Basics of Photography - Issue 2015

Title
Page No.
What is a Camera and Types of Cameras?
04
Fundamentals of Lenses and Types of Lenses
16
Pixel Count and and Print Size
34
File Formats
46
Exposure Modes, Controls and Meters
59
Metering
74
Histogram and highlight warning
89
White Balance
97
Some optical issue, Defects and Perspective
104
Depth of Field
116
Flash (Part I)
127
Flash (Part II)
139
Elements of Composition (Part I)
150
Elements of Composition (Part II)
159
Basics of Photography
Learning
Smart Photography has been continually receiving requests to start a basic

course for beginners. With this in mind, we have asked a very knowledgeable
photographer from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to take over writing these
articles. We have also requested him to be as jargon-free as it is possible,
so that newcomers to photography feel comfortable to pursue the hobby.
The author, Ashok Kandimalla has been in the photographic field for over three
decades and has extensive experience in both film and digital photography. Being
an electronics engineer by profession and a photographer, he possesses a unique
and deep insight into the technical aspects of digital photography and equipment.
He has published several articles on photography and some of his writings have also
been published in the well-known international magazine Popular Photography.
An avid collector of photographic books and vintage cameras, Ashok has a keen interest
in the history of photography and a passion for sharing his knowledge on photography
through teaching and writing. He is presently working as a Management and Engineering
consultant. You can see his work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashok_kandimalla. He
can be reached at kashokk@gmail.com
What is a Camera and

Types of Cameras?
Have you been waiting to start photography but putting it off due to the confusion
and jargon that confronts you? The series of articles to follow will explain the basics to
overcome just that.
To start with - what is a camera? Simply put, a camera is a light tight box (body),
which holds a light sensitive recording medium (film or sensor in the case of digital
cameras) and optics
(lens) to form the image
on the medium. Since
film cameras are rapidly
being superseded by
digital cameras we will
confine our discussion
only to these.
The body also houses
a mechanism (shutter),
which sets the duration
for which light is allowed
to act on the sensor. Since
you need to see what
youll be photographing,
there is also a component
(viewfinder) to show
what you are going to
photograph.
LETS Look aT THESE CoMPoNENTS

IN MorE DETaIL.
Body: This houses the components mentioned above plus a few more, in a light-tight
chamber. The lens, which is attached to the body sees a certain area that is indicated
in the viewfinder. Once the shutter release button (commonly and erroneously called
click) is pressed an image is captured.
In the case of film cameras, the
image is stored on a film. It is
later retrieved by developing
the film. In digital cameras there
is no film; instead there is a
component known as flash
memory card on which the
image captured by the sensor is
Flash Memory Cards
transferred to. But here is a small
problem. The sensor can record the image instantly but the flash memory card cannot it
takes a while to do that. And unless the image from the flash memory card is transferred,
you cannot place another image on the sensor. So to circumvent this problem, the image
is sent to a temporary storage device known as the buffer. The buffer can copy the
images almost as soon as the sensor can capture them. It then transfers the images to the
memory card at the speed at which the card is capable of receiving the images. The
memory card can be taken out of the camera whenever one desires (it is not necessary to
completely fill the card before taking it out of the camera) and the images on it can be
transferred to a computer for permanent storage or printing. The camera body contains
a slot to hold the flash card.
The lens needs to be correctly focused for the image to be sharp. For this purpose the
body houses an autofocus mechanism which detects an out of focus image and moves
the lens or parts of the lens to bring the image into focus. In addition the body contains
the exposure meter (more of it later).
Lens: The lens, along with the sensor (or even more than the sensor) has a major influence
on the picture quality and hence is the most important part of the camera. A lens is made
up of several optical elements though only the front-most one can be seen. The lens in
essence is the eye of the camera and is responsible for forming the image on the sensor.
Normal Lens
Wide-angle Lens
Zoom Lens
Telephoto Lens
An important characteristic of a lens you need to be concerned about is the focal length
which determines the magnification of the image. The longer the focal length the higher
will be the magnification. Technically speaking, focal length is described as the distance
between the sensor and the rear nodal point of the lens (more about it in some later
article). Lenses with long focal length are called telephoto lenses and are useful for
photographing distant subjects like birds, wildlife and sports. Short focal length lenses are
called wide-angle lenses and as the name implies, cover a large area. These are meant
for photographing sceneries, interiors of buildings, etc. In between these two are normal
lenses which produce an image close to what a human eye sees. Lenses having single focal
length are also known as Prime lenses.
Fast Lens
A lens with greater light gathering power
is known as a fast lens and is identified
by f/nos like 1.2, 1.4, 1.8. The lens shown
on the left is considered to be extremely
fast at f/0.95
Slow Lens
A lens with lesser light gathering power is
known as a slow lens. Eg. f/4, f/5.6.
Fast Lens
Lenses whose focal length can be continuously varied are called zoom lenses. You can
have a wide-angle zoom (focal lengths stay lower than for normal lens) or wide-totelephoto zoom (focal lengths vary from wide-angle to telephoto) or telephoto zoom
(focal lengths stay on the telephoto side only). With a zoom lens (which is the most
popular type) you can get, for example, both telephoto and wide angle effects.
The other important characteristic of a lens is the speed which determines the light
gathering capacity of the lens. Higher speed lenses can take pictures in lower light. They
also allow faster shutter speeds to be used for the same light.
Every lens has what is called an aperture. This controls the amount of the light that will
pass through the lens and subsequently fall on the sensor. The size of the aperture (hole)
can be varied. Just like the pupil in our eyes, the opening can be made small in bright
light and made larger in low light. Small openings are called narrow apertures and larger
openings are called wide apertures. Wider apertures provide less depth-of-field while
narrower apertures provide greater DOF (more of it later).
The Sensor: This is placed in the camera body, where the light rays from the lens focus.
The sensor is a silicon chip manufactured with light gathering elements. These elements
produce an electric charge proportional to the intensity of the light falling on the
element. This means more the light, the greater will be the electrical energy. The circuitry
on-board the camera measures this energy and hence knows the intensity of light at each
photo element. By putting together measurements taken for each element, the on-board
computer will be able to construct the entire image which will have as many dots as there
are elements. Each of these dots is called a Pixel which is the short form for picture
element.
The two most important parameters of the sensor are the number of pixels and size of
the pixels. The number of pixels are normally specified as Mega (or millions of ) pixels. So
how many pixels do you need in your camera? That depends on the size of prints you
want to make. Typically a 8 megapixel sensor can produce a quality 8x10-inch print at
about 300 dots per inch (or dpi). The significance of 300 is that a human eye can resolve
only about 300 dpi.
The second parameter the size of the pixel, is less talked about but equally important.
This has a strong bearing on the quality of the image. Larger pixels have better light
gathering capability and hence can capture cleaner (noise free) images. This means that
for the same number of pixels a larger sensor which naturally allows for larger pixels
produces better images. The downside is the higher cost of the larger sensor.
Viewfinder: This shows you what the lens is seeing and hence what is going to get
recorded on the sensor. Note that the viewfinder may not always show a 100-percent
view as seen by the lens. The viewfinder can be implemented in several ways as we will
see later.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitor: An LCD monitor is at the back of the camera.
In compact digital cameras, this can be used as a through the lens (TTL) viewfinder to
preview the picture before it is taken. Some newer digital SLRs also provide this feature
and it is known as Live View. It can also be used to review (play back) the image after it
has been captured.
Shutter: The shutter first allows light to fall on the sensor and then cuts it off to record
a moment in time. To take pictures, first make sure that what you want to photograph
is shown in the viewfinder. Now, gently press the shutter release button. This causes
the shutter to open for a specified time and then close, capturing the image. The time
duration for which the shutter is open is very short, normally a fraction of a second.
Exposure Meter: This measures the brightness of the light and determines the correct
amount of light (called exposure) that needs to fall on the sensor to produce an image
that is properly exposed neither too dark, nor too light. The exposure meter tells us
what shutter speed and aperture to use to achieve the desired exposure. The meter also
controls the shutter speed and aperture to achieve this.
In practice, several combinations of shutter speed and aperture can achieve the same
exposure. For example, a slow shutter speed combined with a narrow aperture gives
same exposure as a fast shutter speed with a wide aperture. This is called reciprocity. So
which combination should you choose? Let us examine this in some more detail.
Do you want to stop a moving car in its tracks? Choose a fast shutter speed. Fast shutter
speeds allow less light and to compensate we need wider apertures. (Wider apertures
produce less depth of field (zone of sharpness) than narrow apertures something that
well talk about in greater detail in the following chapters). You may also need a faster lens.
Do you want to photograph scenery with a tree in the front, plus a mountain in the
back and want both to be tack sharp? Choose a narrow aperture. This will naturally
allow less light which needs to be compensated by using a slow shutter speed. You will
need a camera support (like a tripod) with slow shutter speeds as otherwise the picture
will be blurred due to camera movement caused by shaking of hands.
Flash: Often included in the body is a flashgun. This is an artificial source of light that is
useful when taking photographs in low light. While flash is handy just remember that it is
effective only for short distances. In other words dont try to photograph the Taj Mahal
in the night using flash!
10
Just one point - the viewfinder, LCD monitor, flash and lens are visible externally on a
camera. However, auto focus mechanism, exposure meter, shutter, sensor etc. are not
visible externally. Now that you know the basic components of a camera, let us look at the
different types or classes of cameras that are popular today.
In the past cameras were classified depending on the size of the film used. Thus, we
had 35mm or medium format or large format cameras. Another way in the past was to
classify based on the how the viewfinder was implemented. This resulted in cameras
called coupled rangefinders, single lens reflexes (SLR), twin lens reflexes (TLRs, which
used separate lenses for viewing and picture taking), etc. Presently these classifications
are not very convenient as some of the types have simply vanished or the technology has
changed rendering such classifications rather irrelevant.
To keep the discussion state of the art, we will classify the cameras as four
types: Point and Shoot, Bridge (Prosumer) Camera, Digital Single Lens Reflex
(D-SLR) and Compact System Cameras (CSC). Let us see what their characteristics are:
Point and Shoot (P&S): These are compact cameras offering fully automatic focus and
exposure operation. The operation is very simple you need to just point and press the
shutter release; hence the name point and shoot.
Some P&S cameras also have a
separate optical viewfinder which
is useful when photographing in
bright light as an LCD monitor
can be difficult to view under
these circumstances. However,
this viewfinder can cause parallax
error when photographing closeby subjects. (In other words, what
the viewfinder sees, may not be
seen by the lens).
P&S
11
Bridge (Prosumer) Camera: This type is characterized by having a fixed (noninterchangeable) lens with a large zoom range (that is from wide-angle to powerful
telephoto). They are equipped with an Electronic View Finder (EVF) which is a
small LCD screen with a suitable eye piece. The EVF allows more convenient eye
level viewing. The bridge cameras also typically have better flash and exposure
control.
Consider these as more advanced P&S type, the primary differences being
better control, eye level EVF viewing and a fixed (non-interchangeable) lens with
a large zoom range.
The name comes from the fact that they fall in between a P&S and an D-SLR in
terms of sophistication, control, versatility and of course cost. Thus, they can be
considered as a bridge for crossing the gap between a P&S and a D-SLR. They are
also at times called Prosumer camerassomething in between professional and
consumer cameras.
12
Single Lens reflex (SLr):
SLr DIgraM
T
h
e
Pentaprism
view finder
Viewfinder
of an SLR has
a complex
optical setup to show
Shutter
the image.
A
mirror
Mirror up
which is in
Sensor/Film
front of the
sensor and Light rays
behind the
lens reflects
Mirror down
(hence the
name reflex)
the light to
a
5-sided
prism (known as pentaprism) which in turn directs the light to the viewfinder. The
mirror swings out of the path when the shutter release is pressed, allowing the
image to be captured by the sensor. After this, the mirror comes back to its original
position restoring the viewfinder image.
The word single in SLR owes its origin to the fact that the same (single) lens is
used for picture taking and viewing. Consequently, the viewfinder image is free
from parallax. This is one of the main differences between an SLR and the other
two types.
Digital SLRs are often called D-SLRs to distinguish them from film SLRs which are
out of or in limited production these days.
Like P&S and bridge cameras, D-SLRs have an LCD monitor. This allows review of
13
the image you have taken. However, the preview feature is a bit more complicated
in a D-SLR. This is due to the fact that the mirror blocks the light path to the sensor.
This has been overcome in the newer D-SLRs with a facility called Live View.
When Live View is activated, the mirror swings out of the way. The shutter is
also opened and this allows you to preview the image. This has certain
advantages in close-up photography. Of course during the time Live View is on,
the optical path is blocked and you will not be able to see anything through the
optical viewfinder.
Compact System Camera (CSC): These are also called mirrorless cameras.
Compared to the complexity of a DSLR, a CSC is very simple in construction. There
is no mirror or prism and the light simply passes through the lens and falls on the
sensor. There is no optical viewfinder. The image that is recorded by the sensor
is shown on the LCD monitor on the back of the camera and this will serve as a
viewfinder. Most high end CSCs, however, come with an EVF built in apart from
the usual LCD monitor. Alternatively, you can look at a CSC as a P&S camera with
interchangeable lenses and a bigger sensor.
D-SLRs and CSCs support interchangeable lenses. This is a facility which allows a
lens to be removed and attached with ease. Because of this, a wide variety of lenses
(from super wide to super telephoto), each best suited for an application can be
used.
D-SLRs and CSCs provide the best image quality due to the large sensors that
have larger pixels and also high pixel count. D-SLRs also have more sophisticated
metering systems and complete manual override for every automatic function thus
allowing total control for creative photography. They also have a versatile flash
system and a very large range of accessories.
So which camera type is best for you? Here is a table which lists the pros and cons
of all the three types to help you make a decision.
14
Camera Type
Pros
Cons
Point and Shoot:

Best for family pics,
holiday, travel and small
size prints
Bridge Camera:
Best when there is a
need for large zoom
range, larger prints,
but do not want to be
bothered by the bulk
and cost of a D-SLR.
D-SLR:
For ultimate picture
quality and versatility
if you do not mind the
bulk and cost (and your
spouses complaints!).
It is also the right tool if
you are serious or want
to make a living out of
photography.
Easy to use
Compact
Low cost
Nice for candid
photography
Limited control over

final image.
Small zoom range of lens
restricts usage for many
applications like wildlife.
Small, weak flash.
Inferior picture quality
compared to a D-SLR due
to smaller sensor.
All in - one cameras that

Large range zooms can
have large range
compromise on picture
zoom lenses.
quality.
Eye level
Non-interchangeable
TTL viewing through EVF
lenses limit versatility.
Larger size compared to P&S.
Limited range of accessories
and inferior picture quality
compared to a D-SLR
System cameras offering a large

Large size and weight.
range of accessories and lenses.
High cost.
Vastly superior flash system.
Conspicuous, so
Best picture quality for large
not good for candid
prints.
photography.
Sharp, crisp viewfinder image
Complex and sometimes
with no lag that is inherent in LCDs. difficult to use.
Excellent control over all
parameters aids creative
techniques.
Very fast autofocus.
CSC:
Perhaps the best of both worlds
Lacks optical viewfinders
High picture quality compact size, interchangeable
Many low end CSCs
close to or matching that lenses and high picture quality
dont even have an EVF
of a DSLR.
System cameras though the forcing you to use only the
breadth and depth of offerings LCD monitor.
do not match that of DSLRs. This
is however, changing fast.
Quiet operation due to lack of
mirror
Ideal for travel, candid and
street photography.
15
Fundamentals of Lenses
and Types of Lenses
The lens is the eye of the camera and is responsible for forming the image on the sensor. To
a great extent the quality of the picture that is recorded depends on the quality of the lens.
Consequently, the lens is the most important part of the camera.
Lens Design: When a designer designs a lens he will have to deal with a set of conflicting
requirements in the form of weight, cost, size, the amount of distortion he can allow, etc. As is the
case with any design he will make a trade-off between various factors. As such, finding a perfect
lens is as easy as finding a perfect human!
Important attributes of a lens: There are two important attributes to a photographic lens. One is
the focal length and the other is the speed.
Focal Length: This determines the size of the image that is formed on the sensor. A lens with
longer focal length will form an image that is larger compared to a lens with shorter focal length
at the same subject-to-lens distance. This also means that longer focal length lenses see a smaller
area than short focal length lenses.
Focal length is measured in millimeters (abbreviated as mm). This is the distance between the
lens and the plane on which the image is sharply formed, when the lens is focused at infinity.
16
Focal Length
Focal length
Light coming from infinity
In this diagram we have symbolically

shown only one element. However,
a photographic lens is made up of
multiple elements. There will be at least
four elements in a photographic lens
and some complex designs can have
more than 20 elements. When you look
Sensor
All photographs by Ashok Kandimalla
at a photographic lens from the front of the camera, you are looking only at the front element.
Multiple elements are needed to correct several optical defects that are inherent with a single
element design. Higher number of elements is also needed in complex designs like zoom lenses.
18mm
35mm
50mm
70mm
100mm
140mm
200mm
300mm
These photos were all taken from the same spot but with different focal lengths to show the effect of
focal length on the image size
17
Contrary to conventional thinking, you cannot say that you will get a telephoto or a wide-angle
effect (we will define these terms shortly) at a particular focal length as that depends on the Angle of
View (AOV). The AOV depends on focal length as well as the size of the sensor (also called format).
The effect of AOV is best explained with an example. See the diagram which shows what the
AOV means. A 35mm camera has a format of 24x36mm. A 50mm lens on such a camera has an
AOV of 46 degrees. Now consider that same lens mounted on a D-SLR which has an APS-C size
sensor. Here the frame is approx.18x24 mm and the diagonal is approximately 1.5 times less than
that of a normal 35mm frame. Hence the AOV now becomes 1.5 times less or 32 degrees, which
is same as that of a 75mm lens on a 35mm camera. Conversely to get an AOV of 46 degrees on
such a D-SLR you need to use a lens of focal length of approximately 33mm.
The effect is as if you cut a part (crop) which is 18x24mm in size out of the 35mm format.
Thus you are now seeing a smaller part of 24x36mm which has the same effect as
decreasing the angle of view by 1.5 times. This is popularly called the cropping factor
and has the apparent effect of virtually increasing the focal length. However the focal
length does not increase and the magnification of the image does not change. In essence
you are taking a smaller area and enlarging it more. It is as simple as that!
This in fact is nothing new nor is just confined to cropping. It holds equally good when
formats larger than 35mm are used. Photographers who use medium format cameras
know that an 80mm lens on a medium format camera has an angle of view close to that of
18
a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Digital cameras have sensors of various sizes. Since many of us are used to define classes
of lenses as used on a 35mm camera (for e.g. we know that a 28mm lens is a wide-angle)
manufacturers mention this figure in the literature. Some manufacturers have started to
mark lenses with equivalent 35mm focal lengths while at the same time not explicitly
declaring so. This is not technically correct. This practice is fortunately confined to
consumer Point and Shoots and bridge cameras and not D-SLRs.
Table 1 gives the conversion factors for sensors of several sizes.
Table 1
Sensor Size
Used By
Approximate
Conversion Factor
with reference to
35mm (Multiply focal
length or divide the angle
of view by)
Several sizes, from

Point and shoots
5mm diagonal to
and bridge cameras
11mm (approximately)
Can go up to 6
or even more
Micro Four Thirds System (MFT) Olympus and Panasonic
2.00
APS-C
All Canon D-SLRs except EOS 1D

and 1Ds series
1.60
DX
All Nikon D-SLRs except D3, D700, D3X. 1.50

Sony / Minolta and Pentax D-SLRs
APS-H
Canon EOS 1D series, Leica M8
1.30
Full Frame (FX) or

35mm film
Nikon D3, D3X, D700;

Canon EOS-1Ds series
1.00
Film 6x4.5 cm
Pentax, Mamiya, Bronica, Hasselblad
0.58
Film 6x6 cm
Pentax, Mamiya, Bronica, Hasselblad
0.51
19
Most of the super zoom equipped bridge digital cameras have very small sensors and
thus need only a short focal length to get a great telephoto effect. For example, if you
study the specification of a digital bridge camera that claims to have a super telephoto
of 500mm (equivalent focal length for 35mm camera), you will find that the actual focal
length is just about 90mm. A lens of this focal length on a 35mm camera would qualify as
a short telephoto and on a medium format as a normal lens!
To conclude, we cannot classify a lens is a tele or something else just by looking at the
focal length alone. The format also needs to be taken into account.
The second important characteristic of lenses is the speed.
Lens Speed
Contrary to what the name indicates it does not have anything to do with the
speed of the subject that can be photographed. Speed is an indication of the light
gathering capacity of the lens and is referred to as the f number. It is denoted as
f/. Mathematically it is (sorry cant avoid mathematics!) focal length divided by the
optical diameter of the lens. Think of the lens as a light gathering funnel. Larger the
diameter of the funnel, more will be the area for collecting the light and hence the
ability to take picture in lower light. Faster the lens, larger will be the diameter and
lower will be the f number. Since you need to have a mechanism to control the
light passing through the lens, every lens has a diaphragm (sometimes called Iris)
similar to the iris of the human eye. It has a set of blades which create an opening
commonly known as the Aperture. The diaphragm can be closed when the light is
bright (that is, aperture is made smaller). Conversely it can be opened when the
light is less (aperture is made larger). The size of the aperture is controlled with
the help of a dial or ring. In certain automatic exposure modes, the camera itself
can select a suitable aperture. The opening is calibrated so that by turning the ring
light passing through can be increased in steps. Each step is called a stop. The
stops are calibrated as follows: 1.0 1.4 2.0 2.8 4.0 5.6 8.0 11 16 22 32 45 64
Each succeeding stop allows one half of light that is allowed by the previous stop.
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Thus a stop of f/11 allows double the light of f/16 and half the light of f/8. So, larger
f numbers have smaller openings and smaller f numbers, larger openings.
Those of you who are math oriented should have noticed the stops are in fact
approximate multiples of 1.4 which is the square root of 2. That is because each
stop doubles or halves the area of the aperture opening.
You might find reference to what is called automatic diaphragms is some old
literature. This has nothing to do with automatic exposure. We have seen that SLR
cameras allow viewing through the lens. If a small aperture (that is large f/ number)
is chosen and if the diaphragm blades are closed to this value, then the amount of
light that is passing through the lens reduces, making the image in the viewfinder
very dim. This makes viewing and focusing difficult. To overcome this, the diaphragm
is kept fully open regardless of the aperture you have chosen or the camera has
chosen. When you release the shutter, the mirror swings up and at this point of
time the diaphragm is closed (also called stopped down) to the aperture value
that has been chosen. Then the shutter opens and closes, the diaphragm opens
fully and then the mirror falls back to its original position restoring the image. Since,
once set, the diaphragm blades open and stop down without any intervention
these are called automatic diaphragms. Today virtually all D-SLR lenses are fully
automatic in this sense. However, you need to be aware of this since at times it is
necessary to stop down the diaphragm to the picture taking value to see the effect
of depth of field. We will talk about that later.
Fast lenses have two advantages. They allow you to photograph in lower light
levels for the same shutter speed or use a faster shutter speed for the same light.
Hence fast lenses are very useful for low light and action (sports, wildlife, etc.)
photography. As with everything in life there is no free lunch. Fast lenses are very
heavy, especially at long focal lengths. The table below, which shows the weight
of four 300mm lenses from the same manufacturer but with different speeds,
illustrates this very well.
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Speed of lens
f/5.6
f/4.0
f/2.8
f/2.0
Weight in grams
505
1,440
2,870
7,545 (Discontinued)
approx. US Price
$500
$1,200
$4,500
$29,000
You can see that an increase in one stop in speed has a drastic effect on weight. Price
too increases rapidly with the f/2.8 version costing more than four times the f/4.0 version.
There are a few other aspects that you need to know to complete the picture. These are
the focusing mechanism, lens mount, filter threads and image stabilization.
Focusing Mechanism: The lens forms the image at the focal plane. The focal plane
denotes where the sensor is placed. Since the subjects we photograph are at varying
distances, a lens needs to be focused on the required subject in the frame. This requires
that the elements within the lens need to be moved away from the focal plane when
photographing near objects and towards the focal plane when photographing distant
subjects. This is normally done by the focusing mechanism called helical.
Focusing can be done manually by turning a ring called the focusing ring on the lens and
checking the sharpness in the viewfinder in the case of D-SLRs.
In the case of autofocus lenses, the mechanism that detects the out of focus state is within
the camera body. The mechanism then drives the lens in one of the following two ways:
(a) There is a motor in the camera body which focuses the lens through a mechanical
coupling; or (b) Using electronic contacts, the body signals the motor which is inside the
lens and this motor does the needful. When the correct focus is detected by the body,
the driving stops.
Lens showing the AF contact

points on the lens mount
22
Lens Mount: One thing you need to know is that all D-SLRs that
support interchangeable lenses have what is called a mount. This is
a system of mechanical and electronic linkages that ensure proper
interface between the lens and the camera body. This mount is
proprietary to each brand with the sole exception of the Four Thirds System. You cannot
for example, use a Nikon lens on a Canon camera body and vice versa. However, lenses
made for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) System are usable on all MFT D-SLRs.
There are also several independent lens manufactures who produce lenses in different
camera mounts. However, the mount cannot be changed after the purchase of the lens
though such a system (called T mount) was once available. You need to bear this in mind
as once you build a system around a brand it is difficult to change it without a big expense
as you need to change all the lenses and most of the accessories to the newer brand.
Filter Threads: The front of the lens has a thread which can be used for mounting filters.
Filters are optically flat pieces of glass which are usually kept in a circular frame. This frame
can be screwed on to the lens. While filters have several uses, for the time being just
remember that you should keep a suitable (either Skylight or UV) filter to protect the
front element of the lens from dust, fingerprints, etc. and to prevent scratches. Since all
lenses are not of the same diameter, you need to buy a filter of the right size that fits your
lens. So how do you know which diameter to buy? Simple. This is normally mentioned
on the back of your lens cap as a number followed by mm (millimeters) followed by the
symbol . Thus, if it is mentioned 52mm, you need to buy a filter of 52mm diameter.
Image Stabilization (IS): We have seen earlier that
handshake can adversely affect the sharpness of a picture.
While using a tripod is the best way to eliminate camera
movement during exposure, there is a technology which
will result in sharper hand-held images when used correctly.
Canon calls this as Image Stabilization (IS); Nikon labels it
as Vibration Reduction (VR); and Panasonic refers to it as
Mega Optical Image Stabilizer (MOIS). Here, the shaking of
hands is detected by gyroscopes within the lens and a group
of elements are moved to counteract this. With this you can use 2 to 3 steps of
slower shutter speeds than what is permitted without this feature. Thus, if a shutter
speed of 1/500sec is warranted to hand-hold a particular focal length lens, you
can go to 1/125sec or even 1/60sec and still get a sharp picture. This technology
23
is proving to be very popular with a number of lenses now being equipped with
this feature. However, for very slow shutter speeds you still need to use a tripod.
Also, note that a moving subject cannot be stopped with image stabilization. For
that you need a fast shutter speed which necessitates the use of a fast lens (or use
an action-freezing electronic flash). Note that image stabilization is a feature that is
not visible from the outside. However, all lenses with this feature have a switch to
activate or deactivate it. This can help you identify lenses with IS/VR/MOIS or an
equivalent feature.
DIFFErENT TyPES oF LENSES

