Digital Camera dummy user here!?

Question

Could somebody please explain what the following functions actually does for the quality of a camera? Appreciate it! :)
1. White balance
2. ISO
3. AF Area
4. Metering
5. Sharpness
6. Saturation
7. Contrast
8. MF position

Obviously, the manual is not with me..

Answer 1

White Balance adjusts an image so that colors are correct. The surrounding light can change how things look, so the camera may need to correct it. Auto White Balance often works well, but if necessary you can set it yourself to the kind of light you are in.

ISO is the sensitivity level of the camera's sensor. The higher the ISO, the better it can "see", especially in low light. Higher ISO can also be used to take action shots with faster shutter speeds so that the pic is brighter. However, higher ISO can also generate "noise" (little dots) in the pics.

AF (Auto Focus) Area is the part of the pic that the camera will scan when trying to focus. If you choose a bigger area, it has a better chance of getting a focus you want (but could choose something you didn't want). If you choose a smaller small area, you can be sure of the focus point, but if you don't point at it, you will be out of focus.

Metering is the area the camera will use to measure exposure (how light or dark the image will be). If you choose a large metering area, the camera will look at the whole image. If you choose a small area, it will just look at part the middle of the image. If you have a person standing in front of a dark background, the pic will be better with a small metering area that just sees the person's face.

Sharpness is how much you want the edges of things in the pic to stand out. Most pics look better with sharper edges, but some do not. For example, portraits often look better with facial imperfections not as sharp.

Saturation is how intense the colors are. Some people like "realistic" not-so-saturated colors. Other people like more intense colors.

Contrast is the amount of difference between light and dark. Too little Contrast and the pic looks washed out. Too much and it looks harsh.

MF (Movable Focus) Position allows you to move the point of focus away from the middle of the pic. It's one way to focus on something toward the side while metering exposure on something in the middle.

All of these things allow you to adjust things for a particular picture. There is no one setting that improves all pics. You need to set the camera to one of its Program modes to change them.

If you are just starting, use Automatic mode for a while. Then the camera will automaticaly make all these choices for you. They do a pretty good job in most situations.

When you are ready, move to a Program mode (some cameras have more than one), and start making choices yourself. It takes lots of practice to try out different settings and remember what results you get.

The art of photography is about finding great things to photograph, and using all the options on your camera to capture that best image of that object.

Have Fun with your camera!

Answer 2

1. White balance - adjusts the amount of orangeness or blueness you want in your photo
2. ISO - the speed of the film on regular cameras (on digital, it means the higher the ISO the more you can freeze action and the less light you might need... use this in combination with metering to get the perfect amount of light)
3. AF Area - this might be autofocus area... it's the part you want the camera to focus on getting clear (have you ever seen photos that are clear in the foreground and blurry in the background?)
4. Metering - determines the amount of light you let into the camera (use with ISO to get perfect amount of light)
5. Sharpness - how crisp the pictures will be
6. Saturation - how much light you want to eminate from the photo
7. Contrast - the difference between the darks and lights in your photo (if you do black and whites, use high contrast so that you see a pure white and a pure black somewhere in the photo)
8. MF position - this might be manual focus position where you can choose how to focus rather than AF

Answer 3

White balance (WB) is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo.

ISO is the number indicating a digital camera sensors sensitivity to light. The higher the sensitivity, the less light is needed to make an exposure.

The AF Area Modes determine which sensor(s) are active in initial focus acquisition and predictive focus tracking.

Metering is the brains behind how your camera determines the shutter speed and aperture, based on lighting conditions and ISO speed.

Sharpness is tough to explain, verbally. See the source URL below.

Saturation is color intensity.

Contrast is explained in depth at the URL below.

MF means "manual focus", as opposed to automatic focus.

Answer 4

i imagine how you'll mindset it really is to ask what type of digicam he makes use of at school, and how a lot cameras he want. that is not any longer diffused via any skill, notwithstanding it is going to avert sadness sooner or later. for instance, if someone offered me an extreme priced professional-element Canon DSLR, i should be upset because I already own a Nikon meaning my latest lenses and upload-ons are not any more nicely matched.

Answer 5

look it should have a window that shows up and you can screw around with it then you will know exactly what is going on

Answer 6

http://www.geofflawrence.com/

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