Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PHOTOGRAPH?
Digital photographs are made up of hundreds of thousands
or millions of tiny squares called picture elements-or just
pixels
Shutter
Aperture
What is SLR
SLR stands for Single Lens Reflux
5 to 6 million pixels
resolutions up to 3 or through-the-lens (TTL) 6 and 12 million pixels
4 million pixels, you focusing and creative designed for the film
can get great prints up controls. This is one of the versions
to 8 x 10 or so. fastest growing categories
prints up to about 8 x 10 in
size.
image sensors
charge-coupled devices
(CCDs)
This photo shows the pixels The CCD shifts one whole row
on an image sensor greatly at a time into the readout
enlarged register. The readout register
then shifts one pixel at a time
to the output amplifier.
Aspect ratios
Image sensors have different aspect ratios-the ratio of image height to
width. The ratio of a square is 1:1 (equal width and height) and that of
35mm film is 1.5:1 (1.5 times wider than it is high). Most image sensors
fall in between these extremes.
Some digital cameras (and scanners) use 30 or more bits per pixel and professional
applications often require 36-bit color depth, a level achieved only by professional-level
digital cameras. These extra bits aren't used to generate colors that are later displayed. They
are used to improve the color in the image as it is processed down to its 24-bit final form and
then discarded
IMAGE COMPRESSION & FILE
FORMATS
During compression, data that is duplicated or that has no value is
eliminated or saved in a shorter form, greatly reducing a file’s size. For
example, if large areas of the sky are the same shade of blue, only the
value for one pixel needs to be saved along with the locations of the
other pixels with the same color. When the image is then edited or
displayed, the compression process is reversed.
Two Compression
types are there
lossless lossy
Lossless compression
This process degrades images to
uncompresse an image so its
some degree and the more they're
quality matches the original compressed, the more degraded
source—nothing is lost they become
File Formats
JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group
A JPEG image is stored using lossy compression and you can vary the amount of
compression. This allows you to choose between lower compression and higher
image quality or greater compression and poorer quality
Least Most
Compression Compression
JPEG 2000 is a new version of JPEG It uses wavelet compression instead of the old Discrete Cosine
Transformation (DCT) to give a higher compression (20% better) and better image quality with fewer artifacts
(image flaws). Wavelet technology also allows an image to be "streamed." A low resolution image appears
quickly and then is gradually "filled in" with more detail.
TIFF (Tag Image File Format)
LOSSLESS FILE FORMAT
PNG
JPEG
Lenses
One of the most important characteristics of any lens
is its focal length. It's the focal length that determines
a lens' angle of view-wide angle, normal, or telephoto.
With a wide-angle lens you get a lot of coverage and a lot of depth of field. Also
focusing isn't as critical because the lens has great depth of field. Long lenses let
you isolate out details from a scene but have shallow depth of field which makes
focusing more critical. Also, because long lenses magnify more, they are harder to
handhold and still get sharp images. The slightest movement causes blur.
Digital cameras use the same relationships as other cameras
to determine wide-angle, normal, and telephoto lenses.
However, the focal lengths are much shorter because solid-
state image sensors are much smaller than the smallest film.
For example, while 35mm has an area of 36 x 24 mm, a 2/3-
inch image sensor is only 8.8 by 6.6 mm and many sensors
are even smaller.
The 7mm figure is the actual focal length of the lens in the digital
camera. It gives the same angle of view as a 50mm lens does on a
35mm camera.
End of part 2
Zoom Lens
Many digital cameras come with zoom lenses that let you change
the focal length of the lens on the fly. The range of focal lengths a
zoom lens covers is usually specified by its magnification
Here the camera was rested on a railing and the shutter speed
set to 2 seconds. After pressing the shutter button, zoom ring
was turned to get streaks of light to the picture.
In this picture the camera was mounted on a tripod so the
streaks form much straighter lines. The camera was set to
shutter-priority and an exposure of one second was
selected. Flash was turned on to freeze and the zoom ring
was turned with the shutter still open.
Here the same procedure was used as above, but the
camera was handheld so the lines are not straight but
wiggly.