Previously, we have seen the important characteristics of lenses. Based on these,
lenses are classified as Normal, Wide-angle, Telephoto and Zoom lenses.
Normal: A normal lens is the one which has a focal length equal to the diagonal of
the frame. Generally these are also the fastest lenses and hence are best suited for
low light photography. They provide a view that is close to that of a human eye.
Example, a 50mm lens in the 35mm format.
Telephoto lenses: Lenses with long focal length are called telephoto lenses or
teles for short. Due to their large focal length they provide high magnification
and narrow angle-of-view. They find maximum application in wildlife and sports.
They have the effect of compressing that is the distance between near and far
objects looks less than what it is. For a D-SLR, typical telephoto lenses are available
as 80mm, 135mm, 200mm, 300mm, 400mm etc.
Since magnification is high, there is tendency for any camera movement induced
by handshake to show up very easily. You need to use a shutter speed of at least 1/
equivalent focal length. That is, if you want to hand-hold a 200mm lens on a D-SLR
(with APS-C size sensor, 1.5x crop factor) you need to use a shutter speed of at
least 1/300 (not 1/200) of a second. If light is not sufficient for such a shutter speed
then it is best to reach out for your three legged friend - the tripod, unless your
lens has the image stabilization feature. Remember, in most cases fuzzy pictures
taken with telephoto lenses are due to handshake problem.
24
Wide-angle lenses: These are opposite-end counterparts of telephoto lenses

and have a wide angle of view. (Eg: 35mm, 28mm, 24mm, 20mm etc for a D-SLR).
They also decompress or expand the relative distance between the objects. Wideangle lenses can cause some peculiar problems which we shall cover when we
discuss about perspective. In any case remember these are best for landscapes,
interiors, etc. They should not be used for certain applications like tight portraits
where the short focal lengths will force you to go very close to the subject thereby
exaggerating some features like the nose. This will result in not-so-flattering
portraits.
From the discussion we had on the focal length previously, you can see that the
short focal length of a wide-angle lens would cause the rear end of the lens to be
very close to the film/sensor. This would interfere with the movement of the mirror
in an SLR. To resolve this problem, ultra-wide-angle lenses are designed on the
principle of retro-focus. This allows such lenses to be produced with sufficient
physical length, but at the same time keeping the focal length short. This prevents
the lens from hitting the mirror.
Prime Lenses: Lenses whose focal length cannot be changed are called prime
lenses. You can have prime telephotos and wide-angles for example. Prime lenses
are also known as Block lenses.
Zoom Lenses: A class of lenses called zoom lenses is now very popular. Almost all
cameras that do not allow interchangeable lenses have a zoom lens. A zoom lens, in
simple terms, allows the user to change the focal length without actually changing
the lens! In short, a zoom lens is the one that has multiple focal lengths built into it.
For example, you can vary the focal length from a wide-angle to telephoto and
anything in-between without actually replacing the lens. No doubt this is very
handy and the popularity of zoom lenses attests to this. Zoom lenses are available
with different focal length ranges some covering ultra-wide-angle to moderate
wide-angle and some covering short/medium telephoto to super telephoto. The
25
most popular ones for day-to-day use are those that cover from moderate wideangle to medium telephoto.
The number you get by dividing the longer focal length of a zoom lens by the
shorter focal length is called the zoom ratio. Thus if you have an 18 to 72mm zoom
lens, the zoom ratio is four (4). You can have very large zoom ratios (in excess of
20). Generally such high ratios mean some compromise in quality, though there are
exceptions.
As we have seen in the discussion on bridge cameras, it is now possible to
incorporate a zoom lens with a huge zoom ratio (as high as 20) in a relatively small
digital camera. Such a thing would not be possible with a 35mm camera. The reason
for this is the relatively small sensor used in such digital cameras. Thus we can have
a 5 to 90mm focal length on a bridge camera which corresponds to a 28 to 500mm
lens on a 35mm camera! A 28-500mm lens on a 35mm format camera would be
huge in size and technically a challenge to design and manufacture. In fact no such
lens has ever been made, at least as yet!
During the early years of introduction of zooms, it was said that zooms lacked
the image quality of prime lenses. However, this is no longer true for high quality
zooms. Only at extreme ends of wide-angle or telephoto range are the prime
lenses being used now. Another area where primes are used is when low distortion
or high light-gathering power (fast lens) is required. For the rest of the cases, zooms
are more popular and that too by a wide margin.
Zoom lenses are supposed to hold focus when the focal length is changed. Such
lenses are called parfocal zooms. However, such lenses are difficult to design and
costly to produce. Most of the zoom lenses produced today are varifocal type
where the focus changes when you zoom. Hence, you need to focus after you
zoom to the required framing. This is something you need to remember when you
are using zoom lenses.
26
Filter threads
Focusing
Ring
Zoom Ring
Aperture
Ring Lens
Mount
Pic showing various parts on a zoom lens
So, how do you change the focal

length in a zoom lens? Zoom lenses
in D-SLRs normally have a ring on the
lens on which focal lengths are marked.
Turning this ring will allow you to zoom,
that is change the focal length. In some
designs (not very popular now) you
need to slide the zoom barrel forward
and backwards to zoom. In the case of
P&S cameras, you usually have a two
way rocker switch which you can press
to increase or decrease the focal length.
Variable aperture
In most zoom lenses, the light gathering capacity (speed of the lens)
changes when you zoom. That is, if your zoom is 35-70mm, then as
you change the focal length from 35 to 70mm, the effective lens
speed could change, let us say, from f/3.5 to f/4.8. Such zoom lenses
are called variable aperture zoom lenses. These lenses are specified as
35-70mm, f/3.5 -4.8. Most consumer grade zoom lenses are variable
aperture type and so are the zoom lenses used on all point and shoot
and bridge cameras. However, there are many high grade zoom lenses
(very expensive!) that have constant aperture.
If you are using manual exposure control and a variable aperture zoom,
then you must set the exposure after you select the focal length as the
effective lens speed would have changed when you varied the focal
length. This is a precaution you must take. However, this need not be the case if you are using
automatic exposure modes ( with TTL metering) since the camera will compensate for the
change in lens speed by itself.
Constant aperture
Now that you know how lenses are classified, the table below will serve you as a handy
guide.
27
Types of Lenses
Type
Diagonal Angle
of View (AOV)
Focal Length for

35mm or full
frame D-SLRs
Focal Length for

Best suited for
APS-C sensor based
D-SLR (1.5x)
Ultra-Wide-angle
84 degrees or more
24 mm or less
16mm or less
Landscapes, architecture,
interiors,
photojournalism.
Moderate
Wide-angle
84 degrees to
62 degrees
24 mm to 35 mm
Approx.16 to 24mm
General purpose,
landscapes,
photojournalism
Normal
Around 46 degrees
40mm to 50mm
Approx.25 to 35mm
General purpose,
candid, low light
Short to Medium
Telephoto
28 to 12 degrees
80mm to 200mm
Approx.55 to 135mm
Portraiture,
candid,
photojournalism
Super Telephoto
8 degrees or less
300mm or greater
200mm or greater
wildlife, birds
Sports, racing,
NoW LET US Look aT SoME SPECIaL PUrPoSE LENSES

DESIgNED For SPECIFIC aPPLICaTIoNS.
Macro Lenses: These have a special focusing mechanism (helical) which greatly
extends the lens elements away from the focal plane so that you can focus very
close to the subject. This in turn allows you to take pictures with high magnifications.
Technically speaking, a lens can really be called macro only if it can provide a
magnification of at least of 1:1 or more. This means that size of the image must be
the same as that of the subject or larger. That is, if you photograph a 10mm length
object, its image on the sensor (regardless of the size of the sensor) should be
10mm (for 1:1) or larger. These lenses are also optimized to work best (offer best
performance) at very short subject distances.
Macro lenses are available in several focal lengths starting from around 50mm to
200mm. Macros with higher focal lengths provide the same magnification for a
larger subject-to-camera distance. For example, a 200mm macro lens will allow
greater working distance than a 50mm macro lens for the same magnification. This
can be useful in nature photography. After all you would not want to photograph
28
a scorpion from 2 inches! Greater working distance (the distance from the front
of the lens to the film/sensor) also allows you greater freedom of arranging lights/
reflectors.
You may ask what about your zoom which offers macro focusing. Is this is not
a macro lens? Really speaking it is not. The word macro in this case is more an
attribute of marketing than true optical performance. These lenses offer around
1:4 magnification (that is, the image on the sensor is 1/4 the size of the subject you
are photographing) at best and that too with some compromise in performance.
They can be called close-focusing, but certainly not macro. However they can be
useful in a pinch.
Nikon calls macro lenses as Micro lenses. This is just a commercial nomenclature
and has no bearing on the actual performance.
Mirror Lenses: These are telephoto lenses which have mirrors inside to fold the light
path so as to reduce the overall physical length of the lens. Hence they are compact
and lighter as compared to a conventional telephoto of the same focal length. They
also have little or no chromatic aberration and provide good quality images. They
Shot with a normal lens
Shot with a macro lens
29
Macro lens focused at Infinity
Same lens focused at 1:2 (one half life size).

Note how the lens is now extended.
This picture shows a 50mm

Normal lens (left), a 300mm
Mirror lens (middle) and a 300mm
lens (right) of conventional design.
Note the very small size of the
300mm mirror lens compared
to a conventional 300mm lens. In
fact it is just a little larger than a
50mm lens.
have two disadvantages. One is that, due to the way they are constructed, they offer
only one fixed f/number. Second disadvantage is that they produce peculiar out-of-focus
highlights which look like bright doughnuts. This type was once quite popular but of late
they seem to have fallen out of favor with none of the major brands offering mirror lenses
in their product lines at present.
Fish-eye Lenses: Originally developed for scientific purposes, these are extreme wideangle lenses of very short focal lengths. They do not correct for barrel distortion and in
fact emphasize this. They come in two types. The first is called the circular fish-eye. This
produces 180 degree coverage all around and this creates a circular image within the
frame.
30
The second type called full frame (not to be confused with the full frame format) has a
diagonal angle of view of 180 degrees and produces an image that covers the frame fully
(and hence the name). This type is more popular these days.
Picture taken with a Fish-eye lens. Note the pronounced barrel

distortion (curving of sides).
Apart from scientific uses, these are

useful for industrial photography and
for photographing interiors and other
cramped situations. Interestingly, in
some cases it is possible to take highly
distorted image from a fish-eye lens
and process it through software to
get an ultra-wide-angle effect that is
distortion free.
Tilt and Shift Lenses: These lenses bring view-camera type movements to D-SLRs. They
have the ability to tilt or shift (a part of ) the lens. When used together or individually,
these movements allow tremendous control over depth of field. Another common
application is in architectural photography when tilting a camera to include a tall building
makes the building look as if it is tilting backwards. This can be corrected very well with
this type of a lens. Also the lens can be shifted in such a way that the photographers
shadow or reflection which might appear in the photograph, is eliminated.
Due to these characteristics they are widely used in table-top, architectural and landscape
photography. These are specialized lenses and are expensive. Also, a certain amount of
skill and understanding about how tilt and shift movements work is needed to use them
effectively.
Tele-Converters: Also known as Tele-Extenders, these are not lenses in the sense that
they cannot be used independently by themselves. They are mounted between the lens
and a D-SLR body and are generally available with multiplication factors of 1.4x, 2x and
3x. When using a tele-converter you need to remember the following:
31
The 1.4x, 2x and 3x tele-extenders increase the focal length of the lens by a factor of 1.4,
2 and 3 respectively. However, there will be a corresponding light loss. You will lose 1, 2
and 3 stops of speed respectively.
As an example, if you use a 100mm f/2.0 lens with a 2x tele-extender, you will get 200mm
in focal length. Unlike cropping this is a real increase in focal length; but your lens speed
will decrease by two stops from f/2.0 to f/4.0.
Unless it is a very high quality tele-extender (and these are not cheap) there is a loss of
quality. 1.4x converters provide the best image quality while 3x converters provide the
worst. Also, tele-extenders work best with prime lenses rather than zooms.
There is one more factor that you need to consider. Most
current autofocus systems work with apertures of f/5.6 or
faster. So if you have a lens whose maximum aperture is f/5.6,
and you add a tele-converter, the autofocus may not work
effectively. If you have a lens whose maximum aperture is
f/4.0, you can use it only with a 1.4x extender to autofocus,
when the effective maximum aperture will become f/5.6. The
focal length will of course increase by 1.4 times too. With
a 2x converter, the effective aperture will become f/8 and
manual focusing will now be the only option available.
A 2x Tele-Converter with a 300mm

telephoto lens
With that, you now know all about the lenses to make a knowledgeable decision on your
lens purchases.
So which is the best lens for you? A lot depends on the type of subjects and how you
want to use a lens. These have been listed in the table Types of Lenses
To sum up, if you want a point and shoot camera, you can start with a camera which has
a zoom lens covering a range from 28 to 105mm (35mm equivalent). This covers a lot of
picture taking situations and the most popular subjects sceneries, portraits, holidays and
family pictures. A bridge camera will give you lot more telephoto reach.
32
If you want to go the D-SLR (of APS format) route, it is best to have two lenses one
zoom covering 18-55mm and another covering 55-200mm. These two lenses along with
a D-SLR will be a good starting point for serious photography. This kit will cover most of
the normal photographic situations. An alternative could be to have an all in one zoom of
18-200mm. This will give you the advantage of a single lens. Expect to pay more for this
convenience and perhaps a little loss in quality compared to a two lens solution.
If you are more into wildlife or sports photography, you may want to consider a 70300mm lens (at the minimum) instead of a 55-200mm lens. When you are going beyond
200mm, it is best if you go for a lens with image stabilization unless your camera body
itself supports stabilization.
Here is one important point. Telephoto lenses (with focal lengths greater than 300mm)
with their long physical appearance are sort of glamor lenses. However, they are more
restrictive in application. Unless you are into the specialized genre of wild life or sports
photography they are generally less useful than lenses with medium focal length range
that is from 28 to 105mm (35mm equivalent).
Remember one thing. The quality of the image depends greatly on the lens, more than
anything else. Many photographers make the mistake of buying an expensive camera
body and a cheap lens. It is wiser to make your purchase the other way. Also, lenses do
not get superseded as quickly as the camera bodies. So your investment is protected for
longer.
33
Pixel Count
and Print Size
If you tell your friend that you bought a digital camera, his first question will be How many
megapixels does it have? Or, if someone is buying a digital camera and he is seeking your
advice the most probable question he will ask is How many megapixels should my digital
camera have?
This illustrates the importance, given to this very important specification of any digital camera,
the number of megapixels it has. However, is the importance given to this figure justified?
What is the impact of number of pixels on the image quality, real or perceived, and if real, to
what extent? How does this affect the ultimate form of any image, which is the print?
This article will look into this aspect plus others such as the effect of pixel size, sensor
size, resolution, etc. Before we can discuss in detail about all these issues, you need to
get to know the terms pixel, pixel count, resolution and more importantly the difference
between the last two.
Pixel Count: The sensor is a device placed in the camera body, and it is here that the light
rays from the lens focus. It is manufactured with light gathering (photosensitive) elements
arranged in rows and columns forming a rectangular grid. These elements produce an
electric charge proportional to the intensity of the light falling on each element. This
means more the light, the greater will be the electrical energy. The circuitry on board the
camera measures this energy and hence knows the intensity of light at each photo element.
By putting together measurements taken for each element, the on board computer is
able to construct the entire image. Each dot of the image thus formed corresponds to
one element. Each of these elements is called a Pixel, which is the short form for picture
element. The number of pixels that are present in a sensor is called the pixel count and is
normally specified as Mega (or millions of ) pixels (abbreviated as MP).
34
However, not every pixel will contribute to the image. A certain number of pixels will be
allocated for non-image forming tasks. If you subtract these from the total pixels then you
will get what is called the effective pixels.
Pixels, as you have just read, are arranged as a rectangular grid in columns and rows.
Hence, it is customary to specify them that way. That is, a 12 MP sensor will have 4,300
columns and 2,800 rows for example.
resolution: So, if this is what pixel count is, what is resolution? Resolution is the resolving
power and is measured as number of lines per millimeter or inch. That is, it basically tells
the detail that a camera can capture. Resolution depends on the number of pixels, lighting
conditions, the test target, the resolving power of the lens and so on. While this is an
important measure there are so many variables involved as mentioned that no camera
manufacturer mentions resolution. It is more often used to measure the resolving power
of a lens. Another place where the term resolution is used is when you print (more of
this shortly).
Unfortunately these two terms - pixel count and resolution are used interchangeably by
many, even though international standards specify that it should not be so used in digital
imaging. Many websites say the same thing and even some books say so. But this is not
correct. The pixels that a digital camera has (for example 12 MP) is called the pixel count
and this is not the resolution. If you have any doubts refer to a digital camera specification
sheet from a standard camera manufacturer like Canon or Nikon and see what is printed
in them.
On the other hand, you need to understand the significance of the word resolution when
the captured image is printed (or shown on a monitor). As demands of printing are much
higher than displaying on a monitor, we will confine the discussion to printing issues in this
article, but the principles are the same.
A print is composed of a number of dots. Each dot corresponds to a pixel that has been
captured by your camera. As you can expect for a given print size, higher number of
35
dots and smaller sized dots will allow you to see finer detail in a print. So how many
dots should be there in a print and what should be size of each dot? To have a norm
regardless of the print size this requirement is specified as the number of dots needed
per inch. This is abbreviated as dpi and is known as the print resolution. The generally
accepted print resolution is 300 dpi. It is not necessary to have resolution beyond this as
the human eye cannot resolve beyond this number. Music aficionados will recollect that
there is a similar limitation for our ears we cannot hear any frequencies beyond 20,000
Hertz. (In fact most people beyond the age of 40 cannot hear more than 16,000 Hertz)
The number of pixels in your camera has a direct bearing on the size of the print you can
make. The following example will make this clear. If you take a 12 MP image of 4300x2800
pixels and print at 300 dpi, it will yield a print of approximately 14.5x9.5 inches. This is
called printing at the native resolution.
If you want to print beyond this size, say 30x20 in with the same number of pixels what
one needs to do is to distribute the same number of pixels over a larger area. This will
automatically make the dots proportionally larger and will bring down the number of
dots per inch. In other words the print resolution reduces. As an example a 12 MP image
printed at 30x20 in will have a resolution of only 140 dpi. There will be a corresponding
loss in detail (sharpness) of the print.
So what is that you need to do to make very large prints? There are four options available.
option 1: This is the simplest option do nothing! Just make a print at lower resolution
(for a large print a resolution of 250 dpi is acceptable). This is because as the print size
increases you will start looking at the print from a longer distance. As the distance grows
the eye will not be able to resolve that much. However, the print will look relatively worse
if you look at close quarters. This is the reason bill boards that look fine at large distances
will look really fuzzy if you go near them!
If your camera has enough of a pixel count to give you say a 30x20 in print at 250 dpi,
then perhaps you need to do nothing unless you are making a print for a very critical
application (like hanging in a gallery).
option 2: This is the most popular option to print beyond the native resolution. This
36
is called up-sizing (or sometimes ressing up) through a process called interpolation. In
this process the number of pixels is increased beyond what has been captured by the
sensor. Thus you can print beyond the native resolution. Interpolation works as follows.
Remember that the pixels in a sensor are organized as a rectangular grid, perfectly in rows
and columns. Due to this very regular structure it is mathematically possible to find out
and insert pixels between the existing pixels, thus increasing the total number of pixels.
Most standard image processing software packages (like Photoshop) have facilities to
support interpolation. Thus, you need not worry about all the mathematics (which is
actually quite complex) that goes on behind interpolation!
Interpolation sounds like a magic bullet and that is true to a certain extent. However,
there is a limit to what extent you can increase the file size. You can safely (based on my
personal experience) increase the total number of pixels by a factor of little more than
four. So, if you start with a 12 MP camera which gives a print of only 14.5x9.5 in at native
resolution, you can go up to 54 MP which will give a print of 30x20 inches at 300 dpi. Also
note that for the interpolation to give best results, the quality of the original pixels should
be very good. This means that you should have used a good lens, held the camera steady,
image should have been properly exposed and so on.
Note: Sometimes you may want to make the image smaller too. This is done when
you want to display the images on a monitor, as high resolution is not required.
Also, large files take time to transmit through email, upload to sites like Flickr,
Facebook etc. So for these cases you may want to reduce the size. This operation
is called down-sizing. The common name for up-sizing and down-sizing as you
would expect is re-sizing.
option 3: This is the best and most expensive solution! Simply use a camera that has
a higher pixel count. If you use a 24 MP camera then you can make a 300 dpi print of
20x13.5 in at the native resolution itself. This is a clear case where higher resolution helps.
In fact the main advantage of cameras with higher resolutions is their ability to make large
size prints yet retain detail.
37
option 4: There is a way you can get more megapixels from your existing camera without
spending anything. That may sound incredible, but it is not, provided your subject is
suitable. The technique is similar to that of panorama making. Switch to a longer focal
length (so only a smaller area is covered) and take overlapped images and stitch them
together to cover the full area. If you do not change your position then perspective will
not change. So, the stitched image will look the same as that taken with a shorter focal
length lens, but it will have lot more pixels, since you have now used multiple images.
There are now devices like Gigapan that perform this task automatically.
The subject needs to be static so this technique is not suitable in all situations. However,
you can use it for landscapes where high resolutions are needed.
Table showing different print sizes at various dpi and corresponding pixel count needed
Print Size
in inches (approx)
dpi
MP
10 X 7
14 X 9
20 X 13
24 X 16
25 X 16
30 X 20
30 X 20
300
300
300
250
300
250
300
6
12
24
24
36
36
54
Horizontal Vertical
Pixels
Pixels
3000
4300
6000
6000
7350
7350
9000
2000
2800
4000
4000
4900
4900
6000
Note: The computer monitors as of now are manufactured to a resolution of

around 100 dpi (or less). Thus the demands from an image are higher if you want
to print it rather than just display it.
ProS aND CoNS oF HIgH PIxEL CoUNTS:

Apart from getting large prints, there is also another advantage with high pixel counts. This
is in cropping. That is, many times you take a captured image and discard a part of it for
compositional reasons. Obviously, after you throw away some pixels, you will be left with
less. Thus, if you start with a 12 MP camera and crop out 4 MP the remaining 8 MP can
38
still produce a very good quality print. This is a bit of over simplification as several factors
come into play but it does illustrate the concept. However, when you crop an image, you
are discarding some pixels, and this will result in the reduction of the maximum print size.
Cropping can also be useful for wildlife and bird photographers as frequently they
cannot go close to the subject. The result would be a image where the subject is small.
By cropping you will be able to make the subject larger. For example, if you start with a
200 mm lens, you can get the effect of a 280 mm lens by cropping with a factor of 1.4. In
this process however you will be discarding about 50 percent of the pixels not a very
good solution but if you are starting with very high number of pixels and if the pixels are
of very high quality then you will still be able to get a good print. As an example, if you
start with 24 MP you can still get 12 MP after cropping - good enough for a nice big print.
Before you go for a very high pixel camera (they cost serious money), ask yourself how
large you want to print and how often. Most of us do not print larger than 18 X 12 in. You
can easily print this size with an 8 MP camera (with interpolation). The money instead can
be better spent for more useful accessories like lenses, etc. Also, to exploit such very high
pixel counts your lenses must be top notch. Dont expect a cheap kit zoom to provide
enough resolution to fully use the 22+ MP of your new super duper D-SLR!
Very high pixels counts can be counterproductive too. They produce very large computer
files, which are difficult to edit and store. More importantly the pixel size reduces for a
given sensor size as the count increases. As you will see shortly, smaller pixel sizes produce
more digital noise and have less dynamic range, reducing the overall quality of the image.
To conclude, pixel count, beyond any doubt, is one of the most important parameters,
but not the only one that determines the image quality as many would believe. Its greatest
impact is one on the size of the print you make as you have seen. In fact, the importance
of pixel count has been over-hyped leading some educated critics calling the race to add
more pixels as megapixel madness!
Pixel Count and Resolving power: How are these two linked? The following example will
show you the relationship.
39
Let us take two hypothetical cameras (A and B) each of APS-C size sensors (24 X 18 mm)
and have 1.5 MP and 6 MP.
Assuming that both have 1.5:1 aspect ratio, the pixels will be 1500 X 1000 (1.5 MP) and
3000 X 2000 (6 MP). Since the pixels are square we can either do the calculations in
vertical or horizontal direction and both will give the same number.
Look aT THIS ExaMPLE Camera A has 1500 pixels spread over 24 mm and hence the theoretical max resolution
is 1500/24 = 62.5 lines / mm.
Camera B has 3000 pixels spread over 24 mm and hence the theoretical max resolution
is 3000/24 = 125 lines / mm.
Now compared to A, camera B has double the resolution. However, the number of pixels
(called the pixel count) in B are quadrupled (from 1.5 MP to 6 MP) compared to A.
This is the reason why for resolution to double, pixel count has to quadruple (become
four times). In practice it has to more than quadruple since several factors like the resolving
power of lens, etc., also have to be taken into account. So, if the next D-SLR model from
your favorite manufacturer has just a couple of mega pixels more dont spring for it just
for those extra pixels as you will get only minimum increase in resolution.
Talking of lenses, there are really few lenses today that can resolve beyond 100 lines/mm.
This, plus diffraction effects will make it increasingly difficult to get high end resolution
figures even if your camera is capable of! So these figures are what you can call theoretical
maximum limits.
ProS aND CoNS oF a LargE SENSor:

So what are the other features of the sensor that are important for picture quality? These
are noise characteristics of the pixels and dynamic range. To understand these you need
to look at the impact of the pixel size on these two features.
Larger pixels have better light gathering capability simply because they have more area
40
to collect light. More light means a stronger signal. Hence, the unwanted signal (which is
the noise) is less compared to the signal that is generated by light, which is what we want.
This in turn means that you can get much better high ISO performance. This feature is
invaluable for photographers who do a lot of photography in low light. It is also useful for
sports and other action photographers since high ISO allows use of higher shutter speeds
for the same light. Larger pixels give a higher dynamic range too that is they capture a
greater brightness range from darkest shadows to brightest highlights.
If large sensors give better noise and dynamic range, why not go for larger sensors
always? As the size of each pixel increase, it does not require a mathematician to guess
that for the same number of pixels the size of the sensor also increases. Due to the way
sensors are manufactured, larger the sensor size the more expensive it is to manufacture.
This relationship is not even linear. That is, if the size doubles the cost of sensor goes up
by more than two times. Not only that, the camera will now need a larger mirror, prism,
and shutter to complete the picture. To add to this, lenses have to be bigger to cover
the larger sensor and hence will be more expensive too! All this put together makes two
systems (cameras plus lenses for DX and FX), both of which are otherwise very similar, to
differ quite a lot in price if the sensor sizes are different.
Let us look at
one
specific
example. Here
are two semip ro f e s s i o n a l
high
quality
D-SLRs made
by the same
manufacturer.
Twins separated at birth! These two cameras have nearly identical specifications including the
number of pixels. However, the one on the left uses an APS-C size sensor and the one on the right
These
two
uses a full-frame sensor. Note the larger prism and mirror in the case of the full-frame camera to
cater to the larger sensor.
cameras have
nearly identical
specs (including number of pixels) but one has an APS-C (24x16 mm) sensor and the
other has a full frame sensor (36x24 mm). At the time of writing the cost of full frame
41
version was about 50 percent higher than that of the APS-C version! Before you rush
out and spend mega-bucks on a D-SLR with a full frame sensor put these questions to
yourself. How often do you photograph at ISOs greater than 3200 and print at or larger
than 30x20 in? If the answer is frequently, then probably you should go for a full-frame
D-SLR.
As technology develops, the cost of larger sensors will come down but the same
technology will also drive the cost of the APS-C sensors down. The image quality too
is improving continuously. So, as time passes smaller sensors will give better high ISO
performance, superior noise control, etc. But these same technology improvements can
also be applied to larger sensors resulting in even better picture quality. So which format
will win? Answering that is not easy. As with everything in life the format that gives the
best tradeoff between the three factors - cost, convenience and image quality will win.
To give you an analogy, during the film days there were formats like medium and large
formats (going up to a size of 10x8 in) that offered superior quality and then there were
small formats like Instamatic 110 which offered great convenience and cost advantage.
Plus there were countless other formats that did not make an impact at all. In the end 35
mm (with 36x24 mm) won over all the rest as it offered best tradeoff or it gave the best
bang for the buck. Which digital format will be the rightful heir to 35 mm will be decided
over time but the underlying factors that will decide (viz. cost, convenience and quality)
will be the same.
Cropping factor and its influence on angle of view (AOV): The image below shows how
a scene would look from the viewfinders of different cameras positioned at the same
place and with a lens of the same focal length but with sensors of different sizes. As you
can observe, cameras with smaller sensors see narrower angle (reduced angle of view).
This means that progressively less and less area (also called field of view) is covered. This
is similar to the effect you would get when you crop a picture. Technically the AOV
reduces as sensor size reduces for the same focal length. But remember the focal length
does not change! Due to reduced AOV and consequent coverage of lesser area, the
lens of the same focal length will appear to you as if it is having a longer focal length. This
has advantage for wildlife and bird photographers, since you can get more out of your
telephoto lens but can be a disadvantage when using wide-angle lenses as what was a
42
wide-angle lens on your full frame lens will cover a AOV which is narrower. From this you
can infer that you cannot classify a lens as a telephoto or something else just by looking
at the focal length alone. The format (that is the sensor size) also needs to be taken into
account. The factor by which the AOV reduces compared to a full frame is called the
Cropping factor. It is the ratio of the diagonals of the two frames. The cropping factor is
1.5x for APS-C sensors (1.6x for Canons), 2x for Four Thirds System and will be even larger
for point-and-shoot and bridge cameras. Suppose your lens has an AOV of 15 degrees
on a full-frame camera. Now, if you mount the same lens on an APS-C sensor camera, the
effective AOV will be only 10 degrees.
Many of us are used to classification of lenses based on focal lengths as used on 35 mm
cameras. For example, we classify a 28 mm lens on a 35 mm camera as a wide-angle lens.
Based on this, manufacturers mention the equivalent 35 mm focal length figure in the
literature. Some manufacturers have even started to mark lenses with these focal lengths
while at the same time not explicitly declaring so. This is not technically correct.
Image showing the different field of view of cameras with sensors of different sizes
1. Full frame (36 X 24 mm)

