Digital Camera Terminology

Digital Camera Terms To Know

It helps when learning to use your new digital camera to know what some of the more common terms mean.

Below you will find some of these common terms defined:

AE Lock:

By depressing the shutter button 1/2 way to lock the exposure and continuing to hold it down half-way, you can then shift the camera elsewhere then depress the shutter button completely to take your picture.

Auto Focus (AF):

A system that automatically focuses the camera lens on your subject. This is done by pressing the shutter button 1/2 way down.

Automatic Mode:

A setting that sets the focus, exposure and white-balance automatically.

Burst Mode or Continuous Capture Mode:

A series of pictures taken one after another at quickly timed intervals with one press of the shutter button.

Card Reader:

A device which is used to transfer information from your memory card to your computer.

Circular Polarizer Filter:

This filter is used for eliminating glare and reflections and can also be used to darken skies.

Compression:

The process of compacting digital data, images and text by deleting selected information.

Digital Zoom:

Cropping and magnifying the center part of an image. If using digital zoom, keep in mind your picture will generally not be as sharp.

ISO:

The speed or light-sensitivity of a camera, such as 100, 200, 400, etc. The higher the number, the more sensitive to light. The higher speed usually produces electronic noise so the image will get grainier.

Jpeg, Tiff, RAW:

The predominant formats used for image compression in digital cameras.

Lag Time:

The pause between the time the shutter button is pressed and when the camera actually captures the image.

Landscape:

Holding the camera in a horizontal position.

LCD (Liquid-Crystal Display):

This is a small screen on a digital camera for viewing images.

Lens:

A circular and transparent glass or plastic piece that has the function of collecting light and focusing it on to the sensor to capture an image.

Li-ion (Lithium-ion) rechargeable battery:

These batteries are more expensive than the NiMH rechargeable batteries but the Li-ion batteries tend to last longer.

Megabyte (MB):

Measures 1024 Kilobytes, and refers to the amount of information in a file, or how much information can be contained on a memory card or disk.

Megapixel:

Digital cameras are rated in mega pixels. You can multiply the cameras horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution to get your cameras mega pixels.

NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride):

This is a type a rechargeable battery for your digital camera.

Pixels:

Tiny units of color that make up digital pictures. Pixels also measure digital resolution. One million pixels adds up to one mega-pixel.

Point and Shoot Camera:

This is your basic digital camera with not alot of controls to overwhelm the user. Just turn it on and take your picture.

Redeye Reduction:

After selecting this mode, a pre-flash or a quick series of low-powered flashes go off before the main flash fires to expose the picture. This causes the pupil in the human eye to close and helps eliminate red-eye.

RGB:

Refers to Red, Green, Blue colors to create all other colors.

Resolution:

Camera resolution describes the number of pixels used to create the image, which determines the amount of detail a camera can capture. The more pixels a camera has, the more detail it can register and the larger the picture can be printed.

Scene Modes:

Digital cameras have scene modes where you can select a pre-programmed scene to suit your current shooting conditions. The camera will automatically change many settings to capture the best possible image. Some of the different types of scene modes are: sports, night, portrait, etc.

Self Timer:

A preset time delay before the shutter fires, thus allowing the photographer to get in the picture.

Skylight Filter:

Mostly used in digital photography to protect the lens from being scratched, getting fingerprints or dirt on the camera's lens.

Storage Card:

The removable storage device which holds images taken with the camera, comparable to film, but much smaller. You may also hear it referred to as a memory card, SD card, smart media, digital media, compact flash, and memory stick to name a few.

UV Filter:

This is another filter used in digital photography to protect the lens from being scratched, getting fingerprints or dirt on the camera's lens.

Viewfinder:

The optical "window" to look through to compose the scene.

White Balance:

White balancing adjusts the camera to compensate for the type of light (daylight, fluorescent, incandescent, etc.,) or lighting conditions in the scene so it will look normal to the human eye.