Macro mode and macro lenses
Many digital camera lenses have a macro mode. These lenses act
like any other lens until you switch them to macro mode. In this
mode you can get very close to objects so they are greatly
enlarged in the image.
The trade-off is that depth of field, the area that's sharp from
foreground to background is very shallow.
The Canon P-E65 Macro lens is the first
macro photo lens designed for a high
magnification greater than 1x without
additional accessories. It can capture
images up to 5x life size.
Interchangeable lenses and lens
accessories
Lens converters
Filters
UV (Ultra Violet)
ND (Neutral Density)
GND (Graduated Neutral Density)
Polarizing
IR (Infra Red)
UV Filter
UV, skylight and haze filters all block ultraviolet (UV) light
to varying degrees.
The filter blocking the shorter wavelength UV-B (320-280
nm) and UV-C (10-280 nm) bands while letting a good bit
of the UV-A (320-400 nm) through.
Haze and skylight filters are UV variants that often carry
a tint. Haze filters block more UV-A than regular UV
filters but also take a bite out of visible blue.
UV and skylight filters generally require no exposure
compensation, but haze filters may need a small
correction. Since uniform coverage of the entire field of
view is usually the intent, round UV filters make perfect
sense. your UV filter also serves as a lens protector,
Neutral Density Filters
The main purpose of using
neutral density (i.e., ND) filters
is to reduce the amount of light
that can pass through the lens.
As a result, if a shutter speed
is kept the same, after adding
a neutral density filter, a larger
aperture must be used to
obtain the same exposure.
Similarly, if an aperture is kept
the same, after adding a
neutral density filter, a slower
shutter speed must be used to
obtain the same exposure.
This can be seen in the
following diagram
All ND filters are gray in
color. The deeper the
color, the stronger the
effect (i.e., reducing more
light). The following
shows Nikon's ND4
(front) and ND8 (rear)
filters. From the shadows,
it is clear that a ND8
blocks more light than a
ND4 does.
Reducing the intensity of light means
we can either use a slower shutter
speed or a larger aperture. A slower
shutter speed can cause moving
objects blurred (i.e., motion blur)
which creates a sense of motion.
No ND ND Filter 4
No ND 8
Filter
GRADUATED NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER
No Medium Maximum
Polarization
Polarization Polarization
End of part 3
Maximum aperture
To get a perfect picture you want just the right amount of
light to strike the image sensor. If there is too much light, you
need to decrease it. If there is too little, you need to increase
it.
Aperture settings are called f-stops and each f-stop lets in
half as much light as the next larger opening and twice as
much light as the next smaller opening. From the largest
possible opening on down to the smallest, the f-stops are f/1,
f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32, f/45
Notice that as the f-stop number gets larger (f/8 to f/11, for
example), the aperture size gets smaller. This may be
easier to remember if you think of the f-number as a
fraction: 1/11 is less than 1/8, just as the size of the f/11
lens opening is smaller that the size of the f/8 opening.
All digital cameras give you fully automatic operation so you can just
point and shoot to take pictures. These automatic systems are great
in the vast majority of situations and even the pros use them a lot of
the time. However, for more creative control you need to be able to
override the auto settings. In this section we look at how you override
the automatic settings and why you would want to do so.
Automatic controls
Most digital cameras come with lots of built-in automation.
Auto exposure calculates the correct exposure for the
scene.
Automatic focus brings the center of interest into sharp
focus.
White balance adjusts the colors in the image to match
the source of light illuminating the scene.
Autoflash fires automatically if there isn't enough light.
Autoadvance prepares the camera for the next photo.
Some scenes photograph perfectly with everything set
to automatic.
Auto exposure
the amount of light that reaches the image sensor-
determines how light or dark the resulting photograph will
be.
• Aperture priority lets you select the aperture (to control depth of
field) and the camera then selects the best matching shutter
speed for a good exposure.
• Shutter priority lets you select the shutter speed (to control
motion) and the camera then selects the best matching aperture
for a good exposure.