3. Micro Four Thirds System (MFT)
2. APS-C size (24 X 16 mm)

4. 2/3 inch Type
5. 1/3.6 inch Type
43
Most of the super zoom equipped bridge digital cameras have very small sensors
and thus need only a short focal length to get a great telephoto effect. For example,
if you study the specifications of a digital bridge camera that claims to have a super
telephoto of 500 mm (equivalent focal length for 35 mm camera), you will find that
the actual focal length is just about 90 mm. (This means that the cropping factor is
about 5.5 times here). A lens of this focal length on a 35 mm camera would qualify
as a short telephoto and on a medium format camera as a normal lens! So please
dont get misled by such figures.
Sensor size and printing: Once a image is captured, the size of the sensor has
no bearing on the printing. In fact the whole printing process is totally agnostic to
the sensor size. This is quite unlike a print made from a film where the size of the
negative plays a significant role on the size of the print made (for a given quality).
You have seen that if you take a 12 MP and print at 300 dpi, it will yield a print of
approximately (at native resolution) 14.5 X 9.5 in. This is regardless of the size of
the sensor used. The prints too will be theoretically indistinguishable if pixels are
of equal quality. However, this will not be the case in practice as a print made from
a camera with larger pixels, will be of superior quality. This qualitative difference
will be even more apparent in situations where:
1. High ISos have been used
2. Light is low
3. Scene had high contrast (that is scenes with high dynamic range)
How many pixels does film have? This question is likely to open a can of worms and the
Editors are sure to receive letters from both film and digital aficionados contesting what
I am going to say. To make the issue as non-controversial as possible, I will resort to some
mathematics with the hope that numbers cannot be disputed. To make this easier to
understand let us assume that our film frame is a standard 35 mm frame of 1.5x1 inches
(or 36x24 mm). It is generally accepted that if you scan at about 4000 dpi you can capture
all the information from even the finest grain film. If this is the case, the scan of 1.5x1 inch
frame will yield (approximately) 6000x4000 pixels or 24 MP. This number circulates a lot
everywhere and is correct.
44
The wrong notion is the one that comes out as a deduction from it that is, you need a
24 MP camera to produce the same quality of image of a 35 mm. Sorry, film aficionados
but you dont need that many megapixels to produce an image of equal quality. This is
because of the interpolation that was explained earlier. A 24 MP scan (6000x4000 pixels)
will yield a print of 20x13 in (at 300 dpi), something that an 8 MP D-SLR can produce with
just moderate interpolation! Today a top of the line 22 MP+ D-SLR can produce prints
with the quality of a medium format film camera as per some experts and tests.
So, the next question that comes to you is that, if interpolation is doing the trick for images
captured by digital cameras, why not start with a scanned image and interpolate beyond
the 24 MP to get an even bigger print? Unfortunately, this does not work, since the
scan is of a film, which is composed of random grains (no regular structure) and hence
is not amenable to interpolation. Scanning beyond 4000 dpi is not productive either
since there is not much to capture. The only solution for getting a bigger scanned file
is - you have guessed it - to start with a bigger film format like medium or large format.
45
File Formats
JPEG, TIFF, NEF, CR2, PSD, DNG ... and what not! Confused? Not to worry! This alphabet
soup simply indicates the format of a file and you probably know that already. But what
is the significance of this format and before that, what is a file? That is what we will see in
this article what a file means the different types of popularly used image files, their
relative merits, and when to use which format.
First some background. Electronic cameras capture images through a light sensing
medium which is the sensor. However, though not commonly known, all cameras which
capture images electronically this way are not digital cameras. So, what differentiates
digital cameras from other electronic cameras?
The light that falls on the sensor produces an electric charge proportional to the intensity
of the light falling on the sensor- more intense the light higher the charge. The charge
is converted into an electric current. This is what is called the signal. This signal can be
written as it is on a storage medium like tape. While this sounds unusual, till digital video
came, all the video recordings were recorded this way (remember the VHS tapes?). So,
what if you write still images from a camera too on a tape? Such cameras existed for a
very brief time and were mostly used for press photography, etc. They never made it to
the consumer world due to poor quality of the image. These are really what you can call
analog cameras electronic guts but not digital recording.
There is a tendency by the uninformed to call film cameras as analog cameras. This is
not correct since film cameras capture images on film and not on electronic sensors.
Except for exposure and other controls, film cameras do not need electronics in any way.
Chronologically, analog cameras followed film cameras and were very quickly superseded
by digital cameras.
Going back to the signal, what you do with this signal next is important. In a digital camera
instead of recording the signal as it is, it is converted into a digital stream (ones and zeroes)
46
with the help of what is called an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC). The digital stream
is then stored on the memory card as a file. This process, creation of a file, is what makes
a digital camera different from its analog forebears. A human cannot interpret a file as it
is just a seemingly endless stream of random ones and zeroes. However, a computer can!
But why take this extra step of conversion? That is because once the signal is converted
into a digital file the benefits are innumerable. For example, digital files can be processed
by a computer in myriad ways. A file is given a definite structure so that the software
running on the computer can interpret all the ones and zeros and make sense out of the
whole thing. This structure, that is, essentially the way the sequence of ones and zeroes are
organized is vital and without a rigid definition of this, a computer cannot make sense out
of a file. The structure of a file is also called the file format and this is not to be confused
with the formatting of memory cards. In the latter case, you are creating a framework on
the memory card or disk. This is needed for writing, organizing and retrieving files.
It is this recognizable pre-defined structure that will enable the right software to interpret
the contents of the file for you in a meaningful way. Thus, if you have an image display
software it will interpret an image file and show you your holiday picture. Likewise if you
have a music playing software, it will play Jai Ho from a music file for you. Of course the
software that plays music for you cannot show a picture since it cannot interpret an image
file. Its job is to play the music.
Each file has to have a name the computer (and of course you too) surely cannot
make out which image is what without each file having a unique name. Plus, the computer
should also have a way to find out the type of the file. For example it needs to distinguish
an image file from a music file. Hence the file type is also included in the file name and is
called the extension.
Thus, you can have an image file called taj mahal.jpg and a music file called jai ho.mp3
where taj mahal and jai ho are files names and jpg and mp3 are extensions.
There is one more concept that you need to be aware of before we can go deeper. This
is called compression. Generally an image contains a lot of information that can be
47
easily represented in a short hand fashion with the help of mathematics. Due to this the
size of the file can be reduced or compressed quite drastically. The natural question that
comes to our mind is, will compression reduce the quality? The answer could be no, may
be or yes. Before you conclude and say that the author is being evasive believe it or
not, it is possible to have all three ways of compression.
If the compression is done in such a way that there is absolutely no loss of quality then
it is called lossless compression. This is very much technically possible though it may not
reduce the size much (see File Sizes table elsewhere). If you compress with loss of quality
then it is called lossy compression. If you choose a low compression factor, the loss can be
insignificant and the resulting image will be good enough for most applications. On the
other hand if you choose a very high compression factor, the size of the file will reduce
drastically with a corresponding decrease in quality.
With that as the background we are now ready to look at the different types of image
files that we will come across in photography. To start with, be aware that there are a huge
number of file formats in existence and it is just impossible to cover all of them. Nor is it
necessary since there are really only a few important image file formats that are widely
used these days though there are lots of variations within these. The most commonly used
file formats are
1. JPEg\
2. raW
3. TIFF
4. PSD
5. DNg
We will see each of them in detail:
JPEg format: JPEG is an abbreviation for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is the
group that formulated the specifications for this file format. Without any question, JPEG
is by far the most widely used file format. Today there is probably no digital camera that
does not support JPEG files it is that universal.
After an image is captured by the sensor, the on board computer of your digital camera
adds color information, and then processes the image, using the various parameters that
you have chosen in the camera. These include saturation, contrast, sharpness, White
48
Balance, etc. The processed image is then compressed and written as a JPEG file in the
memory card inserted in your camera. Since the processing has been completed the
parameters are already incorporated into the JPEG. Hence, it is very difficult to change
them. Just try to reduce sweetness in a cup of coffee after it has been made !
While all D-SLRs capture RAW data with an accuracy of 12 bits per each channel (red,
green and blue), JPEG retains only 8 bits per each channel thus inherently reducing the
fineness in gradation of tones. In addition JPEG is essentially a lossy format. Because of
this there will be loss of data and hence the quality of the image will suffer, especially if a
high compression ratio is chosen. The loss of quality normally shows up as artifacts that is,
unwanted features that were not originally present in the image.
In spite of these shortcomings, JPEG format is used exclusively for all web applications. It
is also very compact (that is small) and is ideally suited for transmission over the networks.
Today it is really the only format that is universally read by every computer in the world.
It is also the format accepted by any competition or salon where digital files are used for
submission. Since JPEG files are small, cameras can record them at high speed. Most of
the cameras which support high continuous burst rates use JPEG while doing so. This is
invaluable for sports and other action photography.
Also, most of the printers that are available commercially (e.g. Fuji Frontier) accept JPEG
files. Hence if you are sending files to a commercial lab for printing you need to convert
the files to JPEG format.
Most cameras offer at least three grades for compressing your files in JPEG format. The
names could differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Here is one example:
JPEg Compression
remarks
Fine
Best image quality, largest file size
Normal
Via media moderate image quality

and size
Basic
Least image quality, smallest file size
49
Tip: Every time you save a JPEG file, it tries to compress the file with a
corresponding loss in quality. Hence, do not try to repeatedly save a file in JPEG
format while editing. If you need to edit a file and save it in between editing, use
another format which is lossless. You can save it as a JPEG after you have finished
editing, just before printing or publishing on the web.
Effects of compression
In Camera
Quality: Large and Fine
Quality: Small and Basic
In Photoshop
Saved with a quality setting
of 12
Saved with a quality setting

of zero
raW file format: The word RAW is neither an acronym nor an abbreviation. RAW is
just raw as in un-cooked food and that is a very apt analogy. A RAW file unlike a JPEG file
is unprocessed. If you open a RAW file with a RAW Converter (which is just a software
program) in your computer, then you will be able to see the image as if the parameters
have been applied but this effect is only visual. So, the RAW Converter allows you to see
50
the effect of the parameters without really applying them. Due to this you can change
them at will to the values you like. You can now ask the computer to process the RAW
file. At this time, the parameters that you have chosen will be incorporated into the image
(baked as a part of the image) and a processed image file will be generated. The format
of this can be PSD or JPEG or TIFF or some other, based on your choice.
Since a RAW file is unprocessed it is also called a digital negative. The RAW file has
at least 12 bits per each channel and hence has a lot more data. The more advanced
cameras support 14 or even 16 bits per channel. Hence, the RAW format gives you
smoother tonal gradations, better latitude (one to two stops more than JPEG) and also
better dynamic range. RAW images also exhibit less of a tendency to suffer from sudden
blowout of highlights.
Some cameras allow RAW file to be compressed. In many cases (there are a few
exceptions) a compressed RAW file is loss less.
RAW file editing is generally non destructive. What happens is that when corrections/
editing is done in a RAW converter, the changes do not affect the RAW file itself but are
stored separately. Hence, it is easy to go back and change any editing you have done. This
is an invaluable feature. When using ACR, the editing changes that you do are stored in a
separate sidecar file called the .xmp file.
If RAW has so many advantages, you may ask, why is that many photographers dont use
it and many cameras (mostly P&S cameras) dont even support it? There are two main
reasons for this.
First a RAW file is not usable straight away as it comes out of the camera, the way you
can use a JPEG. It cannot be put on a website (like Flickr). It cannot be printed. It must
necessarily be processed in a computer, something many do not want. For these reasons
most P&S cameras do not even support RAW.
The second problem with RAW is that it is manufacturer specific. That is, each camera
manufacturer has his own RAW format and these are not compatible with one another.
51
Worse, RAW format varies even between different cameras from the same manufacturer!
For example the raw format of Nikon D300 is different from the RAW format of Nikon D90
though both files have the same extension .NEF! On the positive side every manufacturer
supplies free with the camera a RAW converter which can convert the RAW files into
a standard format like JPEG and/or TIFF. These RAW converters normally give the best
quality (in terms of color, contrast, etc.) since the manufacturer obviously knows his
product the best.
Commonly used RAW converters are:
Nikon View NX and Capture NX (for Nikon Cameras only)
Canon Digital Photo Professional (for Canon cameras only)
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) Works for most cameras but
needs Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to run.
Adobe Lightroom
IrfanView (free software)
Picasa (free software)
Bibble, etc.
Here is a table that gives the extensions of some of the commonly used RAW formats
Manufacturer
File Extension
Nikon
.NEF
Canon
.CR2
Adobe, Hasselblad, Leica
.DNG
Olympus
.ORF
Panasonic
.RAW
Note: It is possible that other file extensions (apart from these) are also used
by the manufacturers listed here. This list gives just a few of the popularly used
extensions.
52
File Sizes Table for Camera generated Files

File Format
File Size in Megabytes

(Taken by a 12 MP D-SLr)
RAW (uncompressed)
25.3
14 bit
RAW (Loss-less
15.2
compressed) 14 bit.
RAW (uncompressed)
19.2
12 bit
RAW (Loss-less
12.2
compressed) 12 bit.
TIFF
36.7
JPEG Fine (best quality,
4.4
minimum compression)
JPEG Normal
2.9
JPEG Basic (smallest size,
1.6
highest compression)
TIFF Format: TIFF is an abbreviation for Tagged Image File Format. It is once again a
universal standard like JPEG though it is becoming less and less popular these days. It is
generally an uncompressed file format and there is no loss of information. However, like
a JPEG (and unlike a RAW file), it has all the cameras settings baked in. So parameters
(like saturation, contrast, etc.) are not easy to change. The main disadvantage of TIFF is
that the file sizes are huge. Due to this, if you are using TIFF option in your camera, the
camera takes a long time to record the images. These two disadvantages have slowly
pushed TIFF out of use. In fact many new D-SLRs are not supporting TIFF at all. Only two
formats RAW and JPEG are supported, though several options are provided for each
of these formats.
53
Photoshop (PSD) format: While there can be some arguments on which camera is the
most popular and so on, there is no dispute regarding which is the most used editing
software. It is Photoshop from a company called Adobe. If one cant afford Photoshop,
there is a lower cost option called Photoshop Elements, which is optimized for
photographers and having somewhat lesser features. The file format used by both these
software packages is .PSD. No camera writes a PSD file directly. However, once you take
the image made by the camera, be it RAW or JPEG or TIFF into Photoshop, it is best to
save it as a PSD file. Photoshop allows you to save files in any of the standard formats, but
a PSD is by far the most versatile. A PSD file is not small, but it is completely lossless. Most
importantly it supports the concept of layers, which gives a user tremendous flexibility in
editing. Hence, it is a good practice to save an edited file as a PSD file though you may
still have to make a JPEG version in the end in case you want to print it or publish it on the
web. Also, note that a PSD file is proprietary to Adobe so it is a good practice to keep a
backup in a standard format like JPEG and/or TIFF.
adobe DNg format: This is a RAW format that is being promoted by Adobe. Unlike the
PSD file it is an open standard in the sense that the format is published (like JPEG) and
is known to the public. Adobe hoped that this standard will be adopted by all camera
manufacturers but unfortunately this did not happen. Two venerable manufacturers,
Leica and Hasselblad, however, have chosen DNG as the RAW format (that is their
cameras directly will write their RAW files in DNG format), but other major manufacturers
are unlikely to follow suit anytime soon. Adobe also offers free software for converting
manufacturer proprietary RAW files to DNG.
Archiving your RAW files in DNG format is a good option as it is open and is known to
all. This way you are immune to the whims and fancies of the manufacturers. Also, in case
your camera manufacturer bites the dust, not a very unusual thing to happen due to the
fierce competition these days ( remember that many once respected brands like Rollei,
Bronica, Agfa, Miranda, etc., have vanished) you can still find software to read your DNG
RAW files.
Effect of Image Size setting: One issue that confuses many photographers is that there
is another factor that alters the file size. This is called the Image Size and once again at
54
least three options (e.g. Large, Medium and Small) are provided by the manufacturers.
This factor also affects the file size like JPEG compression factor but in a different way.
Image Size basically controls the number of pixels you want to use when capturing an
image. This example will make the concept clear. Let us say you have a camera with a pixel
count of 12 MP. If you use all the pixels this is referred to as Large size. Medium would
be 7 MP and Small would be 3 MP. So, you are essentially not using all the pixels. But
why would you use lesser number of pixels after you paid for them? Well, in many cases
the pixels your camera has could be overkill. So, sometimes it may be convenient to use
a small file for example, in a passport studio or when you are preparing images only
for the web.
Each of these Image Size settings can be used with any of the compression settings.
Thus if you have three Image Size settings and three compression settings, you can get a
total of nine different levels of image quality. The file sizes also vary naturally with these
options. The best image quality will be given by Large + JPEg Fine and poorest quality
will be given Small + JPEg Basic. Others, say Medium + JPEg Fine will give a quality in
between. The size variation is tremendous. For example if you take a 12MP camera and
4 GB card, Large + JPEg Fine will give you 534 images and Small + JPEg Basic will give
you around 7500 images an increase of factor of 14! But there is nothing like a free
lunch. You will drastically lose quality too!
You have already seen the effect of compression in the previous examples. The following
two examples show how reducing the pixels for capturing the image together with higher
compression will adversely affect the quality.
Effect of Pixel Count
Crop of image captured at 12 MP.
Crop of image captured at 3 MP. See how

the image is far less sharp.
It is also pixilated.
55
Tip: With so many options available for size and quality, what should you use?
The author strongly recommends that you use the maximum image size and least
compression always. You can downsize and / or compress an image later but
lost quality cannot be retrieved regardless of what you do later. Also remember
memory cards and other storage media (like hard disks, DVDs, etc) are becoming
cheaper day by day so it is better to buy memory than to land up with a poor
quality image of a priceless moment!
Combo Settings: We are not done as yet! Some cameras allow both a RAW image and
a JPEG image to be captured at once. That is, you press the shutter release only once but
two image files will be recordedone as RAW and another as JPEG. While this may look
redundant, it is useful because your computer can easily generate a thumbnail image of
a JPEG but not that of a RAW. Having a thumbnail image allows you to sort out images
easily. However, remember that since you are capturing two versions of the same image,
they will occupy more space on the memory card.
OK, now it is time for a quick round up to clear up any confusion. The table below
summarizes what you have read so far
relative advantages and Disadvantages of Different Formats
Format
advantages
Disadvantages
TIFF
Lossless, universal standard

parameters are already
Cumbersome due to large size; camera

baked in and hence cannot be
changed easily.
JPEG
Undisputed universal
standard; compact size;
compression can be varied
based on needs; widely
used on web as well as for
commercial printing.
Lossy; not suited for repeated saves as

quality will suffer; only 8 bits per
channel limits tonality and dynamic
range; camera parameters are
already baked in and hence cannot be
changed easily.
56
RAW from Best quality; reasonable size;

Camera
non-destructive editing possible;
Mfrs.
converters from manufacturers
give best quality; parameters can
easily be changed.
Proprietary; third party software

may not be able to get
everything out of a RAW file;
may need extra investment for
a RAW converter.
Photoshop Very widely used; supports

PSD
layers; unmatched editing
support through Photoshop;
16 bit editing support.
Not an open standard.
Adobe
DNG
Not yet universally adopted.
The only open RAW standard;

can be considered a safe bet
for storing RAW files.
Exchangeable image file format (ExIF): EXIF was created by the Japan Electronic
Industries Development Association ( JEIDA). Strangely though it is not supported by
international standards organizations, every manufacturer supports it. Note that EXIF is
not an image file format but it carries information about the image. It is embedded in an
image file and contains information such as:
Date and time at which the photograph was taken Camera settings such as make and
model of the camera, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, metering mode, whether flash was
fired or not and so on.
If you have programmed copyright information (not all cameras allow this) then this is also
recorded.
If you are using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver connected to your camera
(some camera models support this), then the location information is also recorded in the
EXIF. Later on you can tell within accuracy of a few meters where the image was captured
and with proper software you can even see that location on a map!
57
It contains a small low resolution copy of the image called thumbnail to act as an index.
When you use a file manager (Windows Explorer for example) in your computer you will
find a small sized image (like a postage stamp) on your computer screen. This is what is
called a thumbnail.
I have kept the most unusual and little known feature of EXIF data in the end! Many
of you will be surprised to know that every image file contains the total count
of shutter cycles or releases (a cycle or release is the shutter opening and then
closing) that the camera had performed thus far. By looking at this number you will
be able to say how much the camera has been used. This will be useful to you when you
are buying a used camera. However, there are two points you should be aware of. One,
only some D-SLRs and more advanced P&S cameras give this information. Second, it is
possible that the factory service has reset the counter while doing repairs. Thus, if you
have a very low shutter release count it does not guarantee that the camera has done only
a few releases. However, if the count is high you can be sure that the camera has been
used more.
EXIF thus provides you with invaluable information. It is also a great teaching tool.
If your image is not proper for whatever reason who can check the EXIF data and see
what the parameters like aperture, shutter speed, etc. were, that caused the mistake. This
advantage was simply not available with film.
Tip on how to see ExIF data: Many image editing programs can and display most of the
EXIF data. Windows Ver. 7 operating system also shows most of the EXIF data if you just click
on the file name. Shutter release count is however not shown by most programs. You can
down load a program called Opanda EXIF reader (it is free) and use it for this purpose.
58
Exposure Modes,
Controls, and Meters
This part of Basics of Photography will explain to you the different ways you can regulate
light and the various controls on your camera that are available to you for doing that.
Before you go deeper into this, you need to get a thorough understanding of what is
called exposure. It is simply the amount of light that you are allowing to fall on the sensor
to take a picture with good tonality, taking into account the sensitivity of the sensor. The
result is an image that is neither too dark nor too light.
There are three different variables that are available to you to control the exposure.
These are shutter speed, aperture, and sensitivity of the sensor (the last being set by the
ISO value you have chosen). Together these three allow you an enormous control over
exposure.
You have seen in the earlier articles that a great number of combinations of shutter speed
and apertures are possible for a given exposure. As you would expect, faster shutter
speeds will allow lesser light and so would narrow apertures (larger f/ numbers). Even
if you allow the same amount of light with a certain combination of shutter speed and
aperture, the tonality of image recorded can be changed (can be made darker or lighter)
by changing the sensitivity, though it is seldom done this way. Alternatively, for a given light
you can use a different set of shutter speeds and apertures by changing the sensitivity.
Concept of Stop: One important term you need to know while talking about exposure
is called stop. Not knowing this will really put a stop to your efforts to master exposure!
Fortunately this concept is rather simple. You have just seen that there are three variables
in your camera that control the exposure. Changing these variables in such a way that the
59
exposure is doubled or halved is called a stop. In the case of shutter speed and ISO this
means doubling or halving the number. In the case of aperture, the f/ number should be
divided or multiplied by 1.4. (Refer to Basics of Photography - Part II for more details).
The sequences that are followed are:
Shutter Speeds (in seconds): 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250,
1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000
Apertures: f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, f/32, f/45, f/64
ISO Settings: ISO 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800, 25600
Here are some examples to make the concept of stop clear to you:
Changing shutter speed from 1/60 sec to 1/250 means you are decreasing the exposure
by two stops.
Changing aperture from f/8 to f/5.6 means that you are increasing the exposure by
one stop. Likewise changing aperture from f5.6 to f/11 means that you decreasing the
exposure by two stops
Changing ISO from 200 to 800 means you are increasing the exposure by two stops.
Here are two more terms that you need to be familiar with. Increasing the diameter of
the aperture, thereby making the aperture larger (decreasing the f/ number) is called
opening. Conversely decreasing the diameter of the aperture thereby making the
aperture smaller (increasing the f/ number) is called closing or stopping down. So,
changing the aperture from f/16 to f/11, means that you have opened the aperture by
one stop, while changing aperture from f5.6 to f/11 means you have closed or stopped
down by two stops.
You are now ready to understand a concept called reciprocity. This was briefly
introduced in Basics of Photography - Part I. It is time to look at this is in more
depth. Reciprocity means that several combinations of shutter speeds and
60
apertures can achieve the same exposure. You have seen that there is one more
variable, the ISO, that gives rise to even more combinations. Thus for the same
exposure you can have practically unlimited combinations of these three variables.
See the following table which illustrates this very well. All these combinations give
the same exposure!
Shutter Speed
aperture
ISo
1/125 sec
f/8
50
1/250 sec
f/11
200
1/125 sec
f/16
200
1/250 sec
f/16
400
1/125 sec
f/22
400
Due to the possibility of several combinations it is difficult to compare different

