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How to Manually Adjust a Camera

- more light almost always makes things better and easier since it allows lower ISOs, a larger depth

of field, and faster shutter speeds

- if you care about one parameter in particular, use a priority mode

1. walk/zoom to frame what you want to capture

- a wider zoom gives a greater depth of field

2. focus automatically or manually

- manual focus is particularly good for fast motion, low light, and macro

for high speed shots manually focus ahead of time on a point where the subject will beand then take the shot when the subject gets there

macro shots have a very narrow depth of field

3. adjust white balance with a preset, manual, or custom adjustment

- white balance digitally applies a filter to adjust for tinted rather than white light from whateverlight source(s) you have

4. adjust the aperture to the correct f number (f-stop) to get the desired depth of field

- the smaller the f number (the number dividing f in f/#), the bigger the hole and thus aperturesize

- the bigger the f number and thus the smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field

5. get a shutter speed fast enough to get the clarity desired

- faster shutter speeds make darker but clearer pictures

- especially important for moving subjects and high zoom combined with shaky hands

6. select the lowest ISO possible to get the necessary brightness

- ISO controls how sensitive the film or sensor is to light, but higher ISOs make the image

grainier

Camera Basics

- f-number =[Focal Length]

[Aperature Diameter]=

f

D(f-number)

- x =fmaxfmin

(x zoom rating on cameras)

the x zoom rating on cameras is just the ratio of the max and min focal lengths, not theabsolute magnifications, which is why point and shoots use this spec while DSLRs with avariety of interchangeable lenses use the actual focal length ranges in mm

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this is different from the power, which actually refers to magnification of the image

in binoculars, m -n d means they have zoom nm

and power adjustable from m to n and alsoan objective lens diameter of dmm

Neutral Density Filter: reduce the amount of light so longer exposure times can be used for nicheartistic effects

Graduated Neutral Density Filter: reduce light more in one part of the image than another to tone

down dramatically lit landscapes, etc.UV Filter: help reduce haze on film cameras but arent necessary for digital cameras except to physi-cally protect the outer lens

- only circularly polarizing filters can be used with autofocusing and metering; linear polarizerscannot and nobody even uses elliptical polarizers in photography

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