If you are a novice to photography, the equipment may appear very confusing, particularly the camera. It was difficult enough working out the terminology before the digital revolution, but now it is practically impossible. Digital cameras are dedicated microcomputers and just as difficult for the inexperienced to understand. Here are some common terms.
The aperture is the size of the lens and the bigger the aperture of the lens, the more light that is let in and the more light that is admitted, the better the quality of the photo and the less likely it is that you will need to use a flash, which brings its own problems with it. So, look for a camera with a large aperture.
The shutter speed is important for taking photos in different qualities of light and for employing special effects. Shutter speed in combination with aperture size gives more control over the final image. For example, a wide aperture will permit enough light in a very short time, so that the shutter can open and close very rapidly, which will permit you to capture a part of a second like water droplets splashing.
Therefore, if the aperture is large enough, you can have a wider assortment of shutter speeds which will permit you to use special effects while taking your photos. While the shutter speed is chosen automatically on digital cameras, on some it can be manually chosen if so required. The shutter speed is connected to the camera’s ability to take motion pictures.
Memory is the camera’s equivalent of a computer’s RAM. It is the temporary storage space for your photos and the amount you require is closely linked to the resolution of the photos and how many you want to take without resort to memory cards.
Most digital cameras have at least one slot for a memory card. Memory cards may increase your camera’s memory capacity by five, six or even ten times.
There are quite a number of different kinds of memory card and not all cameras can take all sorts. Therefore, when you buy your digital camera, check what type of memory card it takes and then check that that type or card suits you. When you have your camera, you are restricted to which cards you may use.
Memory cards will hold your photos until you empty them, so if you would like to take lots of photos, say, while on holiday, take a couple of cards with you and process them once you get home. When you have downloaded the images onto your computer, you can wipe the cards clean and use them again.
SLR and DSLR refer to single-reflex lens and digital single-reflex lens. This is a very important idea for a photographer, because it means that you will have a image of precisely what you see in your camera’s view-finder. The situation with most cheap cameras is that the camera ‘looks out’ of the lens, but the photographer looks through a view-finder.
These two lenses come from slightly different angles. This is not much of a problem for medium to long distance photography, but can cause optical errors in close ups. Therefore, professional and dedicated amateur photographers will always purchase an SLR or DSLR for their important work.
However, the technology in these cameras makes them dearer, heavier and more cumbersome than most amateur snappers would like to put up with.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on numerous topics, but is at present involved with tips for product photography. If you have an interest in photography, please visit our website now at Photography Studio Cameras
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