exposures. Look at this example. Suppose you are out in the field photographing
with a friend and you want to cross check the exposure. So you might ask your
friend, my meter says 1/250 sec at f/11 at ISO 200, how about yours? His reply
could be my meter says 1/125 at f/22 at ISO 400. It will not be apparent to you
(at least easily) that these two are indeed the same.
To make such comparisons there is a scale called EV (exposure value). This is rather
simpleall possible equivalent combinations that give the same exposure are
assigned the same EV value. This scale starts at EV 0, which means a shutter speed
of 1 sec and an aperture value of f/1.0. Also each EV is one stop. That is, changing
from one EV value to next EV value implies that the exposure has changed by
one stop. In future, we will be using the words stop and EV interchangeably. The
concept of EV is an important one that you should remember. Also, EV by default
is specified at ISO 100. Thus EV can also indicate the intensity of light. For example,
EV 0 corresponds to light, which is lower in intensity compared to a moon lit scene.
EV 15 corresponds to an average scene in bright sunlight.
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The following table shows the EV for typical ranges of shutter speed and aperture (for
ISO 100):
f/1.0 f/1.4 f/2.0 f/2.8 f/4.0 f/5.6 f/8.0 f/11 f/16 f/22
1sec
1/2sec
10
1/4sec
10
11
1/8sec
10
11
12
1/15sec
10
11
12
13
1/30sec
10
11
12
13
14
1/60sec
10
11
12
13
14
15
1/125sec
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
1/250sec
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1/500sec
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
From the table you can see that for each EV (similarly colored boxes) several combinations
of shutter speed and aperture are possible. For e.g. for EV 5 you can use 1/15 sec with
f/1.4 or 1/4 sec with f/2.8 and so on. So, this is just a table of valid shutter speed and
aperture combinations for a given exposure.
For a given EV, the combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO you want to choose
will depend on its suitability to the photograph you want to take. For example, if you
want to stop a racing car in its tracks you will use a fast shutter speed and a corresponding
large aperture. Conversely, if you want a large depth of field so that everything from a
foreground rock to a distant mountain is sharp, you will use a very narrow aperture and
go for a slower shutter speed. If you want to take a portrait of a baby you would like
to use the lowest ISO possible to give a smooth skin with least noise. To make this task
easier, cameras are equipped with various exposure modes. There are five basic exposure
modes. Of these, one is manual and the rest are automatic. The following will help you
understand the different exposure modes.
Manual Mode: In this mode, for total control, you can set both shutter speed and aperture
as you wish. Changing one of these will not in any way affect the other. So, how do you
62
know that you are choosing the right exposure? To help you with this the camera will give
you an indication of the deviation that is the error (in stops) between your settings and
the correct exposure. You are of course at liberty to heed or ignore this advice. This is
the reason why manual mode is sometimes called metered manual since the cameras
meter is helping you.
Manual exposure mode is useful when you want to keep the exposure constant for a set
of images. Such a need will arise if you are taking a series of images which will be stitched
together later to make a panorama. Manual mode is also very convenient to use with spot
meter as you will see in the next part of this series.
Here is something you need to remember when you are using the manual mode. Manual
exposure mode simply gives an exposure as set by you. So, if you have set an exposure
for a particular light, and then the light changes for whatever reason, the camera will make
no effort to change the exposure that you have chosen. It is your responsibility to change
the settings to satisfy the new lighting conditions. The camera will indicate the error, but
will not do anything more.
Rest of the modes we are going to see are automatic in the sense that if the light changes,
the meter detects that change and alters one or more of the variables (depending on the
mode you have chosen)viz. shutter speed or aperture or both or ISO, to give correct
exposure.
Shutter Priority Mode: This is also called Tv (Time value) mode by some manufacturers.
Here you choose the shutter speed and the camera will set the aperture to give you
correct exposure, provided it is possible. In case the shutter speed you have chosen is
such that the aperture needed is beyond the aperture range provided by the lens then it
will not be possible for the camera to give a proper exposure. In these cases the camera
responds with a warning. Let us say you have an f/4.0 lens and you have set a shutter
speed of 1/1000 sec. If the light is such that an f/2.0 aperture is needed for this shutter
speed then this will not be possible as the lens is not fast enough. The only way to get
out of the situation is to reduce the shutter speed or increase the ISO.
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Aperture Priority Mode: Some manufacturers call this the Av (Aperture value) mode.
In this mode you choose the aperture and the camera will set the shutter speed to give
the correct exposure, provided it is possible. If the shutter speed needed is beyond the
range of what the camera can give (normally 30 full seconds to 1/4000 sec), then the
camera responds with a warning advising you to change the aperture. You need to keep
an eye on the shutter speed too. If the aperture you have chosen demands a slow shutter
speed, then the camera will automatically set it. However, this speed may be too slow to
hand hold the camera. If you use this speed you will get the correct exposure, but your
picture may be blurred due to shaky hands. So, when shutter speed drops beyond what
you can hand hold, you need choose a wider aperture or a higher ISO to allow your
camera to set a faster shutter speed. Else you need to use a tripod. This mode is very
popular with many professionals and serious amateurs.
Program: Here the camera sets both the shutter speed and aperture. In some cameras
you can change the combination to give the same exposure (that is the EV value is kept
the same). As an example if the camera chooses 1/250 second shutter speed and an
aperture of f/11, then you can choose 1/125 sec and f/16, which will give the same EV.
This feature is called Program Shift.
Scene Modes: One of the features of middle and low-end D-SLRs as well as all point and
shoot (P&S) and bridge cameras is the Scene Mode. This is a collective name for several
situation specific modes. Of late these scene modes have multiplied and there are some
cameras which have around 20 (or even more) scene modes.
They are basically meant to help a photographer to quickly choose (with the help of a
suitable graphical icon) the right combination of shutter speed and aperture without
getting into too many details. They are normally omitted in high end cameras. That said,
there is really nothing amateurish in using them and in a hurry these are very handy. Just
be aware of the underlying principle behind each.
All these are derivates of the Program mode where the program that is the combination
of shutter speed and aperture set is varied, to give the same correct exposure (same EV),
but the combination chosen is different to meet the situation. As an example, let us say
64
you have chosen sports mode and the camera is giving an exposure of 1/500 sec and f/4
(to stop action). If you had chosen close up mode under the same lighting, the camera
may give 1/30 and f/16 (for maximum DOF). In other words EV is maintained the same,
but the combination of shutter speed and aperture chosen is optimized based on the
scene. Apart from the exposure, a few other parameters (like frame advance, saturation,
flash operation etc.) are also set when you select a particular scene mode. So, these are
sort of pre-packaged programs.
There is one scene mode you need to be especially aware of. This is the fully auto
mode. It is generally represented as a green square or as a green camera. Despite
the green symbol this mode does not improve the environment in any way! It is also
completely and fully automatic that offers no control at all. Everything is in the control
of the camera and what the camera does has been decided by the programmer who
wrote the software for the camera! Not even program shifting is allowed. Unless you
are very casual about photography (nothing wrong with that though) you should avoid
this mode.
How do you choose a particular exposure mode? This varies from camera to camera, but
there is generally a dial called mode dial on the camera, which will allow you to do this.
Mode Dial
The mode dial allows you to select
the exposure mode you want. The
different modes are clockwise
(starting from 3 Oclock position),
Manual (M), Aperture Priority (A),
Shutter Priority (S) and Program (P)
modes. Next are icons for scene
modes - Green Camera, Portrait,
Landscape, Close up, Sports, Night
Landscape, and Night Portrait
Your camera manual will give you the full list of scene modes supported by your camera.
Here is a sampling of some of the commonly available scene modes.
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Mode
What it does
Green Square
Fully automatic general purpose mode, which gives you

no control, all decisions are left to the camera. or Green
Camera Flash too fires automatically.
Portrait
Small DOF for blurred background, more natural

(less vivid) colors, softer image
Landscape
Minimum aperture for maximum DOF, flash is disabled

(that is you cannot activate the flash to fire),
vivid colors, high sharpness setting.
Close up
Minimum aperture opening for maximum DOF, flash

enabled but needs to be activated by you.
Sports
For capturing action. Fast shutter speeds, flash disabled,

continuous frame advance that is, camera takes
one image after another so long as you keep the shutter
release button pressed.
Night Landscape
Similar to Landscape, but with less vivid colors, lower

sharpness to reduce noise
Night Portrait
Flash with slow shutter speeds and large DOF. Flash

illuminates the foreground subject where as the slow
shutter speed captures the lowly lit night scene.
Auto ISO Mode: This mode never existed when film was the recording media. That is
because with film changing ISO would mean changing the film itself which was a very
cumbersome process. Also note that this mode is different from others as it does not
control the mount of light that is entering the camera. It changes the sensitivity of the
sensor.
There are a few different ways implementing this, but the following is most popular. Here
you choose both the shutter speed and aperture (sort of shutter and aperture priority)
and then the camera adjusts the ISO till you get the correct exposure for this combination.
If the ISO needed is beyond the ISO range of the camera, you will get a warning. While
66
simple to use you need to keep an eye on the ISO. If not, ISO can get too high resulting
in noisy images.
Why so many auto exposure modes? So the question you may ask, why does one need
so many auto exposure modes? After all, in all these, varying either shutter speed or
aperture will change the other in step (i.e. EV is kept the same) to keep the exposure
correct. The answer isyou need them because different situations demand different
solutions. This will be clear with the following examples.
Shutter Priority mode is best when you want to keep the shutter speed constant while you
dont mind different apertures being chosen by the camera as the light varies. Suppose
you want to photograph a sports event where a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 sec is
needed to stop action. You can choose aperture priority here and change the aperture
till you get 1/500. But assume that a cloud passes by and the light drops. Now the shutter
speed will drop as well to maintain correct exposure since you have chosen aperture
priority. Had you set the 1/500 sec in shutter priority, the aperture would open up to
compensate for the lower light. Yes, depth of field (DOF) is reduced but your interest here
is not DOF. It is stopping action. Hence for such situations shutter priority is preferable.
Choose Aperture Priority, when you want to keep the aperture constant for a definite
DOF, while you dont mind the shutter speeds being varied by the camera as the light
changes. Such a need may arise when you are photographing landscapes where high
DOF is important, but you dont mind a change in shutter speed.
Likewise when you are photographing casually or dont have the time to choose either
shutter speed or aperture (think of a birthday party), the Program mode can come in
handy.
There are three more features that are available to you to control the exposure. These are
Exposure Compensation, Auto Exposure Lock and Exposure Bracketing.
Exposure Compensation: Exposure meters are calibrated to medium tone. You will read
about calibration in detail in the next part of Basics of Photography. However, many times,
67
you will encounter situations where scenes are not overall medium toned. These are high
key (very light) or low key (very dark) scenes. Under these circumstances, as well as when
a scene has very high contrast (very bright and very dark areas), the meter can give you
wrong readings. Once you gain sufficient experience you will be able to recognize such
situations (this is not rocket science, mind you). Also, sometimes the exposure that the
camera (or rather computer in the camera) sets may be technically correct but that may
not be the one you want artistically or aesthetically! In these cases you may want to modify
(or compensate) the exposure set by the camera with help of exposure compensation
control.
This control allows you to modify the exposure as set by the meter. You can give more
exposure (make the image lighter) by giving plus (+) compensation. Conversely you can
give less exposure (make image darker) by giving minus (-) compensation. Normally you
give the former for high key scenes and the latter for low key scenes. Most cameras allow
at least +3 to -3 EV (stops) of compensation with some offering even a higher range.
To set the exposure compensation, look
for a button on your camera with the
exposure compensation symbol. Pressing
this button and turning a dial will allow you
to set the compensation. Here is a word of
Exposure compensation
Exposure compensation
caution. Do not forget to reset the exposure
symbol
button
compensation. If you forget you will get
erroneous exposure when you change the scene as the compensation you had set is no
longer needed or is wrong.
AE L (Auto Exposure Lock): Very often it is required to recompose the picture after you
have taken an exposure reading. For example, you might have taken a spot meter reading
of an area and you would now like to recompose. If you have used any of the automatic
exposure modes, the reading you have taken will change when you recompose, which is
not what you want. You can use the manual mode to keep the reading locked. However, if
you find switching to manual mode and back cumbersome, you can use the AE L button
instead. Here, take the reading and then press the AE-L button to keep the reading
68
locked. While keeping the button pressed, recompose and release the shutter. The lock
is released when you remove your finger off the AE-L button.
Exposure Bracketing: The last exposure control you have is the Exposure Bracketing. This is
the final insurance for getting a correctly exposed image under almost any circumstances.
Here you can take, depending on the camera model, 3 or 5 images, each at a different
exposure. The exposure step between each image can be varied between 0.5 EV to 2 EV.
As an example, you can program your camera to take three pictures at 1.5 EV intervals.
As you press the shutter release three times, three pictures are takenone at metered
value minus 1.5 EV, the second at metered value and third one at metered value plus
1.5 EV. You can later choose the one you like the best or you can join them together to
make a high dynamic range (HDR) image. You will see more details of this technique in
the next part.
ExPoSUrE METErS
You have seen what exposure means. While you can judge exposure looking at the light,
this is a difficult task due to the wide variety of lighting situations that you will come across.
Not only that, the exposure you set will also have to take into account the sensitivity of the
sensor, which is the ISO value you have chosen. This makes the task even more difficult.
To avoid all guess work modern cameras have an in built exposure meter. The exposure
meter is also called the light meter. You will now read about how meters work and the
different types of exposure meters.
Every meter has light sensing elements which produce an electric current (much like an
image capturing sensor) or change an electrical property like resistance, proportional to
the intensity of light that falls on them. This is measured to get an idea of the intensity of
the light prevalent. The ability to detect light is known as the sensitivity of the meter. The
higher the sensitivity of the meter, the lower the light it can detect and measure. Most
D-SLRs have meters that can operate in light as low as 0 EV. You can see the instruction
manual of your camera for the exact number.
If the light meter is so similar to the sensor why not use the sensor itself to measure the light
too? Yes, this can be done and most P&S and bridge cameras do not have a separate light
69
meter. This function is carried out by sensor itself, but this has some limitations. Due to this
and also since mirror blocks the light to the sensor all D-SLRs have a separate light meter.
All meters that are built into the cameras are reflective type. That is they measure the light
that is reflected by the subject, as we see it. As this light enters the camera through the
lens this is called TTL metering. For the record remember that there are some meters
that can measure light that falls (incident light) on the subject. These are called incident
light meters. Your camera cannot measure incident light directly. There are separate
meters to do that job.
With that as the background you are ready to go into the details of various types of
camera meters. These are generally classified depending on the way of light sensing
elements are shaped and arranged. Commonly used meters along with their symbols are:
Center Weighted Meter
Evaluative Meter
Spot Meter
Most D-SLRs cameras support all the types giving you a choice. Here are the details Center Weighted Meter: Most of the sensitivity of these meters is concentrated at the
center of the frame. Due to this the meter does not get easily fooled by very bright or dark
sources outside this area. This area and the amount of concentration (as a percentage)
changes from camera to camera. In a D-SLR, typically 75 percent of the sensitivity is
concentrated in a circle of 8 mm (millimeters) in diameter. This circle is indicated in the
viewfinder.
Evaluative (or Multi-Segment or Matrix or Multi-Zone or Honeycomb) Meter: First
introduced by Nikon with the name AMP (Automatic Multi Pattern) metering, it is now in
widespread use in all D-SLRs and most P&S and bridge cameras. Here the meter has many
light sensing segments, sometimes more than a thousand. Each of the segments measures
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the light intensity and if a segment finds something abnormal (like a bright reflection) then
that segment is ignored.
In some cameras, the reading taken is compared by the on board computer to a database
of exposures stored in the camera for different scenes. This information is used to select a
good exposure. Also the segment closest to the focus point you are using is given more
weightage, while calculating the exposure to give an accurate result. From this you can see
that the camera evaluates (hence the name) the readings from different segments to give
you a good exposure. Evaluative meters are the best general purpose meters available
today. However, due to the fact that decisions are taken by the camera on its own while
computing the exposure, evaluative meters can give unpredictable readings in rare cases.
Spot Meter: As the name indicates the entire sensitivity of the meter is concentrated
in a small area called spot of about 3.5 mm in diameter. It is now common for higher
end cameras to have several spot meters, each corresponding to a focus point. This
reduces the need for recomposing. The area covered by each spot meter is marked in
the viewfinder either by a square or a rectangle or a circle.
Spot meter is a thinking photographers tool. Used correctly with good knowledge it
can give the best exposure in any lighting condition. However, you need to know where
to meter and you need to remember that the meter will give you a reading assuming that
the area measured is medium tonedthe calibrated toneand if it is not you need to
give exposure compensation.
But you may ask, is this not true with the other two metersCenter-weighted and
Evaluative? Yes it is, but the problem is more severe with spot meters as all the sensitivity
is fully concentrated in a small area. Since other two see (meter) a greater area there is a
chance that all the tones present in this area average out to a tone close to medium tone.
There is another meter type called fat spot or partial. Here like a spot meter, the entire
sensitivity of the meter is concentrated in one area but this area is much larger than a
typical spot. It is only used by a few manufacturers and it is neither here or nor there in
authors opinion.
71
Viewfinder Markings
Markings for Center-weighted Meter (center circle) and five Spot Meters (small rectangles)
Meter Selection Switch

This camera supports Center-weighted, Evaluative and Spot meters (see symbols).
These can be selected through the rotary switch.
The AE-L (Auto Exposure Lock) button is also conveniently located.
How do you know what meters your camera supports? You cannot be sure till you read
the manual or see the meter symbols marked on the camera. Finally here is a table that
will help you choose the right meter:
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When useful
other remarks
Center-weighted Slightly backlit or

similar tricky
situations.
Better when using

flash as the main
light. Most widely
used till
superseded by
evaluative meters.
Evaluative
Gives correct
results in 90 percent
of the situations
and is most widely
used now.
Works very well

in most
situations.
Excellent with day
light fill flash.
Can be
unpredictable
sometimes.
Spot
Very tricky lighting

conditions (heavily
back lit scenes
for e.g.), scenes that
have a very high
brightness range
(very high contrast)
A thinking
photographers
meter that will
give complete
control. However,
it is difficult
to master.
All photographs taken by Author
Meter
73
Metering
In the previous part of this series (Part VI), you have seen different exposure modes,
controls, meters, and their operation. So, the next step for you is to master their use. This
article will help you do that.
An exposure meter that is built into a camera measures reflected light. However, it has no
idea whether the light it is seeing has been reflected from a light toned subject (like snow)
or from a dark toned subject (like coal) though the former reflects a lot more light than
the latter. This may sound strange, but it is true.
Look at this analogy which will make the concept clear. Can you tell how far the source of
a sound is just by volume (loudness) of the sound? You cannot since a very loud sound
a mile away will sound less intense then your stereo just a few feet away. Similarly just
by measuring the intensity of the light, a meter cannot tell if it has been reflected from
a light toned subject or a dark toned subject or anything in between. So, what does it
assume to be the tone of the reflecting subject? The meter always assumes that the light is
being reflected from a medium-toned subjectand it is a tone to which all photographic
meters are calibrated as per internationally accepted standards.
Look at this in some more detail. A meter cannot distinguish between a predominantly
light (high-key) scene and a predominantly dark (low-key) scene even though the lighter
scene has a much higher reflectance than the darker one. So, it will treat the first case as
a medium toned scene in more light and the latter as a medium toned scene in less light.
Hence, it will give less exposure than what is needed in the first case and more exposure
in the second case. This will make the high-key scene darker due to under exposure and
the low-key scene lighter due to over exposure. The consequence is that both scenes will
be rendered (recorded) as medium toned! We can summarize all this by saying that all
photographic meters are tone blind as they do not take into account the reflectance of
the subject.
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Since this important concept is the basis for the rest of the article, here is a re-statement
of the same: Whatever area you measure, the meter will give a reading (for that area)
such that it will be rendered as medium tone (the calibrated tone) in the captured image.
Hence, you need to remember that if you meter a scene whose tone is not medium tone
to start with, then you will get results that may surprise you. In case you come across high
and low-key scenes you need to give more and less exposure respectively to get the
scenes rendered properly.
What is medium tone? You have seen the words medium tone used many times. So what
is it? Contrary to what the name suggests, a medium toned subject does not reflect 50
percent of light; the actual number is 18 percent! ( Just to let the readers know, all modern
meters are now calibrated to ISO 2720 and ISO 2721 standards, which correspond to
roughly 12 percent of reflectance. This is just for the record)
You may now want to ask, If this is so, how is it that my camera sets the correct exposure
most of the time? That is because all the tones together in most of the scenes average out
to medium tone. With todays sophisticated meters, you will get accurate results most of
the time. But all meters can and do get fooled in tricky lighting situations as just explained.
With that as the background, you are now ready to understand the intricacies of exposure.
The discussion will be more on the thinking that you need to do for setting an exposure
rather than finding out the correct exposure.
This is how you do it. First select the spot meter option on your camera. Choose the main
subject. Imagine how it should appear in the final image. Should it be medium toned, or
darker or lighter compared to medium tone and if so, by how much? This is the tricky
part which needs judgment on your part!
The rest is quite simple. Take a meter reading of your main subject. Regardless of the
original tone of the subject, your meter will give a reading that will render it medium
tone. If that is what you want, all you need to do is to press the shutter release and you
are done! On the other hand, if you want to render the area you have measured, not to
be of medium tone, then you need to give compensation to the exposure. The amount
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depends on the variation you want from the medium tone. Let us take two examples a
high-key and a low-key scene.
High Key Scene: The picture here shows a white porcelain figurine against a white
background making the whole scene predominantly very light this is high key. If you take
a meter reading of a high key scene, then it will give a reading that will render the scene as
medium tone. To get the correct tone, an exposure compensation of +1.5 EV was given.
This made the figurine and white background to come out very light (the way we wanted)
rather than medium gray.
Low Key Scene: Here we have a black camera against a black background making the
whole scene predominantly very darkthis is low key. If you take a meter reading and
expose as it is, then the scene will be rendered in medium tone. To avoid that, an exposure
compensation of 2.0 EV was given. Note that this rendered the camera black, while at
the same time retained the details of the camera body and lens barrel. Without this minus
compensation, the image would have been rendered medium gray.
Example of a high key photograph; here a

+1.5 EV compensation was given
Example of a low key photograph; here a -2 EV

compensation was given
Here is the summary of what you just read:

n The actual tone of subject does not matter! The meter reading will be such that the
area you measure will be rendered as medium tone in the image.
n It is you who has to decide how you want subject to be rendered - medium, dark or
black or light or white or anything in between. You will need to provide the necessary
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compensation, using the tonal variation table -
ToNaL VarIaTIoN TaBLE

Compensation Value
in EV (stops)
To render the tone as
+ 2.5
+ 2.0
+ 1.5
+ 1.0
+ 0.5
0
burnt/blown out
(detail less) white
extremely light
very light
light
slightly light
medium tone
- 0.5
- 1.0
- 1.5
- 2.0
- 2.5
slightly dark
dark
very dark
extremely dark
blocked (detail less) black
The background of this table is medium tone. You can deviate from it to get the tone you want,
as shown above.
Here is a tip. The trick here is to have an accurate idea of what medium tone is and
how much you want to deviate from it to get the tone you want. To help you with this,
keep a gray card (these are medium toned and are available from photographic shops).
Compare the gray card with the tone of the area you are metering. This will give you an
idea of the actual tone of the subject though this has no bearing on the tone you want
to finally give the subject in the captured image. After this, decide where you want to
place the tone of the subject (that is, render the subject) in the image. Use the table to
determine the amount and direction (plus or minus) of the compensation. There is a small
twist you need to be aware of. Gray cards are gray, but the area you are metering may not
be gray. However, it is the tone that is important and not the color. For example, green
grass, brown mud, and a blue northern cloudless sky are close enough to be considered
as medium toned.
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The next question on your mind will bewhat you said is ok for the main subject, but
what about the rest the of scene? To know how the rest of the scene will be rendered,
you need to know two basic characteristics of your cameras sensor. These are dynamic
range and latitude.
Every scene has a brightness range that is the tonal variation between the brightest and
darkest part of the scene. This is measured in stops (hope you have not forgotten what
a stop means!). Generally a sensor can be expected to have a 5 stop range though more
expensive cameras have a larger range (around 8 stops). That is, it can record two objects,
bright and dark, with proper detail, provided the difference in their brightness is not
more than 5 stops. This is called the dynamic range of the camera.
Scenes with high brightness range are also called high contrast scenes. Examples are
backlit portraits, landscapes having a part sun-lit and a part in shade, home interiors with
windows streaming outside light, scenes with reflections from mirrors, water, chrome
parts, etc.
Many photographers get confused between dynamic range and latitude. Now that
you have just read about dynamic range, lets look at the latter. Latitude is essentially
the tolerance to wrong exposure. That is, if you give a wrong exposure (under or over
exposure) for a given situation, latitude tells you how much you can deviate from the
correct exposure and yet get a usable image. You need to remember that unlike earlier
print films, digital cameras have very narrow latitudesthat is, they allow little margin for
error. This is contrary to the commonly held belief that we can expose as we wish in digital
photography and later correct in an editing program like Photoshop. The present D-SLRs
have probably a latitude of 1/3 stop over and 2/3 stop under (unless you are shooting in
RAW). P&S and bridge cameras will have even less.
Thus a slight error of even less than a stop can cause problems, especially in the bright
areas (which are called highlights). Even slight over exposure will cause a sudden blow
out of these highlights; that is, they will be recorded as detail-less pure white. Due to this,
correct exposure is very important in the case of digital cameras. Remember that once
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a blow-out occurs, the lost details are irrecoverable! No amount of Photoshop work is
going to bring them back. Also note that dark areas are called shadows.
So why does this blow out occur and that too so suddenly? The answer lies in the fact
that the digital sensors have a different tone curve characteristic compared to film. What
this means is that when light increases, the image recorded on the sensor becomes lighter.
However, this cannot go on indefinitely as at some point the sensor reaches saturation
and beyond this point, even if the intensity of light increases, the image does not get any
lighter. At this point we can consider the highlight to be blown. This transition occurs
rather abruptly in the case of digital sensors. Compared to this, the transition is more
gradual in the case of film. So while there will be a blow out in the case of film too, it will
happen more gradually.
Digital cameras are more tolerant towards under exposure rather than over exposure. This
is because (as you have just read) over exposure can irrecoverably blow the highlights.
However, if the image (or part of an image) is under exposed, then it is possible to get
the details back from a digital image to some extent. There is of course a penalty that
you need to pay. This comes in the form of noise, which will appear like grain in the
underexposed areas.
Hence as with everything in life, it is better to do things correctly, the first time itself. In
this context it means that you need to nail down the exposure correctly. This will not only
result in a better picture, but also save you from spending endless hours in front of your
computer correcting the mistakes that could have been avoided in the first place. This
task of setting proper exposure will be very easy if your camera has two featuresone is
the spot meter and second is the exposure scale. These are generally present in all D-SLRs
and in many P&S cameras too. You have already seen how a spot meter can be selected
in a camera. The exposure scale is generally present in the viewfinder in case of D-SLRs. It
is also present on the LCD monitor for most cameras.
This scale is just like a ruler used by students. However, instead of being marked in
centimeters and inches it is marked as exposure stops. The central marker is illuminated
when the exposure is correct. That is, if you take a picture as it is, the area over which
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you had measured will be rendered medium tone. If any other marker is illuminated
this indicates an over or under exposure and the said area will be rendered lighter or
darker by an amount as indicated by the marker. Note that this is nothing but a visual
indication of the compensation (see examples). The overexposure is towards the right
and underexposure is to the left. To the left and right are marked stops at half a stop (0.5
EV) interval. The scale here shows + 2.5 to -2.5 stops. The symbol > indicates that the
overexposure is beyond 2.5 stops. Likewise < indicates that underexposure is beyond
2.5 stops.
Exposure scale marked at 0.5 EV steps.
Exposure scale, showing that the subject will be rendered medium tone.
Exposure scale, showing that the subject will be rendered

0.5 EV lighter (over exposed). This is same as giving a compensation of + 0.5 EV.
Exposure scale showing that the subject will be rendered

