cameras have a larger body than most P&S cameras and interchangeable lenses. While SLRs started out a fully manual, where the photographer had to control all features including focus, most of these cameras are capable of acting in a fully automatic mode just like a P&S. Many now allow the photographer the freedom to also take control of all functions or any combination of functions. These cameras allow for great control over the photography process and allow the photographer to take images not always possible with a P&S.
Features
SLRs and DSLRs allow for control over:
* shutter speed
* aperture
* film speed
* focus point Read the rest of this entry »
Measuring Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is generally measured in fractions of a second. A shutter speed of “5000″ means that the shutter will open for 1/5000th of a second. Shutter speeds of 1 second and longer are generally marked with a ‘, or other similar mark, after the number. This means that 16′ on your camera’s display would stand for 16 seconds. The letter “B” is often used to indicate the shutter will remain open as long as you hold down the shutter release button.
Slow Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is considered to be “long” or “slow” when it is slower than 1/60th of a second. (Remember, this is marked as 60 on your camera dial or display.) This numbers comes from the fact that most people can only hold a standard lens (between 35mm and 70mm) steady for 1/60th of a second or less. Read the rest of this entry »
Shutter speed is one of the most basic important controls on a camera. Shutter Speed is one of the three exposure controls. Shutter speed controls the amount of time that your film, or digital sensor, is exposed to light. In effect, the shutter determines what image is captured on your film. The shutter is a small plastic sheet that opens and closes to allow light onto the film or prevent light from reaching the film. The shutter is opened when you press the shutter release button on your camera to take a picture. The shutter speed determines how long the shutter remains open.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds - or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30).
In cameras with TTL (through the lens) viewfinders, the shutter release button also moves a mirror out of the way of the film and shutter curtain. It is this movement of the shutter curtain and the mirror that gives taking a picture its distinctive “click” sound.
Read the rest of this entry »
mAh stands for Milliamp Hour, a technical term for how much power a particular battery will hold. Digital camera batteries with higher mAh values theoretically last longer without requiring a recharge, allowing you to take more photographs before you have to replace your batteries.
It is recommended when placing batteries in a digital camera that their mAh values match. Otherwise, it is possible that one lesser mAh battery will drain before the others, causing extra strain on the remaining batteries or causing your digital camera to not work until all batteries are replaced.
‘mA’ per ‘hour’ - so 500maH would last 1 hour at 500mA or 2 hours at 250mA or 500 hours at 1mA. Read the rest of this entry »