what can my 35mm camera do by changing apetures and shutter speeds?

Question

nikon n85

Answer 1

They both control how much light strikes your film. The aperture is the hole in the lens through which light passes. Wider = more light, small number (Like 1.8, 2.0, 2.8 are large apertures. 11, 16, and 22 are small apertures.) The shutter speed controls how long light will strike the film, the shutter is in the camera body.

Aperture also controls depth of field. Large aperture = less, small apertures have more. Shutter speed and aperture are reciprocal.

Think of your picture as being a bucket you want to fill with water. (Light) Aperture is your hose pipe, shutter speed is the faucet. If you use a large hose (big, or open, aperture) you don't have to leave the faucet on long. If you use a small hose, then the faucet will have to be on longer to fill your bucket. You can adjust either the diameter of the hose, or how long you leave the faucet open. Either way will fill your bucket. That is your exposure.

Hope this makes sense to you.

Answer 2

I'd recommend getting a book on Exposure (Bryan Peterson's book "Understanding Exposure" is good, but there's plenty of others out there as well.) The aperture/shutter speed tradeoff is probably the most important thing to understand about using an SLR camera, but it can't be covered in a forum like this. Taking the time to learn this will make a huge difference in the quality of pictures you take. Online, check Nikonians.org: it's an excellent resource for photo techniques and getting the most out of your Nikon.

Answer 3

So far as changing apertures is concerned, you change the depth of field. For an easy guide to this look at http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/950/depth-of-field.html

Speed it a little easier. The faster the speed, the better the camera will be at stopping motion. If you want to blur, say, water, use a very slow speed. If you want to show detail of a fast car, use a high speed. Don't try to handhold at less than 1/30th and up the speed as you zoom to telephoto, working on the basis that the shutter speed should never be lower than the focal length of the lens - i.e. 1/100th at 100mm. 1/250th at 250mm etc.

Answer 4

I used to do a lot of photography. The explanation you desire is very lengthy. Try the link I have provided. If it answers your question fine, if not send your email address through my profile and I'll take an hour or so to tell you what I know about general camera characteristics.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/camera.htm