1.5 EV darker (under exposed). This is same as giving a compensation of -1.5 EV.
Those of you with a keen eye might have observed that this is just a graphical representation
of the Tonal Variation Table you read earlier. Its significance will be clear to you shortly.
Measuring the brightness range and setting the exposure: First select the spot meter
and put your camera in manual exposure mode, as this is most convenient to use. After
this, identify your main subject. Align the spot meter (whose sensitivity area is marked
in the viewfinder) on the subject.
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Change aperture and/or shutter speed till the proper marker on the scale is illuminated.
For example, if you want the subject to be 0.5 EV lighter than medium tone (refer to
the table as a guide), then make sure that particular marker is lit up. This means that
the exposure is now set such that area that you have chosen will be rendered 0.5 stops
lighter, just as you wanted.
Now scan (view) the scene. That is, move the camera while keeping your eye to the
viewfinder while placing the spot meter on the brightest and darkest areas of the
scene. If neither < or > light up, this means that the brightness range is within the
dynamic range of the sensor. All you have to do is press the shutter release and you
will get the subject you rendered 0.5 stops lighter than medium tone just as you had
planned.
Suppose, while you are scanning the scene you may find that some areas cause either
< or > to light up. If the > symbol is illuminated, then the corresponding area is going to
be blown, that is it will be rendered as detail-less white. If the < symbol is illuminated,
then the corresponding area to is going to become a detail-less black blob. What this
means is that the brightness range is exceeding the dynamic range of your camera. This
in turn necessitates that you take extra care.
In this example let us assume that < has lit up. Under these circumstances, you can opt
to expose for shadows, provided you feel that shadow area is important. Exposing for
shadows means that, you will be giving more (over) exposure to get details out of the
shadow area. However, to what extent you want to do this is your choice. Suppose
you want the less-detail black area to be very dark. This means you want to place
that area at -1.5EV darker than medium tone. You can crosscheck this with the Tonal
Variation Table.
To do this, place the spot meter on the black area which you now want to record as
very dark. Once you do this, < will light up indicating that it is totally black devoid of
any detail. Now change aperture and/or shutter speed till the correct marker (that
corresponds to -1.5EV) on scale lights up. That is how it is going to be rendered now.
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If this dark area is not your main subject, bring back the spot meter area on to your
main subject. Check which marker is now lit up. Let us say it is the + 1.5 EV marker
which means that, after you had adjusted the exposure to make the dark area into
very dark, your main subject will be rendered 1.5 EV lighter than medium tone. Is this
acceptable to you? If so, press the shutter release. If it is too light, then you may want
to decrease the exposure of the main subject by 0.5 EV to +1.0 EV. This in turn will
now make the dark area to be rendered as -2.0 EV, which while being extremely dark,
still has details.
Here is a word of caution. Since you are now overexposing, the highlights in the
scene could be blown outthat is, they could become detail-less whites; but this
is something you cannot avoid since the scenes brightness range goes beyond the
dynamic range of the camera.
If you now press the shutter release, your main subject will be rendered 1.0 EV lighter
than medium tone and the black area will be rendered -2.0EV darker than medium
tone. The beauty of this method is that you have total control over the exposure. If you
had left the decision to the camera, it would have chosen an exposure that is the best
compromise. That might not have given the result you wanted though!
The discussion till now assumed that you wanted to expose for shadows. If you opt to
expose for highlights (giving less exposure), using a similar method just described, then,
shadows will be underexposed making them detail-less black blobs. Basically, because
of the very high contrast you cannot get both shadow and highlight details together.
Now, if you are running into a situation where exposing for either for highlights or shadows
is making the other go detail-less, should you expose for highlights or shadows? This is
a question that no one can really answer as it would entirely depend on the situation.
Generally speaking, the area that will go detail-less should be kept as small as possible, as
large parts of the scenes that are devoid of detail do not look nice. Also, blown highlights
are considered to be less aesthetic compared to blocked shadows. These, as you have
seen, are also lost for good. Based on these, the guideline is expose for mid-tones and
check for highlights. You should also remember that this is a guideline and not a rule.
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Now, do you realize why auto exposure modes are not very convenient under these
cases? Auto modes are self adjusting. That is, they will keep varying the exposure (that
is why they are called auto in the first place) to give the correct reading at any point as
you scan (view) the scene. So, to know the deviation at any point, you need to take a
meter reading at that point. Remember the original reading (of the main subject) and
then calculate the difference in stops between the two readings! For example, your main
subject is giving a reading of f/8 at 1/60 sec, then as you scan, the meter shows (assuming
you are in aperture priority mode) f/8 at 1/200 sec. You need to do a mental calculation
to find out that the deviation is 1.5 stops. As opposed to this, in manual mode, you can
straight away read the deviation in stops from the scale itself! Convenient, is it not?
Now look at this interesting example to see why the method you just read will give an
image just as you had anticipated. The example here is that of a model car strongly lit
by a light source from behind. The car is yellow in color. On a whole this is a very high
contrast scene. In situations like this the camera meter can go wrongnot because it
cannot measure accurately, but because it does not know what you have in your mind.
How do you want this car to be rendered? If you take a spot reading of the body
of the car (the spot metered area is marked as a red rectangle) and expose as it is,
without any compensation, then the car will be rendered as medium tone. If you
are interested in showing it slightly lighter, then you need to take a spot reading
and set it at the +0.5 EV marker. On the other hand, what if you want the car to
appear as a silhouette ( just to show the striking lines of the car)? If that is the case,
you need to set the exposure at -3.0 EV. You really cannot say which is correct,
since, depending on what you want, all are correct. There is no way the camera can
read your mind. If you choose evaluative metering it will give an average reading,
which could technically be the best compromise for this situation, but that may not
be the one you want! See the three images below to see how the tone was set in
different ways. Here is an interesting question to you. What was the actual tone
of the car? This was not mentioned as it is really not relevant. Nevertheless, note
that you were able to place the tone of the car where you wanted! This is really
the essence of meteringmetered area is always rendered medium tone without
compensation, but you can place it at any tone you want!
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More solutions for high contrast scenes: Do you have to always lose either highlights
or shadows (or sometimes both) whenever you encounter high contrast situations? Is
there a solution at all? Note that this problem is arising as the dynamic range of your
camera sensor is less than the brightness range of the scene. Hence, you need to call
for external help. But before you do that, see if the following can save the situation for
you. These may not be always possible, but they cost nothing to try.
Exposure compensation is set at 0.0 EV. The rendering will be medium toned.
Exposure compensation is set at +0.5 EV. The rendering will be lighter than medium toned.
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Exposure compensation is set at -3.0 EV to get a silhouette.
Re-compose: Change your framing so that extremely bright and dark parts are out of the
scene. If this is not possible you can at least see that they occupy as less area as possible,
so that they do not dominate.
Change your position: Many times reflections (from water, glass etc.) can be eliminated
by changing your position.
Wait for the light to change: Bright sunlight can cause harsh dark shadows when
photographing landscapes etc. If this is the case, wait till you get some cloud cover to
reduce the contrast.
More solutions: If these dont work, depending on the situation, there are several
techniques available. The following is a table of various solutions. All aim to reduce or
compress the brightness range, but employ completely different processes.
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HaNDLINg HIgH
Solution
How it works
Fill-flash
By adding light on to the subject,

you can bring down the contrast.
Graduated Neutral
clear Density
(Grad ND) filter
There are square filters which are dark at the top

half and light in the bottom half.
They need a holder to position them properly.
HDR (High Dynamic

Range) Imaging
Take a series of images (at least 3, preferably 5),

each captured at a different exposure varying
from under to overexposure. Each
exposure should vary by at least
one EV. Combine images together
with suitable software (Photoshop
or Photomatix) to get all the details
in highlights and shadows.
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CoNTraST SCENES
Where you can use
Where you cannot use
For backlit portraits and similarly sized

(or smaller) subjects which can be lit by
a flash. Also when photographing interiors
where flash can provide enough illumination
to balance sunlight coming through
the windows.
Landscapes. You cannot brighten

the side of a mountain with a flash!
Scenes where there is a bright upper part

(like a bright sky) and a dark lower part
(foreground in shade). This filter can cut
the light in the top half to reduce overall
contrast. Best for landscapes where there
is a clear demarcation of bright and
dark areas.
Good for all situations where there is no
movementlandscapes, still life etc.
Since the image is a composite of several
images, perfect registration is needed
between all the frames. Hence, it is best
if you use a tripod. The subject itself should
also not move.
Not useful if there no is

demarcationsay bright
patches like reflections that
are spread are all over
the scene.
Portraits, as the subject

can move
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All photographs taken by the author
Here are three pictures with -1.5 EV, 0 and +1.5 EV compensation as a result of exposure bracketing
These three images have been combined to

give a HDR image which is shown here.
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Histogram and
Highlight Warning
Part VII of this Series (Basics of Photography - Metering) explained to you the use of an
exposure meter. You have also seen how exposure meters sometimes get fooled. When
such things happen, is there a way for you to find out that the exposure you have set is
not providing the results you wanted?
Histogram and Highlight Warning are two aides that are built into many cameras to help
you do that. That is, they will let you know if any under or overexposure has occurred.
They are really and truly digital era features that were absent earlier. They are also
perhaps the most powerful tools so far developed for exposure control. Of these two,
the histogram gives a lot more information and is called by many photographers as the
exposure meter of the 21st century.
Both these tools are graphics oriented rather than numeric in naturethat is they do not
display any numbers. Histogram appears as a graph and the highlight warning appears as
a blinking display. Both these displays can be viewed on the camera monitor. Generally,
both work post facto, that is, after the image is taken, though some cameras can display
the histogram in real-time before you take the picture.
A word of caution: Never judge the tone and hence the correctness of exposure of an
image by looking at it on your cameras LCD monitor as the monitors are not calibrated for
color or accurate tonality. Also, the tone of the picture can change drastically depending
on the angle at which you are viewing the monitor. With that as the background you are
ready to study these two tools in depth.
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Highlight Warning: If you overexpose an image (see Part VII for more details), the
highlights will be blown out, that is, they will be recorded as detail-less whites. Details in
blown highlights are lost forever as no amount of editing or correction can bring them
back. So, it is essential to keep an eye to see if any highlight is blown. This is what the
highlight warning tells you. If you switch on this tool (it is normally a display option in the
Playback menu) then the areas where the highlights had blown will blink alternatively
white and black on your camera monitor. By seeing this you will immediately know of the
blown highlights and you can take corrective action by reducing the exposure. That is all
you need to know about this very simple tool that is easy to use, but at the same time very
effective and powerful. When using the highlight warning, you must disregard specular
highlights (like on shimmering water, or on a light bulb) because if you reduce the exposure
till the entire highlight warning is gone, the picture will be grossly underexposed.
Histogram: This too, as in the previous case, is switched on by a display option. Any image
you take will have a range of tonal valuesthat is, some areas will be very light, some will
be very dark, and some will be in between. Histogram is simply a graphical representation
of these tonal values. Each tonal value corresponds to a brightness value. By interpreting
the histogram properly you can get very important information on exposure, and
brightness range of the scene, by just a glance.
The vertical axis of the histogram indicates the number of pixels (or in other words the
area in the image) of each brightness level (tone). The greater the number of pixels at a
particular brightness, higher will be the peak of the graph at that tone. This in turn means
larger area has been rendered at that tone.
The horizontal axis gives the tonal values (that is pixel brightness), with dark tones being
to the left and light tones being to the right side. The middle of horizontal axis represents
the mid-tones. The left-most point on the horizontal axis represents a pure detail-less
black point. That is, if you find that the histogram is touching the extreme left (called
pegged to the left or clipped shadows) then that means some parts of the image have
become pure black without detail. These are also called blocked shadows. If this is the
case, you may have to move the histogram to the right by giving some positive (plus)
exposure compensation.
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On the other hand, if you find that the histogram is touching the extreme right (pegged to
the right or clipped highlights) then that means some parts of the image have blown out
without detail. These are also called blown highlights. This is in fact more troublesome
than the previous case, as lost highlight details can never be got back. To remedy this
situation you need to move the histogram to the left. You can do this by giving some
negative (minus) exposure compensation.
Why do we need two tools? You may now have a doubt that if a histogram is indicating
the blown out highlights, why do we need one more toolthe highlight warningto do
the same job? The reason for this is that the histogram is a tool with broader use giving
the entire tonal distribution. A user may take a little time to interpret it. Apart from this if
a very small area is blown out it may not be easily visible in the histogram. In the case of
highlight warning, you can see the blown out areas (even if they are small) instantly.
Also, histogram has no positional information. That is it cannot say which tone is located
where in the image. It can only say for example, that the image has predominantly one
particular tone (as indicated by a peak at that tonal value). It cannot say if this tone is at
the bottom, top, left, right, or distributed all over the image. Contrary to this, the highlight
warning tool tells you precisely where the highlights are blown. So, these two tools serve
different purposes and are complementary.
Histogram has no positional knowledge! These three give the same

looking histogram since the area covered (total number of pixels) by each
of the two tones (taken as an example) is the same though the position
and shape of the patches has changed.
Analysis of a Histogram: The following explains the mapping between an image and a
histogram.
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Histogram unraveled! This picture shows the mapping between

the different tones in the image and the corresponding areas in the
histogram. The uniform gray background (A), which occupies a very
large area in the image corresponds to peak (a), which is a little to the
right of the middle. The tone has maximum pixels (maximum area) and
hence has the highest peak. The light brown colored wooden plank (B),
which makes the light foreground, corresponds to a smaller peak (b).
It is lighter and hence is further to the right. Next is the car model. This
item has several tones and hence has contributed to pixels at various
brightness values. For e.g. the light colored hood has contributed a bit
to the peak (b). Likewise some parts of the car have also contributed
a wee bit to peak (a). However, you cannot say exactly where, since
histogram does not give positional information. Finally, there are a
few dark tones (shadow and dark fender of the carmarked C)
occupying a slightly larger area together. These dark tones caused a
small peak (c) towards the left.
RGB Histogram: Digital images have color information (apart from brightness information).
The colors are made up by three primary color channels. These together form all the
colors. The three primary channels are Red (R), Green (G) and Blue (B). The histogram
you have read till now is called the luminance (or brightness) histogram. This combines
the readings from all the three channels. Most cameras just show the luminance histogram
but more advanced cameras give four histograms simultaneously one combined and
three individual histogramsone for each channel. So, what is the advantage of having a
separate histogram for each channel? Since all these three channels will not have the same
value of RGB at every point (if they were, the scene would only be rendered in shades
of gray) there is a chance that one of the three RGB channels gets blown out but not the
others. Consider this example.
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HErE arE SoME MorE ExaMPLES To HELP yoU UNDErSTaND THE HISTograM.
IMagE
HISTograM
ExPLaNaTIoN
A high key scene that has

predominantly light tones. See
how the histogram is bunched
to the right. Since none of the
highlights have blown out, the
histogram does not touch the
right vertical axis.
A low key scene that has

predominantly dark tones. See
how the histogram is bunched
to the left. The histogram is
also pegged to the left vertical
axis indicating that some dark
areas are blocked.
This is an atypical scene with
predominantly two tones (two
shades of green) close to each
other. So, you are seeing two close
peaks with practically no other
tones (the histogram hardly rises
elsewhere) except for the slight
bump towards the right which
corresponds to the white pelicans.
If you are photographing a scene with a large area filled with deep red flowers, then there
is chance that the red channel alone has its highlights clipped while the other channels
are fine. If such a thing happens, then a composite histogram, that is displayed in black &
white (see below) will not show this. Hence you are likely to lose detail in red flowers if
you take a photograph as it is. However, this highlight clipping will show up on the red
channel histogram and you can decrease the exposure to get it under control (you will
see more on exposure control a little later).
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RGB Histogram. Note the different

shapes of each of the color histograms.
The largest peak (around mid point)
corresponds to the neutral gray
background, and hence all the channels
have contributed equally. So this peak
is of the same size in all the three
channels. However, the foreground
made up wood (light brown) has
more red content and hence the red
histogram shows a peak (a little to the
right of the midpoint) while the blue
(which is the opposite color of red)
shows no peak at all as there is little
blue in the foreground.
How to Position the Histogram: A histogram can be moved by using exposure

compensation. Plus compensation (more exposure) will move the histogram to the
right. Negative compensation will do the opposite. The following examples will
make this concept clear to you.
Image with (-2) exposure

compensation. Note
how the histogram is
now pegged to the left
indicating clipped detail
less shadows.
Image with (-1) exposure compensation.
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Image with no exposure

compensation. Note
how the histogram has
moved to the right.
Image with (+1) exposure

compensation. The highlights are just about to get
clipped.
Image with (+2) exposure

compensation. The histogram has moved further to
the right. Note how the histogram is now pegged to
the right indicating clipped
detail less highlights.
Note how the histogram moves with exposure compensation without much change in its overall shape.
Setting the Correct Exposure using Histogram and Highlight Warning: You have seen
in Part VII how to analyze a scene to set the exposure to your liking. To reiterate, it is difficult to
always say what the correct exposure is. However, when setting an exposure it is advisable that
you follow these guidelines.
First check the brightness range of the scene. If this exceeds the dynamic range of your camera,
then you need to use techniques as described in Part VII.
If you do not have this problem, then always set the exposure such that the histogram does not
get pegged to the left or right vertical axes. This will guarantee that no part of the image will have
clipped shadows or highlights. Thus, all details will be preserved.
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If you are using RAW format, you can now move the histogram as much to the right as possible.
However, make sure that the histogram does not touch the right vertical axis. This is very
important. If the histogram touches the right axis, this indicates blown highlights with lost detail
and hence you should avoid it.
Confirm that such a thing has not happened by looking at the highlight warning. If this happens,
move the histogram a little to the left by giving negative exposure compensation.
Note that this may be a little different to what you might have often heardthat a digital sensor
behaves similar to a slide film and thus it is safer to underexpose a bit to prevent blown highlights.
There is definitely some truth in this statement, but it also misses an important fact. Digital sensors also
behave simultaneously like negative film. That is, if you underexpose, then noise (which is analogous
to film grain) develops. So, if you expose for highlights, then you will underexpose the shadows and
when you open (lighten) them up in an editing software to get detail they will show ugly noise!
a Note for advanced Users: All digital cameras allocate less data bits to the darker (shadows)
tones compared to lighter tones. The consequence is that there is less information in the shadow
areas, which means more problems. By overexposing a bit you are moving the histogram to the
right. This will brighten the shadows and therefore more bits will be allocated to shadows. The
result is lesser noise and subtle tonal variations will also now be recorded. Since, no clipping has
occurred no information is lost. The resulting image may look a little washed out, but this can be
brought under control through image processing as all the information is available. While using
this method (it gives the best results) just be careful about blown highlights. So, which is the best
way to expose in a digital camera considering these conflicting requirements? Here is the mantra!
Expose keeping the histogram as much as possible to the right, but make sure that highlights do
not get clipped. Confirm this by checking the highlight warning.
Camera Histogram Vs. Histogram in Editing Programs: After you load the image into an
editing program like Photoshop you may find that the histograms shown by the camera and by
the editing program differ. This is because, due to the limited computing power available in the
camera, it does certain approximations. The one shown by your computer is more accurate, but
the histogram shown by your camera is good enough to base your decisions regarding exposure
while photographing.
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White Balance
Every light source is associated with a characteristic called Color Temperature.
This is measured in kelvins (abbreviated as K). While the physics behind this is
really not needed, the origin is as follows. If you take a body (you really need to
take a theoretical black body, but dont worry about the physics for now) and
heat it, then this body starts emitting light of different colors. The temperature
of this heated body at which the color of the light emitted by it matches that of a
light source is called the color temperature of the light source.
Take this example. If there is a black body giving out reddish light when it is
heated to 3000 K, and if there is a light source giving out light of this same color,
then we say the color temperature of the light source is 3000 K.
In photography it is common to use the term warm for reddish tones and
cool for bluish tones. However, bluish light has a higher color temperature and
reddish light has lower temperature. You might want to blame the physicists for
this counter intuitive logic, but it is really quite meaningful. Consider candle light,
which is quite reddish. You will agree that it has a much lower temperature than
your gas stove flame, which is bluish in color! So there is some logic behind this!
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The following table gives the different light sources and their corresponding color temperatures.
Color Temperature Table
approximate Color
Temperature in kelvins (k)
Candle Light
1800
Incandescent (also called tungsten)
3000
Warm-white fluorescent
3000
Cool-white fluorescent
4200
Day-white fluorescent
5000
Direct sunlight
5200
Flash
5400
Cloudy
6000
Daylight fluorescent (*)
6500
Shade
8000
Light Source
Note on fluorescent lamps: The color temperature of all fluorescent lamps depends
on the type of the fluorescent lamp as you can see from the table. In the case of popular
household tube lights there is now a choice availablethat is, they are available with
several color temperatures. If you photograph with earlier generation tube lights without
color correction you would get a green color cast, which is very difficult to correct
due a characteristic (called discontinuous spectrum) of fluorescent lamps. (*) Compact
Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) that are sold in India (made by Philips) have a color temperature
of 6500 K. You can see this written on the bulb or the carton.
What is White Balance (WB)? Human eye is very sophisticated and can compensate
for a wide variety of light sources having different color temperatures. Hence, it is capable
of showing the image to us without any color cast (tint). However, your camera is not this
sophisticated. You need to tell your camera the color temperature of the light source.
This is called white balancing. Essentially, WB is an input to the on board computer of the
camera and is used by the camera when processing the image to correctly render the
colors without any color cast. If there is a mismatch between the color temperature of the
light source and the WB setting, then there will be a color cast in the image.
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In this example the light source was a CFL

(color temperature = 6500 K), but the WB
was set to incandescent. So, the camera
was expecting a reddish colored light and
to compensate that, gave a blue tint to the
image. However, the light source being a
CFL did not have the reddish color to get
compensated with blue tint. The result is an
image with a blue tint (cast).
The same setup taken with the correct WB

setting. You can see that the colors are now
neutral without any color cast.
How to set
WB: Virtually
every
digital
camera has a
white balance
control, which
enables
you
A D-SLR monitor image showing controls
to
set
the
for WB fine tuning. Left and right of the
graph represent blue and amber bias. Top
camera
to
Image showing the several WB Settings
and bottom of the graph represent green
available in a D-SLR
and magenta bias. You can move the pointer
match the color
(shown centered here) to any place on the
temperature
graph to fine tune the WB.
of the light
source. There is generally a button labeled WB on your camera. Pressing this will
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display the various WB settings that your camera supports. You can choose the WB
you want after scrolling through the settings. The following will give you a brief
description of commonly available settings.
auto setting: When set to Auto the camera analyzes the scene and sets the WB
automatically. This setting works reasonably well in most cases.
Predefined settings: The settings that are normally available are Incandescent,
Fluorescent, Direct sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, and Shade. The appropriate setting has
to be chosen by you depending on the light source. A word of caution: If you
change the light source to another with a different color temperature and then
dont change the WB setting to match it then you will get color casts, which can
only be corrected (sometimes with great difficulty) in post processing! That is why
it is better to keep the WB setting in Auto unless you develop the habit of selecting
the WB every time you change the light source.
Choose color temperature: Some cameras now allow WB to be set by inputting
the color temperature directly in degrees Kelvin (this is the last option in the
picture showing the various WB options). This means that you need to know
color temperature of the source correctly. (You wont be able to know the Kelvin
temperature till you use a color temperature meter). In case you dont have access
to this information simply dont use this option.
Manual WB: This is a very accurate method of finding out the WB and is provided
in D-SLRs. Here you need to take a WB reading of a gray card (such a card has no
color!). Please refer to your cameras user manual to know the procedure. Once
you set the camera as per the instructions, you need to see that the gray card
completely covers the frame and then press the shutter release. However, instead
of taking an image, the camera will take a reading and since it knows that the subject
is gray it can find out the color temperature and set it accordingly. You can continue
to use this setting of WB till you change the light source. As before, dont forget to
set the WB again once you change the light source.
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raW Format: This is really not a WB option, but a file format option and only
D-SLRs and more advanced point and shoot and prosumer cameras provide this.
The image that is captured by the camera is usually processed and written into a
JPEG file. However, more advanced cameras have an option to store an unprocessed
file also. Such a file is called a RAW file. Since it is unprocessed all the parameters
like WB, sharpness, contrast have not yet been applied to the image and hence are
easy to change. Once processed into a JPEG file this advantage is lost.
Photographing in RAW format as opposed to JPEG format has several advantages.
Apart from giving you much greater latitude in exposure (Refer to Part VII of this
series) you can also exercise tremendous control on WB if use RAW. In fact with
RAW, you can correct WB very easily. Many photographers who photograph in
RAW simply forget about WB! They just keep the WB in Auto and in case the
camera has not done a good job in setting WB, they correct it using a RAW
converter. The RAW converter is a software program that is provided free by some
(but not by all) camera manufacturers at the time of purchase of the camera.
You can do this WB correction while looking at the monitor of your computer and
changing the color temperature setting (normally a slider) in the RAW converter
till you can visually see the correct colors. However, there is a small trick to make
this correction correctly in a few seconds. First, before you photograph keep a gray
card in the frame you are taking. Now, take the photograph. Thereafter you can
remove the gray card from the frame. However, just remember that you need to
repeat this step each time the lighting changes.
Load the image into your RAW converter. Most RAW converters have what is
called a WB tool. All you need to do is pick this tool and click on the gray card.
The RAW converter will correct the WB in a matter of seconds without any guess
work or human error. The corrected value is shown in K in a window in the RAW
converter. You can use this value for correcting WB of all images that you took with
the same lighting. So, this technique of using RAW and gray card is very convenient,
but it will necessarily involve a bit of post processing.
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So, which is the best way of setting the WB? The most reliable method (without any
doubt) is to photograph in RAW. However, if your camera does not support RAW format
or you do not want to post process, the next best is Manual WB as explained. Next you
have the predefined settings which give good results. Finally, you have Auto WB if you do
not want to go through the hassle of changing the WB every time. However, remember
that Auto WB can sometimes give you poor results. The resulting color casts may be
difficult to correct.
Tip: It is a good habit to check and set the WB correctly whenever you are starting a
photographic session. This will ensure that you have not set the WB wrongly. Also be
aware that the color temperature of a light source (especially incandescent lamps) can
change over time. Hence, you need to check the WB occasionally even if you are using
the same light source (say in a studio).
Mixing of light sources: Sometimes you could get into a situation where you need to
use different light sources. In these circumstances it is best to see that all the light sources
have the same color temperature. If this is not the case, you can potentially have a lot of
problems, since if you set WB for one light source the areas where other light sources are
predominant will show color casts. Apart from avoiding such set ups as far as possible,
the only other solution available is to put color filters in front of the light sources so that
all have the same color temperature. Suppose you are using an incandescent lamp for
taking a portrait and you want to supplement the light with an electronic flash, you can
put an orange/yellow filter in front of the electronic flash to make the light warmer (lower
color temperature) to match that of the incandescent lamp. Such color correction filters
are now available in the market.
Making a picture warmer (reddish) or colder (bluish): Is a correct WB always what
you want? Not always, as there may be times (for aesthetic reasons) you may want a color
cast. Take these examples. Many of you want the sunset to be reddish (warm). Likewise,
when you are taking a portrait you want the skin tones to be slightly warm as even a faintly
blue or green tinted skin will give a very sickly feeling! So, how do you get the color cast
(tint) that you want?
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Once again, if you are photographing in RAW format, getting the right tint is a simple
matter of moving the color temperature slider in the RAW converter.
If you dont want to post process, then you need to fool the camera to give you tint
you need. Here is how you do it. If you want to get a slightly warmer tone then, set
the white balance in your camera to a higher color temperature than the correct value.
Now, this seems to be contradicting what you just read as warmer tones have lower
color temperature. But once again, there is logic behind this! When you set the camera
to a higher color temperature, you are telling the camera that the light source is more
bluish. The camera will respond and try to compensate by adding a reddish tint, while
processing the image to neutralize the excess blue. Since, the actual color temperature
is really not bluish, the final image will end up with a reddish tint or simply, will appear
warmer! So, now you know how to fool the camera to give the tint you want!
Here is an example. Many landscape photographers feel that giving a slight warm tone
will make their images look better. Earlier when using film, this effect was achieved by
using warming filters. Now in the digital era, photographers achieve the same by simply
using the WB control. The commonly used practice is to set the WB to Cloudy setting (or
around that) when photographing in direct sunlight. This is same as telling the camera that
the color temperature is 6000 K when really the color temperature is 5200 K. (See the
color temperature table). In other words you are telling the camera that the light source
is more bluish than what it is! So, the camera adds a reddish tint in the processing to
neutralize this nonexistent blue. The result is that the image looks warmer!
Tip: How much you want to deviate from the correct setting is a matter of personal
choice. So experiment a bit and see what setting works best for you.
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Some Optical Issues,