How auto exposure works
To measure the light reflecting from the scene, a camera uses a
built in light meter. Most read the entire image area but give
more emphasis to the bottom part of the scene because this
reduces the possibility that the bright sky will cause the picture
to be underexposed. They also emphasize the center of the
image area on the assumption that there is where you have
placed the major subject. This is called a center
weighted system.
-2 -1 0 +1 +2
End of part 3
Exposure control
Although exposure compensation lets you lighten or darken
pictures, it still keeps the camera in automatic exposure
mode. To really get creative, you need to get out of this mode
so you and not the camera select the shutter speed and
aperture. Being able to choose these two settings lets you
control how motion and depth of field are portrayed in your
images.
Shutter speeds
The horizontal axis represents the range of brightness from 0 (shadows) on the left to 255 (highlights) on
the right. Think of it as a line with 256 spaces on which to stack pixels of the same brightness. Since these
are the only values that can be captured by the camera, the horizontal line also represents the camera's
maximum potential dynamic range.
The vertical axis represents the number of pixels that have each one of the 256 brightness values. The
higher the line coming up from the horizontal axis, the more pixels there are at that level of brightness.
To read the histogram, you look at the distribution of pixels. An image that uses
the entire dynamic range of the camera will have a reasonable number of pixels
at every level of brightness. An image that has low contrast will have the pixels
clumped together and have a narrower dynamic range.
Focus
When you focus a camera, only one plane in front of you can be in the
sharpest focus-called the plane of critical focus. As you move back or
forward from that plane, objects get increasingly less sharp. Up to a
point, they are "acceptably sharp" and don't look soft or out of focus.
However, a point is finally reached where they do. The area in front of
and in back of the plane of critical focus where things look acceptably
sharp is called "depth-of-field." Digital cameras come with one of three
kinds of focus, fixed, auto, or manual.
Cameras with fixed focus are preset to keep things sharp
within a specified range, perhaps 6 feet to infinity. There is
no way for you to adjust the focus. This type of focus is
found only on the least expensive cameras.
Auto focus usually uses a small spot in the exact center of the
scene to automatically focus the camera's lens. This works fine
when there is something in the exact center of the scene that you
want to be sharply focused. If there isn't, or if you want to blur
that part of the scene, autofocus can't do it for you
Manual focus
With adjustable, or manual focus you can pick the part of
the scene that will be in sharpest focus while using the
aperture setting to determine what is sharp and what is soft
in the foreground and background
Recently, cameras have introduced focus systems with a number of focus areas, or
even a movable area. If there are a number of focus areas, the camera will automatically
select the one covering the part of the scene closest to the camera. If you'd prefer that
another area be used you can manually select it. If the focus area is movable, you press
a jog dial to position it where you want it. On some cameras, you can also link spot
metering to the focus area so you meter and focus on the same part of the scene. This is
an ideal way to focus, and in some cases set exposure
Exposure and focus lock
When using auto exposure and auto focus, some cameras let
you point at one part of the scene and press the shutter button
halfway down to lock in exposure and focus settings. Then, still
holding down the shutter button to keep the settings locked in,
you can point the camera anywhere to recompose the picture.
Pressing the shutter button the rest of the way takes the picture
using the locked in settings.
White balance
Not all whites are the same because they can be tinged with other colors.
Even a pure white object changes color when the light on it changes.
Daylight is a cold clear light but add some heavy overcast or step into the
shade and everything acquires a bluish tint. In a room lit with incandescent
light bulbs, the light has a warm orange glow to it, while under fluorescent
fixtures colors take on a yellow/greenish tint.
This setting adjusts the relative brightness of the red, green, and blue
components so that the brightest object in the image appears white.
Adjusting the white part of the scene ensures that all of the other colors
are also recorded more accurately. Although all cameras automatically set
white balance, some let you override the automatic setting. Some cameras
allow you to manually set white balance by aiming the camera at a white
surface and pressing a white balance button. Other cameras give you a
choice of white balances. For example, you should be able to choose
among white balance for sunny, incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, and
flash light.