Defects and
Perspective
Now that you know about different types of lenses and their characteristics, it is time to
look at the various optical defects in lenses. In Part II of this series (Basics of
Photography), you had read that a perfect lens is almost impossible to design and
manufacture. Almost all lenses produce images which have one fault or the other. These
are
caused
by
optical
defects
that
are
divided
into
two
classes called aberrations and distortions.
Remember that while both, distortion and aberration, are optical defects, the first deals
with improper reproduction of image. That is, straight lines are not rendered straight.
Aberrations are normally associated with effects that cause loss of sharpness in an image.
In this part you can also read about diffraction and flare and see how these reduce image
quality. Plus, you can look at what is called bokeh though this is not a defect as such.
First, let us see how an ideal distortion-free lens behaves. If
you photograph a grid pattern with such a lens, the image it
has captured will look exactly like the original pattern.
Coming to distortions, the types that you will normally
encounter are - barrel, pin cushion and moustache
distortions.
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Reproduction by a distortion free lens
Barrel Distortion: Here the image appears as if it has

been laid over a sphere, causing the edges to bulge.
Wide-angle lenses are especially prone to barrel
distortion. A high quality wide-angle lens should be free
from this defect. You need to consider this aspect if you
are photographing linear subjects like buildings, interiors,
etc. So, in case architectural photography is going to be
your main area of interest, then you need to look for a
Barrel Distortion
lens that has minimum distortion as buildings with curved
walls look unnatural. There are now software packages that can correct this distortion to
a great extent, but it is best to start with a lens with low distortion if your work is critical.
Pincushion Distortion
An ultra-wide-angle lens with no distortion - a truly

rectilinear lens (as opposed to a fisheye lens) would
be very difficult to design and be costly. The Carl Zeiss
Biogon super-wide lens used on the Hasselblad SWC
camera is for all practical purposes distortion free. It has
a price tag to match that performance!
Pincushion Distortion: This is the opposite of barrel
distortion. Here, objects at the edges look as if they have
been tucked in towards the center. This sort of distortion
is most prevalent in telephoto lenses.
Here is a picture taken with a lens that has barrel distortion. Note how the two columns are bent like
the sides of a barrel.
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Moustache Distortion: This is a sort of mix of both, barrel and pin cushion distortions, and
is somewhat less common. Here the distortion is first of barrel type towards the center of
the image but turns into pincushion towards the edges. Normally zoom lenses exhibit this.
The aberrations that you will come across are chromatic aberration, spherical aberration
and coma.
Chromatic Aberration: As you know, light is composed of components of several different
wave lengths. These different components focus at different points causing chromatic
aberration or color fringing. This is especially visible at high contrast boundaries.
There are several ways of reducing this. One is to use low dispersion glass for the elements.
This type of glass is called by several names commercially as ED (Extra low Dispersion),
LD (Low Dispersion) and so on. Some manufacturers use fluorite elements for the same
purpose.
It can also be reduced by certain design techniques
called achromat and apochromat designs in which
multiple elements are used together to correct this
aberration as well as spherical aberration.
Chromatic Aberration
You can clearly see the purple

color fringing at the high
contrast boundary
(between the white
and dark areas)
106
You can now use software programs to reduce

chromatic aberration. Some cameras can even
correct this when they take an image.
Spherical Aberration: Lens elements have spherical
surfaces they are easy to manufacture. However,
this gives rise to spherical aberration. Due to this,
light rays parallel but offset to the lens axis (that is,
those which are at the edges of the lens) and rays
closer to the lens axis come to focus at different
points. This causes loss of sharpness. One way to
rectify this problem is to use aspherical lenses.
(Note: you cannot make out if a lens has aspherical elements or not by looking at the lens
unless it is explicitly written so on the lens) These were once very difficult to manufacture.
Now modern techniques like glass molding, and hybrid elements, where an aspherical
resin-based element is combined with a spherical glass element have brought the costs
down. Lenses that use aspherical elements are called aspherical lenses. There are other
ways to cure the spherical aberration but at present the use of aspherical elements is the
most popular one.
Coma: This is another type of aberration that is
closely related to spherical aberration. In this, points
especially point light sources, take a comet like
appearance. It occurs when rays are incident on the
Spherical Aberration
lens at an angle. Once again, rays that pass close to the
center and those that pass through the edges do not come to focus at same point causing
this aberration. The remedy is similar to the one that is used to rectify spherical aberration.
Flare: In Part II of this series you have seen that a photographic lens has at least four optical
elements. While this is done to reduce several optical defects, use of multiple elements
can give rise to the problem of internal reflections. These can cause what is called flare.
In one form, this results in light being scattered throughout the lens and has the effect of
reducing the overall contrast of the image.
Another form of flare, sometimes called ghosting results in bright patches with the same
shape as the diaphragm. This is due to the light reflecting off the diaphragm blades and
striking the sensor.
Flare frequently occurs when a light source is shining on the lens but is not visible in the
frame. Extreme wide-angle lenses are more prone to flare due to the large area they
cover and also due to the large number of lens elements used in their design.
To reduce flare, the elements are normally coated. Coatings are extremely thin and cause
the colors you see when you look into the lens. Coatings improve the picture quality
significantly. Another simple way to reduce flare is to use a lens hood.
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Diffraction: This is caused by the light rays dispersing when they hit an opaque object like
the diaphragm. This becomes more acute with smaller openings (small apertures). Due
to this, a light beam will register as a small circle rather than a point on the sensor with
subsequent loss of sharpness. This is the reason why the smallest aperture is limited to
around f/8 on short focal length lenses used in digital point and shoots and to about f/16
or f/22 in the case of D-SLR lenses. Large format cameras have much larger focal lengths
and therefore a bigger opening for the same f/ number. Hence, in these cases you can
stop down further before diffraction effects become prominent.
Diffraction Limited Lens: Every lens will be limited by diffraction effects causing loss of
sharpness. The effect will be less for lenses made for large format but is nevertheless
there. This just cannot be avoided because a lens has finite opening even if the aperture
is wide open. This is a theoretical fact based on laws of physics. Added to this will be the
aberrations which will further reduce the sharpness. So, the point you need to remember
is that while aberrations can be reduced or even eliminated in highly corrected lenses,
diffraction cannot be avoided. A lens that has been manufactured so that it is only limited
by diffraction (that is it has no aberrations) is called a diffraction limited lens. Such
lenses are not normally manufactured for photographic purposes. However, there are
some photographic lenses (e.g. Leica Telyt 280mm f/4.0) that are regarded as being (or
close to being) diffraction limited lenses. Expect to a pay hefty premium for such optics!
Sweet Spot of a Lens: There is a general contradiction in handling diffraction and
aberrations. For e.g. small apertures (large f numbers) increase diffraction while aberrations
reduce. To get optimum performance, it is advisable to use the lens at its sweet spot
which is normally, but not always at about two stops stopped from its maximum aperture
(smallest f/ number). You can conduct a few tests at different apertures and find out the
sweet spot of your lenses. You can then use these apertures for maximum sharpness (at
the focused point) whenever conditions permit.
Bokeh: The word Bokeh has originated from the Japanese word for fuzzy (blur in
photographic context) and is not a defect. It describes how the out focus part of the image
is rendered or basically how pleasing it is. Bokeh is particularly important in portraiture.
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There are two important parameters that control the bokeh - one is shape of the
diaphragm and second is how the spherical aberration is controlled. By increasing the
number and using curved blades for the diaphragm, both of which produce a more
rounded rather than a polygonal shaped opening, one can get a more pleasing bokeh.
Similarly, under-corrected spherical aberration (more popular with German designs)
produces a smoother, more pleasing bokeh which blends well. However, undercorrecting spherical distortion reduces sharpness which may not be always desirable.
So, would it not be nice if you can control the degree of spherical distortion as the
situation demands? Yes it would be, but the lens design could get pretty complicated.
However, for those of you who can afford, Nikon makes two lenses called Nikon DC
Lenses (DC meaning Defocus Control) which allow such a control by turning a ring on
the lens.
These aspects of lenses will now you give a much better understanding of various comments
made by testers in the reviews that are published by Smart Photography. They should also
help you to make a more knowledgeable decision regarding your lens purchases.
The next topic will deal with the concept of perspective.
PErSPECTIVE
You are most certainly already aware of perspective as you come across it every day.
There is no doubt regarding that! It is just that this article will present to you the concept
in a structured fashion and highlight its importance in photography.
Perspective is an important and less understood (or even misunderstood) concept
that plays a very important role in photography. It defines the relative size of various
foreground and background elements in an image.
Consequently, it is of critical importance in giving an image (or a print) which is essentially
flat (that is two dimensional) a feeling of depth by making foreground elements larger
than the background elements.
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Most importantly as we will see, perspective is not distortion and hence is not a defect!
Have a look at the picture below. Here is a scene with a gentleman looking at a monument
on top of a hillock. Note that this person is looking taller than the hillock in this picture.
What does this picture say to you? Does it say a.The gentleman is taller than the hillock (or)
b.The gentleman is closer to you than the hillock
You will say (b) is correct answer in an instant since your brain will immediately tell you
that a man cannot be taller than the hillock even when the picture shows so and that he is
just closer to you than the hillock.
This is the concept of perspective which gives a feeling of depth and is being created
by the relative size of the elements, as viewed, which in turn depend on their distances
from your eye (or your camera). Elements closer to your camera (foreground elements)
will appear relatively larger than the elements which are far away (background elements).
This effect gets more pronounced as the foreground elements get closer to your camera
and as the distance between foreground and background elements increases.
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Perspective, Focal Length and Subject Distance: Here are a few concepts that you need
to look into. Many photographers think that perspective is dependent on focal length of
the lens you are using. This is not true. Perspective as you will see, will only depend on
the subject distance.
If you increase the subject distance by stepping back but use a longer focal length lens to
keep the foreground element of the same size, then you will find that the relative size of
the background element has also increased.
In other words, if you photograph two elements one behind the other with two lenses of
different focal lengths, the relative size remains the same provided you do not change the
camera position - that is, the same distance is maintained!
Conversely, with the same focal length you can make the relative size of the two elements
change by changing the subject to camera distance.
Perspective, hence, is not dependent of focal length but on subject distance. This concept
is a little tricky to understand but plays a pivotal role in photography.
Still not convinced? Try this experiment.
Have your friend hold a small object like a match box at about 2 feet away from you. Keep
one eye closed and look at this match box, and include a relatively distant object like a
building together. Now, move slowly closer to the match box while continuing to look.
You will see that even though the focal length of your eye has not changed (God has not
given us eyes that can zoom!), the size of the match box will progressively become bigger
and when it is very close to your eye, the match box will be bigger than the building! It
is that simple.
Consider this example. Here are two white-board markers of the same size, one of which
is red and the other is blue (next column). These have been arranged so that one is in the
foreground and one is in the background (that is, a little behind). You will now see how
the relative sizes of these markers change (as recorded in the image).
111
So to reiterate, perspective is dependent only on the camera - subject distance and not
the focal length.
112
This was taken with a focal length of 70mm.
This was taken with a focal length of 40mm,

from the same spot as the Picture 1. Due to the
shorter focal length in Picture 2, the size of the
markers in the image is smaller.
This is just a cropped version of Picture 2 with

crop being adjusted to give the same subject size
of Picture 1. Note that the relative size of both
the markers (that is perspective) is the same in
Pictures 1 and 3 even though they were taken
with two different focal lengths (but with the
same camera - subject distance).
This was taken with a focal length of 40mm but

the camera - subject distance has been reduced
so that the foreground marker is the same size as
in pictures 1 and 3. Observe that the relative size
of the markers has changed as the foreground
marker is relatively bigger than the previous
cases. This is due to the change in perspective
because of change in subject distance.
Many landscape photographers, while using wide-angle lenses go very close to the
foreground elements. This causes the foreground elements to look relatively very large
compared to the background elements, thus providing the feeling of depth. This is due
to perspective. If they photograph with a longer focal length lens from the same distance
(other things permitting) the foreground element would have been just as large, relatively.
However, generally, long focal lengths are not used that close to the subject (due to their
narrow angle of view) and this gives rise to the erroneous view (it is even written in some
books) that wide-angle lenses (especially super-wide-angle lenses) have distortion. This
is simply not correct. Perspective is not distortion. Distortion is the inability of the lens to
render straight lines straight, as you have seen earlier.
Lets look at two cases that you will come across quite frequently:
Case 1: Surely you must have taken a photograph of a tall building from a close distance
by standing near the base of the building. When you look at such a photograph you
would have noticed that the building appears to lean backwards. It is once again due
to perspective. This is happening because you are very close to the base of building
(foreground), making it look large. You are also far from the top of the building
(background) making it look small. This makes the sides of building look as if they are
converging at the top and hence gives the impression that the building is leaning. As
explained earlier, you will get the same effect regardless of the focal length of the lens
used, provided you are photographing from the same position.
So how do you rectify such a situation? One solution is to move away from the building
so that the relative difference in distance between (you and) the top and base of the
building is very less. This reduces the difference in size (on the image) between the top and
base of the building thus correcting this leaning. Another way is to get into a building in
front of the structure you are photographing (if there is one) and take a picture. It would
help if you were to take the picture from a height mid-way to the opposite building.
If both these are not possible then you need to use a tilt and shift lens (see Part III of this
series) to correct this problem.
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The leaning of the building is due to perspective you are close to the base and far from the top of
the building. It is not because of focal length. It is not distortion, as you can see the sides of the building
are straight (there is no curvature).
Case 2: This concerns portraits. You might have heard many times that you should not
take portraits using a wide-angle lens. Here is the reason. If you try to fill the frame with
a face with a wide- angle lens, you will have to move very close to the subject. Once you
do this, the nose will be very close to the camera and will look larger than what it is. This
gives a rather unflattering portrait and such a thing should not be attempted unless you
want to pick up a fight with your subject! The effect is due to perspective and this is not
distortion. If you had used the same wide-angle lens but had stepped back then the
perspective would be more pleasing.
So you may ask why not use a wide-angle lens, keep more distance to improve perspective
and simply crop later? Well, there are some practical limitations. The face of the person
will get progressively smaller as you move away and you need to crop heavily with all the
disadvantages, - like greater enlargement required, loss of sharpness, more visibility of
noise, etc. The remedy is to use a short telephoto lens (about 100mm in 35mm format)
for portraits. With a short telephoto, you can now move back for a nicer perspective
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and still get a picture with the face filling the frame. However, this erroneously gives rise
to the impression that perspective has improved because of a longer focal length (short
telephoto) lens. Not true. The perspective is now more pleasing since you stepped back.
For the record, a cropped image with a wide-angle lens taken from the same position will
be indistinguishable from the one you took with a longer focal length!
This portrait of this statue has been taken

with a 10mm lens with the camera less than
a foot away from the statue. Note that the
odd appearance of the statue is due to the
exaggerated perspective caused by the very
short camera to subject distance. The focal
length has no bearing on this and also, this is
not distortion.
The same statue photographed with the same lens

but with the camera much farther from the statue. You
can easily notice the much more pleasing and natural
perspective. This is due to the greater subject distance.
Note that there is no change in the focal length but the
image has been cropped to the give the same size as
the previous image. This proves how the perspective is
completely independent of the focal length.
You have now seen how perspective is very important for portraits, landscapes,
architectural photography, etc. Finally here is the summary for you to easily remember:
Perspective essentially deals with relative sizes of foreground and background elements
in the image.
If you want to make the foreground elements larger compared to the background
elements you need to move close to the foreground elements and to make them smaller
you need to move away. Simply changing the focal length, either by zooming or by
using a lens of different focal length, will not help. You must use your feet to change the
perspective. There is simply no other way!
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Depth of Field
As per optical theory only one point (and all the points at exactly the same distance from
the lens often called a plane) can be in perfect focus. But in reality, things on either side
of this plane will also be in focus. That is, there is a band of acceptable sharpness called
Depth of Field or, in short DOF. Simply put, DOF is the distance between the nearest
and farthest objects which are in focus.
When needed, DOF is very desirable but can be a nuisance when one does not need
it. As an example, if you are photographing a landscape, an accepted practice is to keep
a foreground element in your composition to create a sense of depth. Here, you want
the foreground and the background elements as sharp as possible or in other words you
need a large DOF. On the other hand if you are taking a picture of a flower, you would to
like keep the cluttered background out of focus since it distracts the main subject, which
is the flower. In this case, you need a small DOF. Thus, DOF is always important and hence
you should know how to control it.
So, what is acceptable sharpness? This is defined in terms of what is called the Circle of
Confusion (COC). When in perfect focus, a point will be reproduced as a point on the
sensor. If not, the point will become a fuzzy disk (small circle) on the sensor and this disk
is called the COC. The size of the disk is a measure of what we can tolerate as acceptably
sharp. The smaller the COC, sharper will be the picture and less will be the DOF.
COC varies for each sensor format (sensor size) and is smaller (more demanding) for smaller
formats. The reason for this is that for the same size of print (enlargement), you need to
enlarge a smaller format more. You can also easily see that, larger the print, higher will be
the enlargement and hence smaller should be the COC. In other words a COC that is
acceptable for a small print may not be good enough for a large print. At the same time,
remember that in general, larger the print, greater will be the viewing distance you dont
look at a 15 X 22 inch print from six inches, right? This in turn puts less demand on the COC.
Taking these factors into account, the COCs for different formats can be derived from
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an empirical formula attributed to the famous German optical company Carl Zeiss. The
formula is simple. The COC is taken as diagonal of the sensor (in millimeters) divided by
1730. The resulting values are given in the Table below.
Format
Circle of Confusion in mm
2/3in Type sensor based

Digital P&S or Bridge
cameras*
0.004
Micro Four Thirds System (MFT)

(13 X 17 mm)
0.013
APS Digital (18 X 24 mm)
0.017
35mm or digital Full frame

(24 X 36 mm)
0.025
* Not all Point and Shoot (P&S) and Bridge cameras have the same sensor size. Here a
2/3in Type sensor is taken as an example.
For a given format, DOF depends primarily on four factors:
Print size
Viewing Distance of print
Magnification
Aperture size (f-number)
If we use the COC given here for calculating DOF, we can safely assume that the first
two factors (print size and viewing distance) have been taken into account for all normal
applications. In fact these two are not in the direct control of the photographer.
So the two remaining factors that you can vary to control the DOF are magnification and
aperture.
But what is magnification? To put it briefly, magnification is the ratio of the size of the
image (on the sensor) to that of the real subject. That is, if you photograph a 1cm line
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and it appears on the sensor as a 0.5cm line, then we say the magnification is 1/2. The
reproduction ration is now 1:2. If the image and the real object are of the same size, then
the reproduction ratio is 1:1. If the image is twice the size of the real subject, then the
magnification is 2 times and reproduction ratio is 2:1.
If magnification is very high for close up and macro photography (e.g. 1:1 or 2:1 or
greater reproduction ratios), the magnification is very low for photographs taken of
subjects from a great distance. A good example is a landscape photograph where the
image of a mountain with a height of thousands of meters can be made to fit on a sensor
by photographing it at a great distance. Generally speaking large subjects can only be
photographed in their entirety at great distances (assuming you have not altered the focal
length) with corresponding low magnification.
Will a higher focal length (telephoto) lens always provide you higher magnification? Not
necessarily, as magnification depends on - focal length and the distance of the subject
taken together. Each of these cannot be considered in isolation.
This aspect is often ignored giving rise to the notion that telephoto lenses have higher
magnification. What happens is that a photographer stands at fixed place and switches
to a telephoto lens from a wide-angle lens. Since the distance is fixed, increasing the focal
length increases the magnification. This gives the erroneous impression that the telephoto
lens has caused higher magnification. You can really get the same magnification with a
wide-angle lens if you go close enough.
Lets look at this a little more. Consider two lenses, one a 20mm wide-angle and another,
a 200mm telephoto on a D-SLR. The DOF of both these lenses will be identical for the
same magnification. (Assume that you have kept the f-number constant). However, for
the magnification to be same, the 20mm lens has to be much closer to the subject than
the 200mm lens!
Now, that you have got a good idea about magnification, how does DOF itself get affected
by magnification? The DOF decreases as the magnification increases and vice versa. That
is the reason why in macro photography DOF will be very small, only a few millimeters or
sometimes even less. This is so, regardless of the focal length of the lens used!
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The next factor that influences the DOF is the aperture. DOF increases if you choose a
narrow aperture (large f-number). This is because as you make the aperture narrower
(commonly known as stopping down) the spread of light rays is contained, making the
image sharper. This in effect makes the DOF larger.
However, it is not advisable to make the aperture very narrow beyond a certain point as
diffraction effect sets in and reduces the sharpness (refer Basics of Photography Part IV).
For small formats like 35mm and APS sized sensors this is normally around f/16 or f/11.
If you stop down further, then the overall image sharpness may suffer though DOF may
increase.
What was discussed so far can be summed up as:
Factor
DoF
Image size (magnification)

increases (increasing focal
length and/or decreasing
subject distance)
Decreases
Aperture size decreases

(increasing f numbers)
Increases
DISTrIBUTIoN oF DoF
You have seen that DOF is the band that is in focus before and beyond the plane of focus.
DOF, as you have also seen, is dependent on the aperture and the focused distance
(along with the focal length). At normal subject distances, out of the total depth of field
available, one third is sharp before the focused point, and two thirds is sharp beyond
the focused point. For example, if the lens is focused at 20m, and the zone of sharpness
(DOF) is say, 9m, then the sharpness will extend from 17m to 26m. This however, changes
when you focus very close (like in macro photography). Here the DOF extends equally
on either side of plane of focus.
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f/2.8
f/5.6
f/11
f/22
These images show how the DOF increases as the aperture is narrowed (f-number is
increased from f/2.8 to f/22). All the images were taken from the same camera position
focused at the same point (the middle of the ruler).
FINDINg THE DoF

There are several ways available to you to determine the DOF. Most fixed focal length
(prime) lenses have DOF scales on them. These are just below the distance scale and are
marked with f-numbers on either side of focus mark.
You can align the farther distance point to the f-number being used on the DOF scale
and get the closest point that will be in sharp focus by reading off the distance scale
opposite to the same f-number on the other side of the focus mark.
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Similarly, you can also align the nearer point to the f-number being used on the DOF
scale and get the farthest point that will be in sharp focus by reading off the distance scale
opposite to the same f-number on the other side of the focus mark.
Here the lens is set to an aperture of f/8. At this aperture,

DOF extends from 2m to 5m, (approx. 6.5ft to 16ft) when
focus is set at little less than 3m (approx. 10ft).
Here the aperture is set to f/8 and the focus has been set
to 8m (approx. 25ft) which is hyperfocal distance for this
lens at f/8 aperture. You can see that everything from 4m
(approx. 13ft) to infinity () is in focus. Note that the point
of actual focus is (8m) exactly twice that of the nearer
focus point (4m).
Most zoom lenses do not have DOF scales on them. This is because it is difficult to mark
DOF scales for different focal lengths in the limited space available on the lens barrel.
Hence, you cannot follow the method described. However, you can check the DOF
by using the DOF preview button if the camera has this feature. When you press the
DOF preview button, the camera stops down (closes) the diaphragm blades (which are
normally kept fully open for more details on this refer to Basics of Photography - Part II)
to the aperture that has been chosen and you can actually see what is in focus and what
is not. One consequence of stopping down is that this dims the viewfinder. If you find the
image too dim, allow a little time for your eye to get used to it.
The DOF preview is also useful to check how out of focus the background is. This is
particularly useful when photographing flowers, etc. Use the DOF preview to check if
distracting background elements are sufficiently out of focus (blurred).
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goINg HyPEr!
Another aspect of DOF that you should be aware of is the Hyper Focal Distance (HFD).
HFD is fixed for a particular COC, aperture and focal length and is the point at which
DOF is at the maximum. If you set the focus of your lens at HFD, the near focus point of
the DOF will be at half the distance set, and the far distance point will be infinity. In other
words HFD is the point of focus where everything from half the distance of HFD to infinity
falls within DOF.
Here are some tips to help you set the HFD quickly. First set the lens to manual
focus. In the case of fixed focal length lenses, the DOF scale can be used as before.
First the aperture can be chosen and then the infinity mark can be set opposite
the f-number chosen on the DOF scale. The near focus point can be read opposite
to the same f-number on the opposite end of the DOF scale. The point of actual
focus will be exactly twice that of the nearer focus point.
In the case of zoom lenses most of which are without DOF scales, you can get
the HFD value from the table below and place the resulting number on the
distance scale opposite to the focus mark on the lens. Now, all the subjects from
half that distance to infinity will be in focus, for that particular focal length and
aperture that you have selected in the table. If you change the focal length by
zooming or if you change the aperture, then you need to refocus the lens to the
new HFD.
Here is one point that you should be aware of. After setting the lens at HFD, if
you look through the viewfinder, the scene will look out of focus that is, blurry!
This is because the viewing aperture is not the same as the aperture at which the
picture is taken (refer to the discussion on automatic diaphragms in Basics of
Photography Part II). However, the resulting picture will be sharp so long as the
HFD is set correctly for that particular aperture and focal length you have chosen.
You can check this by pressing the DOF preview button.
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The following table gives HFD for different focal lengths and f-numbers in meters. This
table has been calculated using a COC of 0.017mm and is suitable for D-SLRs with APC
sized sensors.
HFD Table - Hyper Focal Distances are in meters
f - No. 18mm
2.8
4
5.6
8
11
16
22
6.9m
4.9m
3.5m
2.4m
1.8m
1.2m
0.9m
Focal Length
24mm 35mm
50mm
70mm
12.3m
8.6m
6.2m
4.3m
3.1m
2.2m
1.6m
53.6m
37.5m
26.8m
18.8m
13.6m
9.4m
6.8m
105.0m
73.5m
52.5m
36.8m
26.7m
18.4m
13.4m
26.3m
18.4m
13.1m
9.2m
6.7m
4.6m
3.3m
You can copy the table, laminate it and keep it in your camera bag so that you can have it
handy, if you use a D-SLR with APC sized sensor.
Those of you who have a keen eye for numbers should have noticed something
interesting here. If you look carefully you can see that doubling or halving the f-number
will decrease or increase the HFD by a factor of 2. Also remember that decreased HFD
means increased DOF.
While setting your camera at HFD is very useful when photographing landscapes, another
useful application is candid photography. Here, pre-setting the focus to HFD will allow
you to concentrate on the subject and quickly take a picture something that is very
much needed in candid photography.
DOF in Digital P&S and Bridge cameras: You need to be aware of some issues regarding
DOF when using digital P&S and bridge cameras. In these cameras, due to the very
small size of sensors, the focal length of the lenses is very small. This in turn causes the
magnification to reduce drastically, for a given distance, causing a corresponding increase
in DOF. In fact too much DOF is the problem with these cameras!
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Also, at these short focal lengths, even moderately small apertures will result in the
physical diaphragm opening to be very small. Such a setup is prone to diffraction. Hence
it is common to limit the minimum aperture in these cameras to f/8 or so. Using apertures
smaller on such a short focal length will result in definite diffraction. For comparison, 35mm
SLR and D-SLR lenses can be generally stopped down to f/22 and large format lenses can
stop down to f/64. However, even at f/8 the DOF will be quite high as mentioned.
How to control DOF: You now have a good understanding of DOF. To recap, it is a
complex blend of many factors the primary ones being the aperture and magnification.
These two are essentially optical issues.
Aperture can be changed for a given exposure by varying the shutter speed and/or
ISO. However, remember that ISO and shutter speed are not optical aspects and their
influence over DOF is indirect through the change in aperture. See the examples below:
You may recall that the same exposure can be obtained by several combinations of
shutter speeds and apertures. Thus a shutter speed to 1/30 of a sec and an aperture of
f/11 gives the same exposure as 1/125 of a sec and an aperture of f/ 5.6. The former
combination gives a higher DOF than the latter.
Look at this example where changing ISO could be useful. Assume that you are in a
situation where you dont have a tripod and the available light gives you, let us say, a
shutter speed of 1/60 sec and an aperture of f/4. However, you need an aperture of
f/11 for sufficient DOF and for that you need to reduce the shutter speed to 1/8 of a sec
which would be too slow to handhold. In such cases, you can increase the ISO from say
100 to 800 and get f/11. The penalty you will pay will come in the form of increased noise
(grainy image) at the higher ISO.
To reiterate, shutter speed and ISO have no direct affect on DOF. They just help you to
control the aperture and through it DOF.
There is now a new technique called focus stacking. The principle is take a series of
photographs, each focused at a slightly different distances from the camera, starting from
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the closest subject that must be in focus to the most distant subject. Later these can
be automatically combined using software to get almost any DOF you want. The only
catch is that since you are combining images, none of the objects in the scene being
photographed can move. In other words, this technique can only be used for static
subjects like still life or landscapes. The camera too should not move.
Here is an example of focus stacking. The car model is about 6 inches long. When you
are photographing a subject this small the magnification is not all that low. Thus you will
not get the entire model in sharp focus regardless of the aperture you use. Hence, focus
stacking is the only solution available. Here, the first image was taken with the focus set
on the part of the car that is closest to the camera. A total of seven images were taken,
each focused at a different point. All images were shot at an aperture of f/8 and were
processed with Heliconsoft Focus software. The first and the last images as well as the final
processed image are shown here.
Focus is set on the fartherest part of the car
This the final image where all the seven images have been processed together to get a sharp image right from
the front to the rear of the car.
All photographs taken by Author
Focus is set on the closest part of the car
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THE FoLLoWINg IS a HaNDy gUIDE oN DoF

If you want to
When Needed?
you should
Decrease DOF
You want the background

details not to dominate or
distract. For e.g. portraits
or photographs of
flowers, etc.
Use larger apertures (smaller

f-numbers). You need to change to
faster shutter speeds and / or lower
ISOs to maintain correct exposure.
Whenever you want only

the main subject to be
sharp and rest blurred.
Increase magnification by moving

closer to the subject and / or
increasing the focal length
You want everything subject, elements in front &

back of the subject in sharp
focus e.g. landscapes.
Use small apertures (higher

f-numbers). You need to change to
slower shutter speeds and /or
higher ISOs to maintain correct
exposure. The former may
necessitate the use of a camera
support like tripod. The latter may
result in noise.
Increase DOF
You are photographing

with very high magnification
as DOF is very small under
these circumstances.
Decrease magnification by moving

away from the subject and / or
decreasing focal length
Stack images and combine them
with software provided the subject
is static
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Flash (Part I)
From the earliest days of photography, photographers yearned for more light than what
nature could provide. Thus, the need for having your own artificial light source was born
and came to be known as the flashgun. Note that, the unit that gives out the light, that
is, the flashgun and the light itself are both referred to as flash. The earliest flashes were
crude and even dangerous with magnesium powder being ignited to give a bright light.
From that to bulbs and to todays electronic marvels, was a long journey, but that did not
diminish the importance of flash as one of the most useful accessories.
The present day electronic flash is a portable light source and can do wonders to your
photography, if you master its usage. This article will help you to do just that.
First a brief description on how a flash works. A flash consists of a gas filled tube into which
a high voltage is discharged. This generates an arc causing an intense pulse of light of very
short duration. The high voltage is produced in your flash with the help of a capacitor
which is charged by the batteries. The time taken for a capacitor to charge fully (that is
for the flash to be ready to fire again) after a discharge is called the recycling time. It is
typically of the order of a few seconds. It increases as the battery in your flash becomes
weaker. All flashes have a ready light that comes on when the flash is charged and ready
to go. However, note that with many flashes, the ready-light comes on when the flash
capacitor is about 80 percent charged. If you trigger the flash at this stage, it could lead
to underexposure.
The power, that is, the light that a flash can output is measured by what is called the
Guide Number. It is often abbreviated as GN and is mentioned in the data sheets of all
flashes (including those that are built into the cameras). The GN is obtained by multiplying
the subject distance with the f/ number. That is all to it! GNs can be in feet or meters.
Example: Assume that the GN of a flash is 100 in feet at an ISO of 200. Assume that your
camera is set to ISO 200 and your lens is set to an aperture of f/4.0. Then, GN of 100
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means that the flash is capable of giving an output that will give you a proper exposure,
with your subject at a distance of 25 feet. This is because as per the formula:
GN (100) = Distance (25 feet) X f/ number (4)
Note that GN is dependent on distance and ISO. So when you are comparing two flashes
make sure that GNs of both have been computed using the same distance units, say
feet. In other words dont compare the GN of a flash which is specified in meters to
another one specified in feet. You can however convert GN in meters to GN in feet by
multiplying by a factor 3.3. So, a GN of 30 in meters is same as GN of 99 in feet. Likewise
make sure both the GNs have been specified at the same ISO. This makes sure that you
are comparing apples to apples.
The duration of the flash (light pulse) is very short. It varies from about 1/1000 sec to as
short as 1/40,000 sec. Due to this the total quantity of light the flash outputs is very small
even though you will see a very intense light. The result of this is that any flash is effective
only for a short distance. As an example, If you are using a point and shoot (P&S) camera,
the flash may not be good for a subject more than 15 feet (5 meters) away. This is a fact
that is often forgotten as you would have noticed that many photographers even try
to photograph a huge building or monument in dark using a flash. The result would be
nothing but a grossly underexposed image!
Increasing the flash operational range: You have three parameters which you can vary to
increase the flash operational range. These are aperture, ISO and flash output. Assuming
that your flash is pumping out the maximum output possible, then:
Doubling the ISO will increase the range by a factor of 1.4. Quadrupling the ISO doubles
the range.
Similarly, opening the aperture by two stops will increase the range by a factor of 2 (that
is, will double the flash operational distance).
If your flash has variable power output then increasing the power will increase the subject
distance, assuming that the other two factors are held at the same value.
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However, dont forget that there are limits to this. Increasing ISO will increase noise and
you cannot open the aperture beyond what your lens is capable of. So a fast lens will
definitely help you to photograph subjects at a greater distance. Likewise, your flash
cannot give more light than what is specified by its GN.
Safe-Sync with PC Terminal

(shown by the arrow)
An accessory shoe showing several

electrical contacts. These are needed for
communication between the camera and the
dedicated flash unit.
Triggering and Synchronization: When you press the shutter release, a signal is sent to the
flash (mechanically in the older days, by closing a contact, and now, electronically) to fire.
This is called triggering of the flash. There is normally a voltage associated with this. Your
camera can only withstand a certain voltage. If you are purchasing a dedicated flash then
this is taken care of by the manufacturer. If you are attaching a third party flash (especially
an old one) you will be taking a great risk as a high triggering voltage of the flash can fry
the electronics of your camera! It is a risk certainly not worth taking! If you are keen on
using such a flash with high voltage triggering it is best to buy a device called Safe-Sync
which reduces voltage levels to safe levels.
There are two ways (apart from wireless connections) that you can connect a flash to your
camera. The first is through a connector called PC terminal (the term is derived from
Prontor-Compur shutters). In this case a cord is connected between the PC terminal of
your camera and the flash. This method is still widely used for connecting studio strobes
though practically no portable flash is connected this way these days. Note that no P&S
(point and shoot) camera has a PC terminal. Most D-SLRs also do not have a PC terminal
but advanced D-SLRs are generally provided with one.
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The connection most commonly used is through what is called the accessory shoe (- a
sort of metal holder). Most of the portable flashes (also called shoe-mounted flashes)
have a foot which slides into this shoe. There is a contact in the shoe through which the
camera triggers the flash. This is why the accessory shoe is sometimes called the hot shoe.
Todays dedicated flashes have a high level of communication with the camera due to the
tight integration between the two. This communication is supported by several electrical
contacts, which are also present in the shoe. All D-SLRs (without exception) and some
advanced P&S and bridge cameras have an accessory shoe.
In case your D-SLR does not have a PC terminal, you can get a small device slips that
into the accessory shoe and provides a PC terminal. Normally a Safe-Sync also has a PC
terminal. So, buying one will serve you two purposes reduces the triggering voltage and
also provides you with a PC terminal (see picture).
Synchronization and X-Sync: You have seen that a flash is fired when it is triggered. The
next important question is when exactly the flash should be triggered. Since the duration
for which the shutter opens is very short and the duration of the flash is even shorter, the
camera and flash should be designed so that the flash fires exactly the same instant the
shutter is open. This is what is called synchronization.
Recall that all D-SLRs use focal plane shutters. Basically, a focal plane shutter consists of
two blinds or curtains, with one following another. When the shutter speeds are fast,
the second curtain follows the first almost immediately and hence the shutter is like a slit
traveling across the sensor. At slower shutter speeds the first curtain will travel first and the
second will follow after a delay. The longer the shutter speed the longer will be the delay.
You have already seen that the flash is of extremely short duration. If you are using a fast
shutter speed, the short pulse of the flash will be able to illuminate only a part of the
sensor (exactly where the slit was present when flash went off ). Consequently you will
get a black band for a part of the image. To prevent this, the camera manufacturer will
specify a maximum shutter speed limit (called the X-Sync) below which you will not have
this problem.
The X-Sync can go up to 1/250 sec in advanced cameras but (in most cases) is generally
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less (than 1/250 sec). This is the maximum shutter speed at which the whole sensor is
exposed that is, the first curtain has traveled (to its other end) and the second is just
about to start. The flash will fire at this instant and the whole of the sensor will be exposed.
Note that P&S cameras use leaf-type shutters, instead of focal plane shutters. Consequently,
P&S cameras synchronize at all speeds that the cameras shutter operates.
High Speed Sync: So, does this limit on sync speed cause problems? Yes it can. Look at
this example. You are trying to take a back-lit portrait in bright sunlight and you want to
use a flash to open up the shadows. That is, you want your flash to provide some fill. Since
you are doing a portrait, you obviously want to limit your depth of field by using a larger
aperture. This will force you to use a fast shutter speed and if this shutter speed is beyond
the max sync speed, you will not be able to synchronize the flash.
Camera manufactures have come up with a solution called high speed sync mode to
overcome this. Here, the flash will give out a series of light pulses in sync with the moving
slit in the shutter mechanism. Hence the whole sensor will be exposed not at once, but
nevertheless will get fully exposed, part by part. For this to work, both the camera and
the flash must have this feature.
There are a few cameras that use an electronic shutter or a combination of mechanical
focal plane and electronic shutters. These cameras are also capable of higher sync speeds
without the need for any high speed sync mode. One example is the Nikon D70 (now
discontinued) which can sync up to 1/500 sec.
With that as the background, you are now ready to go deeper into the world of flash
photography. We will cover this in five parts 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Types of flashes
Flash Modes
Flash Exposure Control
Off-camera flash operation
Wireless Flash Systems
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TyPES oF FLaSHES:
Built-in Flash: Most modern cameras (except those made exclusively for heavy duty
professional use) have a built-in flash these days. The major advantage of a built-in flash is
that if you have the camera you have the flash too as it is built into the camera and hence
not another accessory to carry. This is what accounts to its immense popularity. Also being
a part of the camera means that the flash is fully integrated with the camera providing a
high degree of automation especially regarding exposure. The main disadvantages are
that the built-in flashes are weak and being close to the lens can give rise to the dreaded
red eye phenomenon. However, in a pinch they are useful when a very high output is not
needed. Also any built in flash can trigger a slave flash and in some cases act as a master
flash in wireless flash systems (more of this later).
Shoe mounted Flashes: These flashes come in two types - dedicated and non-dedicated.
Dedicated flashes are produced by the camera manufacturers themselves, though there
are some independent manufacturers of dedicated flashes. Hence, they integrate very
well with the camera. They provide a number of sophisticated and convenient features.
Remember that dedicated flashes are just that - dedicated. So, if you are using one brand
of equipment and change to another, then that dedicated flashes will become useless.
Here are some of the features of a dedicated flash:
Ready Light: This is the simplest of all features but very useful at the same time. This
feature gives an indication in the viewfinder to say that the flash is fully charged. Thus you
will know when you can take the next photograph without taking your eye away from the
viewfinder
Automatic Exposure: A dedicated flash provides fully automatic Through-The-Lens (TTL)
flash exposure along with exposure compensation. Here, the sensor, which is behind the
lens (inside the camera) sees only what the lens sees. So, dark or light areas outside the
field of the lens cannot cause exposure errors, as is the case with non-TTL auto flashes.
X Sync and High speed Sync Exposure: Dedicated flashes also will not allow you to set a
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shutter speed beyond the maximum sync speed so that this issue is taken care of as well.
The more advanced dedicated flashes can also support high speed sync.
Underexposure Warning: A flash can provide illumination only over a certain range based
on its GN. If you attempt to photograph a subject beyond that range, then underexposure
will result. You can detect this by looking at the histogram but some flashes can do better
than that by providing an underexposure warning right in the viewfinder as soon as you
take a photograph using a flash. If you get into such a situation you can remedy it by
increasing the ISO or by opening the aperture or by moving closer to the subject or by
using any combination of these.
Zoom Head: A dedicated flash must also have a zoom head. This feature makes the flash
beam wider for wide-angle lenses. Likewise when telephoto lenses are used the beam
is made narrower (with a correspondingly longer throw to reach greater distances). This
happens automatically as the focal length of the lens being used is conveyed to the flash
by the camera.
Non-dedicated flashes are normally made by third parties. These are lower in cost but will
not give the same level of automation and integration with the camera as the dedicated
flashes. For example, non-dedicated flashes also have a ready light, but this is on the body
of flash and the photographer has to remove his eye from the viewfinder to see if it is on
or not. This can be very inconvenient. Similarly some non-dedicated flashes offer zoom
heads, however the focal length needs to be input to the flash manually.
Shoe mounted flashes are the next most convenient to use after built-in flashes. Apart
from the fact that they provide greater amount of light, they suffer from the same
disadvantages they can produce red eyes and harsh shadows. Also, being mounted
close to the axis on the lens, they cast shadow at undesirable places. Also if you are doing
macro work, the lens being very close to the subject can obstruct the light from a shoe
mounted flash. Most of these drawbacks can be eliminated by keeping the flash off the
camera.
In general shoe mounted flashes are very popular due their compact size, portability and
ease of use. Moreover some of these flashes can form a part of a wireless flash system
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which greatly increases their versatility. This article will concentrate on shoe mounted
flashes. Also you can use shoe mounted flashes with some accessories to soften the light.
You will read more of all this later.
Ring Flashes: These are circular in shape and are screwed to the front of the lens (like
a filter). They give shadow-less lighting. They are most often used in fashion and macro
photography. Ring flashes can also be fully dedicated to provide the same level of
automation as the dedicated shoe mounted flashes.
A dedicated flash
Ring Flash
A simple inexpensive Slave

Flash
Macro flashes: Ring flashes were used extensively once for macro photography. However,
shadow-less lighting does not give depth (a three-dimensional quality) to a photograph.
The result is that the image looks flat. Hence, of late a new breed of macro flashes have
been introduced. These are small units that are mounted on a ring which is fixed to the
front of the lens. Normally two flashes are used and the power output of each of these
can be varied independently. Their position can also be changed. This flexibility can give
much better control over light. These too can be dedicated providing full automation.
Please remember that these are expensive and unless you are heavily into macro and
product photography they may not be worth the investment.
Slave flashes: A slave flash is triggered by a light pulse from another flash, commonly
known as the master flash. The master flash can be the built-in flash of the camera or a
shoe mounted flash. Slave flashes are very much like shoe mounted flashes to look at but
have a built in electro-optic sensor that can detect a light pulse and then trigger the slave
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flash. These are inexpensive and can be used to supplement the light of your cameras
built-in flash. The author recommends them highly if you are using a P&S camera (as P&S
cameras have a very weak built-in flash). These slaves do not support any automation so
you may have to experiment a bit and find out the optimum position. However, this is not
difficult with tools like histogram and highlight warning. (See Basics of Photography, Part
VIII for more details).
Slave flashes, as you can expect, are kept away from the camera. These are normally
supplied with a socket (for tripod mounting) or a foot (to make them rest on a table).
Slave flashes have two problems associated with them.
First, almost all digital cameras give out a pre-flash which is a weak light pulse before the
main flash meant for illuminating the picture fires. This pre-flash is required for the camera
to measure and set the flash exposure automatically. The problem is that many slaves get
fooled by the pre-flash and fire before the main flash fires. The result is that the slave does
not fire when the shutter is open (which is when the main flash fires) and you will get an
underexposed picture.
The main flash follows the pre-flash almost immediately in most cases and you cannot
make this out that is, you will feel that only one flash has gone off. Many photographers
are not aware of this and will be wondering why they are getting underexposed images
even when the slave has fired. The remedy for this is to buy a slave flash that can detect the
pre-flash (these are called digital slave flashes), but ignore it and only fire when the main
flash fires. If you do not have access to such a flash, then you need to set the triggering
flash in the manual mode. Since pre-flashes are not emitted in the manual mode, you
will not have this problem but then you will have to calculate the exposure yourself (by
dividing the GN with distance) as automatic flash exposure control will not work without
a pre-flash. Also most P&S cameras do not support manual flash mode.
The second problem is that a slave does not have the intelligence to find out who (which
flash) has triggered it. Think of a situation where many photographers are involved while
covering an event like a press conference. Every slave flash will fire regardless of who has
triggered it unless the slave is smart enough to distinguish the source.
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Fortunately there are solutions available for these problems but the flashes have to be a
lot more sophisticated as you will see later. To distinguish them from these simple slaves
just discussed, we will call them remote flashes.
Studio strobes: These are large and heavy units but give a huge amount of light with
fast recycling time. These features make them very popular in studios. They (usually)
need mains power from a wall outlet which makes them less portable. They also do
not provide any automation. Manual control of power output (sometimes, using a
Power Bank), is just about the only control you have. They are equipped with a PC
connector and also sometimes with an electro-optical sensor for triggering ( just like
a slave flash).
A more common way to trigger a strobe is to use an infrared (IR) transmitter / receiver.
The transmitter fits on the accessory shoe of your camera and sends an IR signal when you
press the shutter release. This is received by the IR receiver plugged into the strobe. The
receiver in turn triggers the strobe.
An alternate method is to use a radio frequency transmitter / receiver. The principle is the
same except that since radio waves are used (instead of IR signals), there is no restriction
that there should be line of sight between the transmitter and the receiver.
MISCELLaNEoUS FEaTUrES:
Dedicated flashes also provide an Autofocus (AF) Assist light. Many cameras have a builtin light that will illuminate the subject to help the AF sensor of the camera to lock focus.
However, the built-in light is not very powerful so dedicated flashes have an AF assist light
that will project a light pattern on the subject to help the AF to lock.
Another useful feature is the modeling light. With this feature, pressing a button on the
camera, makes the flash emit continuous light (really a series of light pulses) for a short
duration so that you can see the effect of flash (like highlights and shadows). This facility
is available also with wireless flash systems where multiple flashes are used. Here all the
flashes in the system will be activated at once, with the press of a button to help you see
the effect of multiple flashes.
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Tilt Swivel Head: This feature is available with both dedicated and non-dedicated flashes.
Here the flash head can tilt up or down and can also rotate. You have read earlier that a
shoe mounted flash can cause harsh shadows. By tilting the flash head you can bounce the
light from the flash off a ceiling. The reflected light will be much more diffused and hence
will cause a softer, more pleasing shadow. Likewise a swiveling head can be used for
bouncing light off a wall. In both the cases make sure that the surface from which the light
is getting reflected is not colored as otherwise the bounced light be colored causing a
color cast in the image. While flashes with automatic control will take care of the exposure,
in a manual flash you need to consider the distance as the total length of the light traveled,
that is, from the flash to the ceiling / wall and then to the subject.
Accessories: Accessories that are available for shoe mounted flashes can fill a chapter
by themselves let alone a section in an article. Most of these are used for modifying the
light from the flash. In general the larger the effective size of the light source, the softer
will be the shadows which are more pleasing. Since a shoe mounted flash is small, it will
cause very harsh shadows if used as it is. So there are a number of accessories available
to soften the light.
The most popular one is the diffuser dome which clips on to the flash head. This gives an all
around even light glow similar to the effect of a bare bulb. It is best when used to bounce
light. Mini soft boxes also soften the light. Both are handy little portable accessories that
can be fixed and removed with ease.
Another popular accessory that gives soft light is the umbrella. You will need an umbrella
bracket to hold this together with the flash. An umbrella gives very soft light but is not
very portable.
Opposite in purpose is the snoot. This is used to concentrate light in a small area. Snoots
are useful for example, in portraiture where they can be used for highlighting hair.
Also shown here is a honeycomb grid that is useful for focusing the light from a flash while
softening it. See how the light is with and without a grid. The one shown here is made by
Honl.
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As most of these reduce the light output, you need to compensate the exposure in case
you are not using a TTL Auto flash.
Image without a grid

Shoe mounted Flash Accessories: (Left to right): Mini soft-box, Center
Top- diffuser dome, Center bottom Honl honeycomb grid, right
umbrella bracket.
Flash mounted on an umbrella

bracket with an umbrella
diffuser
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A remote flash with a tilt swivel

head. There is also diffuser dome
fitted in this case.
Image taken with a flash with grid

mounted. See how the beam is
shaped. It is also softer
at the same time.
Flash (Part II)

In the previous part of this article you read about flash hardware (different types of
flashes, their accessories, etc.) that you will need. This part will concentrate on the various
flash modes, flash exposure control, operation of wireless flash systems, etc.
Flash Modes: Flashes work in several modes, each meant for a particular application. The
commonly used flash modes are Red-eye Reduction, slow sync, second (2nd) curtain
(also called rear curtain) sync and repeating flash.
Red-eye Reduction Mode: When you are photographing humans or pets using a flash,
your images may show what is called the red-eye. What happens here is that the light
from the flash passes through the pupils of the eye and bounces off the retina and is
captured by the camera. Since the retina has blood vessels which are red, you will find
that the eyes of humans will look as if they are on flame and that is very unnatural. This
effect is more noticeable in those people with light colored eyes (like blue eyes). On the
other hand, due to a different structure of retina, many pets show green eyes which is
equally bad.
There are generally two different implementations of Red-eye Reduction Mode. The first
is to pulse the flash a few times and the second is to give out a continuous bright light.
In both cases you are trying to reduce the opening of the pupils thus reducing the light
entering and bouncing off the retina. Both these are not 100 percent fool-proof.
Also, causing a Red-eye is not the fault of the flash. Even the most sophisticated flash
systems can cause Red-eye, since it is a question of physics. You just have to take
precautions to avoid it. Here are a few tips:
Switch on the Red-eye Reduction Mode if it is available. Ask your subject to look at a
bright light source before the picture is taken. Or put on all room lights. This will make
the pupils smaller, which will help reduce red-eye. Have your subject look slightly away
rather straight into the lens.
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Use off camera flash with the help of a flash cord.

Repeating Flash (or Multi-Flash): This is a specialty mode that you will not use every day.
Here, the flash fires a series of light pulses while the shutter is kept open. The result is that
you will get a stroboscopic capture which is useful for studying fast moving subjects. You
need to use a black background as otherwise it will get overexposed due to repeated
flashes.
Slow Sync Mode: When you choose either Aperture Priority or Program mode and
turn on the flash, many cameras automatically set the shutter speed to 1/60 of a second.
This is done as a safety measure since the camera will otherwise choose a slow shutter
speed due to the low ambient light. If you take a photograph with the flash on and a slow
shutter speed, there will be one exposure made with the light from flash immediately.
However, the shutter will still be open after the flash goes off. If the camera or subject
moves during this time, then a blurred image will also be recorded. Hence to avoid this,
the camera will set a speed of 1/60 automatically.
However, this may not be always what you want. If you are photographing a person, and
the background is dimly lit (like a night street scene or a sunset), then you want both
the person and the background to be properly exposed. Under these circumstances
you may want to choose a slow shutter speed along with the flash. If you now take a
photograph, the subject will be exposed correctly because of the flash. The flash will
not be able to illuminate the background since it is far away, but the slow shutter speed
will provide a properly exposed background. This is essentially what the Night Portrait
mode does (refer to June 2009 issue of this Series).
There are two precautions you need to take when
using slow sync. First, the camera should not move
as otherwise you will get a blurred image (you need
to use a tripod). Second, the subject should also not
move. If the subject moves you will get an unusual
image of a sharp subjecta ghost image(sharp,
due to the flash) super imposed over a blurred
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Image taken with repeating flash showing