Let's take a look at these flash units and some alternatives that
give even better results.
Flash range
A flash's power determines what its useful range is. Subjects within that
range can be correctly exposed. Those at greater distances will be too
dark. Manufacturers sometimes specify a flash's power as a guide
number. The higher the guide number, the greater the flash's useful
range. Because guide numbers change when the sensor speed changes
or lens focal lengths change, most manufacturers will instead tell you
their flash's maximum range. When they state this range, they assume
the flash is fully charged and the lens aperture is wide open.
Flash modes
On fully automatic cameras, the flash fires automatically
whenever the light is too dim to take a photo by natural light.
On more sophisticated cameras, there are various flash
modes you can choose from for more creative effects.
Auto mode fires the flash whenever there is too little light for a good exposure or when
the main subject is backlit.
Red-eye reduction mode fires a first short burst to close the subjects irises before the
main flash and picture are taken.
Fill flash (forced) mode is used when there is enough natural light to take a picture but you want
to fill in shadows. This mode is useful in bright sunlight when the subject is back or side lit.
Flash off mode is used when the light is low enough to trigger the flash but you'd rather
use a long exposure to capture it in natural light.
Flash modes
Fill flash with external flash mode fires the auto flash even when an external flash is
attached
External flash only mode turns off the autoflash when an external flash is attached
Slow sync fires a short burst of flash in the middle of a longer exposure to
freeze objects while still allowing them to blur. This setting also lets you leave
the shutter open long enough to lighten the background. The shutter speed
determines the exposure of the background while the flash determines the
exposure of the foreground subject.
Fill flash
One of the best uses of built-in flash units is to fill in
dark shadows when photographing people or other
subjects in bright sun. Without flash, shadow areas can
be so dark in the image that they show little or no detail.
If the shadow covers a large part of the subject, the
effect can be distracting and unattractive. You can
lighten such shadows by using flash to "fill" the shadows
to lighten them.
The subject here is in air but looks frozen because of flash burst
Flash And distance
How bright the light is when it reaches a subject depends on the inverse
square law that describes the relationship between a subject's distance
from the flash and how much light will fall upon it. If the distance is
doubled, only one quarter the amount of light will reach the subject. This
is because the light emitted by the flash expands as it moves farther
from the camera. The same amount of light is spread over a larger area
so subjects farther from the flash receive less light than objects closer to
it.
Red-eye reduction
When photographing people, you'll often see images with what's called red
eye. The light from a flash has entered through the subject's pupil and
reflected off the retina at the back of the eye and then back out to the
camera. Since the retina is full of thin blood vessels, it takes on a red color.
Some flash units have a red-eye reduction mode. These work by firing a
separate red-eye reduction lamp, or a series of short flash bursts from the
main flash to close the iris a little before firing the actual flash used to take
the picture.
Some Sony digital cameras have a pop-up flash that separates
the flash from the axis of the lens. This will substantially reduce
redeye.
External flash units
Built-in flash is convenient to use because every place you and your
camera go, it goes. However, these built-in flash units don't have much
range and you can't position the flash away from the camera to eliminate
red eye. Pictures taken with these units also have a characteristic flat
shadow less lighting that minimizes surface textures and volumes. They
can't be rotated to bounce flash off a wall or ceiling to soften the lighting.
A sync connector lets you connect a separate flash using a sync cord,
basically a small cable. This synch cord makes the same electrical
connection that the hot shoe does but lets you take the flash off camera.
Slave flash
Slave flash units are physically separate flashes
that are fired by the burst of flash from the
camera's built-in flash unit. Since many digital
cameras fire the flash twice for each picture (the
first is to set white balance and perhaps focus),
these units have to be adjustable so they fire
when the camera's second flash goes off.
Ring flash
Ring flash units fit around the lens and fire a circle of light on the
subject. These units are ideal for close-ups of small objects such
as stamps, coins, and objects in nature. They are also widely used
in medicine and dentistry. Because ring light is so flat (shadow
less), some units allow you to fire just one side or the other so the
flash casts shadows that show surface modeling in the subject.