the movement of a ping pong ball. Exposure
was about a second.
image of the subject (caused by the subject movement while the shutter was open)! This
is generally not desired unless you want to create an artistic effect (see Second Curtain
Sync).
Second (2nd) Curtain or Rear Curtain Sync: This
mode is applicable only for those cameras that
have focal plane shutters (that is, D-SLRs). You
have seen earlier how a focal plane shutter works
with the help of two curtains. Normally the flash
fires as soon as the first curtain travels to the
other end and the sensor is exposed. If you are
photographing a subject like a moving car with a
slow shutter speed, the flash will fire immediately
after the shutter opens. The car gets frozen at
the moment. However, note that the shutter is still
open and the moving car will be registered as a
blur. This looks unnatural as the sharp image will
precede the blur. However, if you choose second
curtain sync, the flash will not fire immediately after
Note how both the background and
the first curtain has crossed over to the other end.
foreground are perfectly exposed due the
slow shutter speed
It will fire just before the second curtain closes.
Due to this the blur (which is the image recorded
after the first curtain had opened and before the flash has fired) will precede the
sharp image of the car (the latter being the image captured by the light from flash).
The images shown illustrate this very well.
The idea of the second curtain sync is to show an image which is a composite of a motion
blur (therefore you will need a moving subject) and a sharp capture. The former will
happen due to a slow shutter speed while that latter is due to the light from the flash.
Hence, you need to have a slow shutter speed for second curtain sync to be effective.
Due to this slow sync is automatically selected in most cameras when you choose second
curtain sync. And dont forget to use a tripod when using this mode!
Flash Exposure Control:
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Without Second Curtain Sync.
With Second Curtain Sync
There are two major differences in exposure control when using flash as compared to
normal photography. First the light source is under your control and hence you can
reduce or increase the light output at will. Second, the duration of a flash is very short
with the result that you cannot control flash exposure by changing the shutter speed of
your camera.
If you leave out the control you get by varying the ISO sensitivitywhich is really a
change of the cameras sensitivity (and not the light entering and hitting the sensor)flash
exposure is controlled through aperture and by varying the flash output. As in normal
photography, flash photography has several exposure modes. These are described here
for you.
Manual: This is the simplest possible mode. Here you can set the output power level to
full power or a fraction thereof. The guide number will vary based on the power output
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you have set. The aperture has to be chosen by you by dividing the guide number with
the subject distance. Interestingly, this mode is not supported by many built-in flashes.
Auto (with external sensor): The Auto mode was once very popular. It is simple and is
used mostly with non-dedicated flashes. The flash first needs to be told the aperture
(f/number set on lens) and ISO being used. Once the flash fires, a sensor present on
the flash detects the reflected light from the subject. When the sensor feels that
enough light has been received, it stops the flash. Though once popular, the Auto
mode is now outdated and is only used by a few who continue to use non-dedicated
flashes. The main disadvantages are that you need to keep the flash informed about
the aperture and ISO used. You will get a wrong exposure if you change any of
these on your camera and dont change the corresponding settings on the flash.
Also since the sensor is external it will not see exactly what the camera is seeing
(e.g. parallax error in macro photography, use of a filter, etc.) and this can give rise
wrong exposure as well.
Auto TTL: This is the most popular mode these days. Here the measurement of light is
done by the same sensor in the camera that measures the ambient light. This is located
behind the lens so the measurement of light is through the lens (hence the name TTL).
The operation is as follows. A set of pre-flashes are emitted by the flash when you press
the shutter release. The reflected light from the subject is measured by the sensor. The
camera determines how much the flash should output during the actual exposure based
on the reflected light as well as other parameters (like exposure compensation, flash
exposure compensation, ISO, etc.) that you might have set. This information is conveyed
to the flash. The shutter is not open while all this is going on. The shutter now opens and
the flash fires. Since the flash already knows how much light it should output, it stops once
that level is reached.
Since the sensor is a part of the camera you will now get tremendous flexibility. There will
be no parallax error either. All this of course means very tight integration between the
flash and the camera. Normally only dedicated flashes can provide TTL operation.
Now that you know how the Auto TTL works, it is time to go deeper into this as it is the
143
most important mode that you will be using. The Auto TTL has two distinct ways (call
them two sub-modes) of working depending on the way you use it. These are called
Normal TTL (or Standard TTL or Regular TTL by some manufacturers) and TTL Balanced
Fill Flash (TTL BFF) modes.
Normal TTL: This is what you would normally expect from the namea simple straight
forward application when you want to use flash for providing the main illumination for the
subject. That is, you use it when the ambient light is low. The camera ignores the ambient light
in this mode and does not factor it when calculating the flash exposure. The background will
be normally underexposed. This is the mode that is synonymous with the word flash for
most photographers. It is still widely used in weddings, parties, etc.
TTL Balanced Fill Flash: Before you go into details of this, it will be helpful if the words
fill and balanced are fully understood. So here is a short description of these terms.
Fill flash refers to a technique where you use light from the flash in daylight to
supplement the existing light. That is, unlike the previous case, the flash does not
provide the main illumination. It is normally used in high contrast situations. In such
cases dynamic range of your camera may not be enough to handle the brightness
range of the scene. Fill flash helps you to bring down the brightness range of the
scene to fit the dynamic range of the camera by reducing the contrast.
A classic example
where fill flash is very
useful is when taking
back lit portraits.
Here, due to the
bright
background
the camera will set
an exposure, which
will underexpose the
subject. You can of
course expose for the
144
Without Fill Flash
With Fill Flash
subject by increasing the exposure, but that will result in a washed out, overexposed
background. This problem can be solved by using fill flash for illuminating the subject.
Next is the question on how much illumination should be given to the subject. While this
can depend on individual preferences, it is generally accepted that the fill illumination
should not be overpowering as otherwise it will not look natural. This is where the
concept of balanced fill comes in. Balanced here means that, the ambient light (in the
background) and light from flash (that illuminates the foreground) should be matched in
such a way that they there is a natural balance between the main subject in the foreground
and the background.
This is what TTL Balanced Fill Flash (TTL BFF) mode does. To sum up, the ambient light
is taken into account and the camera tries to illuminate the foreground subject so that it
maintains a balance with the background.
There are a few limitations with TTL BFF mode that you need to be aware of. If the ambient
light is extremely high, then the flash output may not be enough to provide enough
illumination to get a proper fill. However, powerful your flash is, dont expect it to compete
with the sun! Also, the subject must be small enough and close enough to be illuminated
by the flash. In other words, dont try to provide fill for a mountain valley with your flash!
Flash Exposure Compensation and bracketing: This is very similar to normal exposure
compensation that you read earlier in this series. If you set flash exposure compensation,
then the flash exposure as determined by the camera will be modified. Thus, you can
make flash give out more or less light compared to what it will deliver without any
flash compensation.
One question you may ask iswhat will happen if you use both normal exposure
compensation and flash exposure compensation together. This is very much possible, but
the implementations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Some manufacturers implement in such a way that normal exposure and flash exposure
compensation are independent. That is, normal exposure compensation does not affect
145
the flash exposure compensation and vice versa. Hence you can vary either without
affecting the other.
In some implementations, normal exposure compensation effects overall (ambient and
flash) exposure whereas flash exposure compensation affects only the flash exposure. For
example, you can set -0.5 EV normal exposure compensation and +1.0 EV flash exposure
compensation. This will make the background of the picture (not illuminated by the flash)
-0.5 EV darker. However, the subject illuminated by the flash will be brighter by +0.5 EV
(net of -0.5 and +1.0).
Many cameras also allow bracketing of flash exposure similar to normal exposure bracketing.
Locking Flash Exposure: This feature is called (depending on the manufacturer) either as FV
(Flash Value) Lock or as FE (Flash Exposure) Lock. If you take, using a flash, a photograph of an off
centered subject which is against a background that is too light or too dark, the flash may output
less or more light respectively resulting in under or overexposure of the main subject. Locking the
flash exposure will help you to overcome this problem.
The usage of this feature is rather simple. Simply place the center AF bracket
marked in the viewfinder on the subject and press the flash exposure lock button.
The flash will emit a pre-flash and the reflected light value is recorded. The flash
output is determined as per this reflected light (and also stored in the camera for
a few seconds) while ignoring the background. Now recompose and release the
shutter. Since the flash output is already determined, when the main flash fires, you
will get a correctly exposed photograph. You may recall that the flash exposure lock
is very similar in concept to that of AE-Lock (see Part VI of this series).
Note on commercial names: Flash technology has advanced tremendously of late. While
underlying principles are the same, different manufacturers have come out with different
implementations. They have naturally chosen to give their own commercial names. For e.g. Canon
uses the name E-TTL and Nikon calls it iTTL/CLS and so on. All this results in an alphabetical soup
but there is no need for you to worry. All these do the job they are intended to but are not
interchangeable between different makes.
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Off Camera Flash (with cords): You have read about the various problems that you
are likely to encounter when using a shoe mounted dedicated flash. Removing the
flash from the shoe, that is, using the flash off-camera can be very easily done (for
a non dedicated flash) by connecting the flash to the camera with a long PC cord.
If you are using a dedicated flash then you would naturally like all the automation,
functions and conveniences to continue. This is possible if you use a dedicated
cord called
TTL cord: This is a cord with multiple wires so that the full communication between
the camera and flash is maintained. The flash will behave as if it were mounted on
the hot shoe itself. While pricey, these cords can give you tremendous flexibility
in positioning your flash. Unfortunately, cords are just thata bunch of wires. So,
there is physical connection between the flash and your camera. Also, if you are
trying to control multiple flashes, the many cords present can be a nuisance. Due to
this, they have lost some of their earlier popularity with the advent of the wireless
flash systems.
Off Camera Flash
(with
wireless
technology):
Major
camera
manufacturers
are now offering
sophisticated
wireless
flash
Flash Exposure Compensation Symbol.
With a TTL Flash cord, all the functions of a
Note that the symbol for flash exposure
dedicated flash are maintained while at the
systems. They offer
compensation looks similar to the normal
same time you can place the flash away from
exposure meter symbol but for the
your camera.
unprecedented
lightning bolt.
control
and
flexibility as you will see. The wireless flash system typically consists of two main
sub-systemsa master flash and (any number of ) remote flashes. There will be
only one master, but several remote units could be present. The master sends
commands (which are in the form of imperceptible light pulses) to control the
remote flashes and the remote flashes respond to these.
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A master unit can be implemented in three ways

1. With a dedicated master unit, often called a commander.
2. Some flashes can be programmed to serve as a master.
3. Some cameras allow their built-in flash to act as a master.(e.g. Canon 7D, 60D,
70D, Nikon D90, D7000, D7100, D300s, D700, etc.)
Unlike a commander the last two can also contribute illumination to the image apart from acting
as a master. Also note that a master unit (unless it is a built-in flash) has to have a physical connection
to the camera. That is, it has to be either mounted on the shoe or through a TTL cord. Remote
flashes are technically less complex than master flashes, but they need to have a receiver to receive
the commands.
Before you go further, you to need to understand the concept of a Group and a Channel. A group is a set
of flash units that behave in the same way (that is they will have to be set to the same mode). For example,
you can have Group A flashes set to Manual mode and Group B set to Auto TTL. However, within Group
A you cannot have some flashes set to Manual and some to Auto TTL.
You have read earlier that there is a possibility of your slave flashes being triggered by other photographers
or you triggering slave flashes of other photographers unintentionally. To avoid this every photographer
should assign all the flashes that he is using (the master as well as remote flashesregardless of the groups)
the same Channel. Care should also be taken so that two photographers working in the same vicinity do
not use the same Channel.
When a master sends out a command, it will also contain the Channel information apart from the instructions
to the remote flashes. All the flashes in the vicinity will receive the command, but only those remote flashes
whose Channel matches will respond. This ensures that no false triggering takes place.
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Image of an LCD monitor (as an example) of a

camera that shows the various wireless options.
The channel number has been set to 1.
The built-in flash has been set to act as a master
plus contribute illumination in the manual mode with
output set to 1/8 of full power.
Group A flash has been set to Auto TTL with
zero (no) flash compensation
Group B flash has been set to Auto TTL with -1.0 EV as flash compensation.
The exposure control of flashes in a wireless system is very similar to that of a dedicated shoe
mounted flash. You can set each of the Groups to Manual mode or to Auto TTL. In the case
of former you can change the power from full power to any fraction thereof. In the latter case
you can set the flash exposure compensation to vary the light output. (See example given).
The important thing is that in either case you have complete control over the exposure. The
real beauty of this system is that, once you have set the Channel and Group, you can program
the various parameters (like mode, power output, flash exposure compensation, etc.) of all the
flashes remotely without leaving the camera!
Once your set up is
complete all you need
to do is to press the
shutter release and no
further
intervention
is needed to take the
photograph.
After
that you can check the
exposure,
highlights,
A much more pleasing image produced
shadows,
etc.,
with help
Image produced with a shoe mounted flash.
with the help of a single remote flash and
Note the harsh and ugly shadow.
a diffuser.
of playback, histogram
and
other
tools
available. If you dont like what you got, you can vary the parameters without moving from where
you are! An added advantage is that there are no messy wires to trip and fall!
Having your cameras built-in flash act as a master is a very useful feature. If your camera supports
this feature, then all you need is just one more remote flash to build a wireless off camera flash
system. In fact, you can make a small home studio with just your cameras built-in flash and a single
remote flash. You can do wonders with such a set up if you supplement it with some low cost
accessories like reflectors, umbrellas, etc.
149
Elements of
Composition(Part I)
A unique property of photography is that it is a blend of both technical and artistic aspects.
So far in this series Basics of Photography, you were mainly introduced to the technical
aspects. These include setting the right aperture and shutter speed, focusing, control of
depth of field, etc. The artistic aspects mainly deal with lighting and composition. In this
two part article you will see why composition makes or breaks a picture even though it
may be a technically correct image.
Before we start, the author wishes to state that composition is a very vast subject and
there have been many voluminous books written on it. Hence, writing everything about
composition in this one article is not possible. The aim of this article is to tell you why
composition is important and to introduce you to the basic elements of composition for
you to practice.
To start with, what is composition? While there are several definitions, let us look at one.
An artistic arrangement of the parts of an image so as to form a harmonious
picture on the whole
Ansel Adams, the greatest of all landscape photographers, further emphasizes this
concept by saying
There is nothing more useless than a sharp photograph of a fuzzy concept
While composition has several aspects to it, the first step is to have a clear idea on what
you want to convey. A fuzzy concept as Ansel Adams has said, is of no use even if it is a
technically correct image.
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Consider this. While you leaf through a magazine or see images on your computer, you
can easily notice that you spend more time seeing certain images and less time with some.
The ones that you are spending more time are those which are pleasing to the eye. If
nothing in the picture is holding your attention, then you flip to the next image quickly
as it did not catch your eye. Hence, a characteristic of a good composition is to make
your eye linger within the frame, as an eye can explore and enjoy the image only when it
spends time. A well composed picture will also make your eye move within the picture
in an orderly fashion. Random (that is aimless) movement of your eye conversely means
a poorly composed image where the photographer has failed to present things in a
coherent way or as Ansel would say, he had only a fuzzy concept!
That said, can one learn good composition? Or does the eye to observe comes naturally
and cannot be taught? While there is some truth in that someone can have a natural
aptitude for composing better, good composition can definitely be learned.
The trick is really in training your eye to recognize elements that occur in nature and in
everyday life and then arranging them in a harmonious manner to serve the overall image.
So the natural question is how do you arrange a mountain at a place where you want it?
After all you cannot move it! Well you can in a way, by changing your position. You can
move sideways, front and back, up and down, choose a different focal length and so on.
You will be surprised that even a small change in your position can sometimes change a
mediocre composition to something very good!
Photography is an art and in general art and rules are not the best of friends. So, what
you are going to see in this article are generally accepted guidelines that enhance the
aesthetics of your image. You can of course always deviate from them when there is good
enough reason. That is entirely up to you!
Now, it is time for us to look at some of the well known guidelines.
1. SUBJECT aND ITS PLaCEMENT

The most fundamental guideline is that every image should have a dominant subject
which is the center of attention. Preferably, it should be physically larger than the less
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important supporting elements. The latter, however, have to support the main subject to
present a coherent meaning to the viewer. However, size is not the only thing that pulls
your eye. It can also be sharpness, contrast in tone and color, and shape of the subject.
Next, where should this main subject be positioned? The generally accepted practice is
called rule of Thirds. For this you have to divide your viewfinder frame into nine parts
(as shown, like a tick-tack-toe) and keep the center of interest at one of the intersections.
These intersections are called points of dominance. This is a useful and important
thumb rule and has been in existence even before photography began. In portraits, eyes
are generally considered to be the most important, and hence they should be placed at
the points of dominance.
Also, the horizons should preferably be placed not at the center but at the lower or
upper one thirds. While an asymmetric placement like this works very well, sometimes
it is alright to keep the horizon at the center when you are photographing scenes with
reflections. Likewise the subject can also be kept at center when it is highly symmetric. As
you have already read, these are guidelines rather than rules.
The most basic and well known compositional guideline - The Rule of Thirds
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A picture needs
to have tension
or imbalance to
make the eye move
within the frame. A
perfectly symmetric
image
(there
are
exceptions
as
already
mentioned) does
not have tension as
the eye sees one
half and assumes
the second to be
the same. Also a
A dominant subject: In this photograph you can notice that due to the high contrast and size of
the pelican, it stands out compared to the rest of the image. The rule of thirds grid is also shown
and you can notice that the eyes are approximately at one of the points of dominance. The tree
branch leads your eye moving it from the edge of the frame to the main subject. Also note that
the pelican is looking towards the left and hence there is more space in that direction.
picture can have a secondary subject to draw the eye to it. Otherwise the eye may
not move from the main subject. The secondary subject should be less dominating so
that it does not compete with the main subject for attention. At the same time it should
be sufficiently different to draw the viewers eye to it. This can be done by making the
secondary subject have a different color, contrast, shape, etc.
2. LINES aND SHaPES

Lines and geometric shapes like rectangles, circles, and triangles create visual impact.
Lines convey certain meanings and also influence how the camera has to be oriented
in portrait or landscape format. The former is more suitable for vertical lines - like
tall buildings, standing poles, people, etc. Vertical lines symbolize strength and power
(remember the phrase standing tall?)
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Shapes: This image is more symmetric but presents more shapes - circles (highlighted in red)
and a triangle (highlighted in yellow) formed by a shadow. These give a visual impact. Since it
is symmetric, the center line was kept in the middle rather than at the thirds. Also note that the
circles repeat forming a pattern by themselves.
Landscape format on the contrary is more suitable for horizontal lines like reclining figures,
fences, flowing rivers, etc. These lines convey more a sense of rest and tranquility.
So what about diagonal lines? These normally indicate motion. The eye tends to move
along the diagonal rapidly. Diagonal lines are ideally suited to depict motion - a moving
car for example. One precaution that you need to take when using a diagonal line is that
it should not start exactly in the corner of a frame as this has the effect of visually dividing
the frame into two parts, something which is not desirable.
A curve makes your eye move along with it, similar to a line. However, being curved it
slows down the eye and makes the observation longer which is what we want. One of the
classic curves is the S curve (shaped like the letter S) which is one of the most powerful
compositional elements. The S-curves you are likely encounter commonly are stair cases,
mountain roads, and streams.
Coming to shapes, it sometimes possible to easily find very recognizable shapes like
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rectangles, triangles, etc. These occur mostly in architecture. Less apparent but still easily
identifiable are triangles that are formed by mountains. If you observe more closely you
can find other shapes in even ordinary day to day scenes.
3. LEaDINg LINES
A very important technique to guide your eyes to the main subject is through the use of
lines that do this. Naturally these are called leading lines and are a very strong element in
creation of a good composition. The eye travels along the leading line, through the picture,
exploring the surroundings in an orderly manner and reaches the main subject instead of
randomly wandering all over. Leading lines that are available in general are staircases, fences,
walls, roads that lead to buildings/mountains, etc. The leading line can be a straight line or
even better - a curve which you may recall will make your eye move slowly.
Leading Lines: These (highlighted in red) formed by the flowers, lawn

(highlighted in red) lead your eye to the subject which is the building. Also,
care was taken so that the lines do not start at the corners. Note that the lines
together also form two triangles.
4. SPaCE IN aN IMagE
Space that does not contain objects of interest is called negative space. While too much
of negative space is bad, at times it can be pretty effective too. Note that too many
elements will make the image very cluttered as they will start competing for attention.
For this reason you need to use space effectively. Since negative space does not contain
155
anything of importance, it provides a bit of relief to the eye and forces your attention to
the main subject. Negative space follows the Zen philosophy that a clap following a long
silence is more effective than otherwise.
Negative Space: In this image, the subject is the boat with the two fishermen. The rest of
the image is devoid of anything of interest directing your eye to come to the main subject.
5. FraMES
One of the ways to draw
your attention to the main
subject would be the use
of frames. Very commonly
used frames are doorways
and arches, tree branches,
etc. The latter type is very
common in landscapes.
Since the main purpose of
the frame is to draw your
attention to the main subject,
the frame need not be sharp.
156
Frames: Here the trees form a frame (highlighted in red) surrounding

the main subject.
6. VErTICaL or HorIzoNTaL orIENTaTIoN oF yoUr

CaMEra
Landscape or portrait orientation? Here, the same scene was composed in both landscape
and portrait orientations. In both cases the basic guide lines have been maintained. See how
the fence and road edge form leading lines (marked in red) to the building which is the subject.
They also do not start at the corners. The road converges (narrows in width) conveying a feeling
of depth. The horizon is also kept at thirds. The main subject has been placed in both the
images at the points of dominance. So which is better? You decide!
157
Almost all cameras

these days are oriented
in such a way that the
image is captured in
the horizontal (also
known as landscape)
orientation. Due to
this many photographs
are taken this way
even when the subject
requires the camera
to be turned 90
degrees for vertical (also known as portrait) orientation. Examples of such subjects are
standing humans, tall buildings, trees, etc. While there is no rule on what percentage of
photographs should be vertical and how many should be horizontal, normally at least 20
percent of your images should be photographed in the vertical orientation. The general
guide line is choose portrait orientation if the subject and flow of the lines are vertical (e.g.
trees, tall buildings, standing humans, etc.) Choose landscape orientation if the subject
and flow of the lines are horizontal (e.g. reclining humans, streams, mountain ranges, etc.)
If you are in doubt always take photographs in both the orientations and you can select
later (see example).
There are two more points that you want to know.
(1) Some D-SLRs are now offering a hand-grip which provide an alternate shutter release
that helps taking photographs in vertical orientation. (2) In spite of format itself being
called portrait format, many superb landscape photographs have been taken in the
portrait orientation. Experiment a bit and you will easily find this out.
158
Elements of
Composition(Part II)
In the previous part of this article Basics of Photography Elements of Composition
(Part I), you read about the meaning of composition and its impact on the aesthetics of
a photograph. You had also seen some fundamental guidelines and a few compositional
elements (or building blocks) that help you to compose an image. We will continue in this
part with more such elements like texture, patterns, etc. You will also read about a few
general tips. In the end there is a handy cheat sheet to help you with composition while
you are out photographing.
7. TExTUrE
This is another important element that provides a sort of tactile sensation through visual
means. A rough stone when photographed properly can make you feel the roughness
even though you are not touching it. Thus texture, when employed properly, indicates a
variety of things like detail of a fabric, roughness of a wall, machining of a mechanical part,
pattern on leather and so on.
Texture: See the texture of the rocks. You can actually feel the
roughness of the surfaces of the rocks by just looking at them!
159
Here is one more example displaying texture. Here the surface of the metal clearly
shows the texture that has been formed due to machining. Interestingly, in this case
the texture would be visible only under high magnification. A macro photograph like
this reveals textures (and patterns) that are not visible to a naked eye.
Patterns: Not only is the whole pattern very colorful, it also gives the feeling of being
extended forever as it covers the image fully without a border. The pattern itself is the
subject in this case.
160
8. PaTTErNS:
An eye, when moving in the frame, looks for patterns which are nothing but repetition of
shapes or symbols. This pattern can occupy the whole picture itself. In this case, there will
not be a main subject since all the symbols put together themselves form the subject. You
should not leave a border. This will give a feeling that the pattern is extending beyond
the photograph, infinitely.
However, you can also compose with a pattern occupying a part of the picture. This is
a case that you will find quite frequently in everyday life for e.g. rows of windows. Such
patterns too can be composed to form a visually attractive picture.
Here is another example of a different type of pattern. In this case the pattern was formed by the
windows and the staircase. Note how the two humans provide relief from the monotony of the
pattern
161
9. CrEaTIoN oF DEPTH
A photograph, when viewed on a monitor or as a print, is flatthat is, it is two-dimensional.
However, our eyes see the world in three dimensions that is, with depth. Hence it is
important that you create an illusion of depth. This is done with help of an aspect called
perspective which was explained in detail in Part IV of this series, Basics of Photography.
Briefly, objects that are close to our eyes appear large compared to objects that are far
away. Hence, this property can be used to create the feeling of depth as the example
given here illustrates. The property of perspective is also responsible for converging of
parallel lines like rail tracks. This in turn conveys a feeling of distance.
Creation of depth: This picture was taken with an ultra wide lens with a (35mm equivalent) focal
length of 15mm. The foreground which is the flower bed was very close to the camera (less than
two feet). A very small aperture was chosen to get a large depth of field (note that everything is
sharp focus right from the flower bed to the building). The ponds walls form leading lines to the
building and since they converge they enhance the feeling of depth.
To create depth this way, you need to keep a foreground element as close to the camera
as possible. Using a wide or an ultra-wide angle lens will help in these circumstances.
You also need to set the aperture small enough to get adequate depth of field. This will
correspondingly make the shutter speed slower so you may have to use a tripod.
162
Tip: Switch the focusing to manual and set the focusing distance to hyper focal
distance to get maximum depth of field (see Part V of this series, Basics of
Photography for more details).
ExErCISE - aNaLySIS oF a PICTUrE

You have so far seen a number of compositional elements individually and their
application. Normally a picture will have several of these elements present simultaneously.
It is up to the photographer to recognize these and arrange them together to get an
aesthetically pleasing composition. To make this idea clear, let us take a picture which has
many compositional elements and analyze it thoroughly.
So, here is a short exercise for you! Study the Picture A closely. Without reading further
(no cheating please
!) identify the compositional elements based on what you have
read so far. Ready?
Picture A
Now that you have done that read on. Before you say I cant make out what Picture B is all
about! I will explain what I have done. I removed the picture itself and have shown only
163
the compositional elements. Now, did you recognize all the elements that were there as
shown in Picture B? Let us list them
The blue sky and rock (note that it also has texture) are forming two triangles
(highlighted
by red triangles)
The stairs form a leading line (yellow arrow) taking you down the path to the subject
which is the ruined fort.
The fort is at one of the points of dominance (white + mark).

The walls of the staircase (blue lines) converge giving a feeling of depth
The edge of the rock forms a diagonal (green line) making your eye move along with
it while exploring the edge of the rock.
This is the way you must see and recognize the elements as the elements are always there.
The trick is to recognize and then organize them. While doing this you should not identify
the objects as you would normally. You should not see a mountain; you see it as a triangle.
You should not see a car tire; you should see it as a circle. Likewise you should not see a
row of windows but a pattern. Got it?
Picture B
164
Picture c
Finally, I have overlaid the elements over the picture (Picture C) to complete the analysis for you.
You can do this mental exercise every time you take a picture. In fact you can even take out some
of your old favorite pictures and analyze them. I will assure you that you will be looking at them
from a newer point of view which in turn will help you to compose better pictures.
HErE arE FEW MorE TIPS To HELP yoU MakE BETTEr

CoMPoSED PICTUrES
keep it simple: Worse than dead (featureless) space is a scene which is too busy with too
many elements competing for attention. The end result is chaos, making the eye randomly
move all over only to exit very quickly.
get close: If you dont get close, the subject is likely to be too small to make an impact.
Nature photographers take note especially when photographing birds. The need for this
can be summarized by a single quote from one of the greatest war photographers of all
time, Robert Capa, who said if your picture is not good then you are not close enough!
Nothing more needs to be said!
165
Watch the background: Many photographs are ruined because of the cluttered
backgrounds that do not aid the main subject. Photographers, in the excitement to
capture an interesting subject, tend to ignore the background. Unfortunately, the camera
records whatever it sees whether you have overlooked or not! So look for unnecessary
items like poking branches, cables, etc. and avoid them. A very common problem is
the poles and trees sticking out of the heads of the people. Also elements that overlap
without proper separation can confuse the viewer.
I would recommend that you use a tripod and carefully see all the corners and edges of
the frame to make sure that you are not capturing any unwanted objects.
FEW MorE gENEraL TIPS
your worst critic (dont take comments from your Facebook friends seriously! )
BeBigger
can the better discard bad photographs mercilessly!
Crop - thethe garbage
subject
has
to be prominent
Dont blurt out a photograph,
think, compose yourself and then the picture before
you press the shutter release

Analyze some pictures taken by great photographers like Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell,
Yusuf Karsh, Frans Lanting, Arthur Morris as well as paintings by masters like Rembrandt,
Rafael, etc. Study their compositions. We can all learn a lot from these immortals!
A tripod is an invaluable aid to improve your compositions dont underestimate its
positive impact!
l Three most important factors to improve your composition - Practice, Practice and
Practice to the point you can recognize the various compositional elements intuitively.
166
FINaLLy HErE IS a CHEaT SHEET oN CoMPoSITIoN To

kEEP IN yoUr CaMEra Bag Cheat Sheet on Composition
01. What was the dominant subject in the scene that made you to raise the camera to
the eye?
02. View point check for horizontal and vertical viewpoints based on the flow of lines
03. Remember the guide line rule of thirds - subject at thirds and horizons at thirds
04. Identify shapes like triangles, circles, etc. and lines like S-curves, diagonals, horizontals,
verticals, etc.
05. Look for elements like Textures, Patterns, Colors
06. Look for leading lines and avoid lines that take you out of the frame
07. Use frames (can be sharp or blurred) where possible
08. Create depth by using foreground, middle ground and background, converging
lines, etc.
09. Create balance with primary and secondary subjects using shapes and sizes as
differentiators
10. Move left, right, up, down, closer, farther to check different viewpoints. Just dont
stand at one place and zoom in and out!
11. Present a clear message with simple composition exclude superfluous elements,
light colors, bright patches, clutter, etc.
12. Check viewfinder edges and corners to eliminate foreground artifacts, background
clutter and include only what is pertinent. A tripod is a definite help here.
13. Look for separation between elements, overlapped elements can confuse a viewer
14. Avoid too much of blank dead space
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Title

What is a Camera and Types of Cameras?

Fundamentals of Lenses and Types of Lenses

Pixel Count and and Print Size

Exposure Modes, Controls and Meters

Histogram and highlight warning

Some optical issue, Defects and Perspective

Flash (Part II)

Elements of Composition (Part I)

Elements of Composition (Part II)

Smart Photography has been continually receiving requests to start a basic

What is a Camera and

LETS Look aT THESE CoMPoNENTS

Single Lens reflex (SLr):

Point and Shoot:

Limited control over

All in - one cameras that

System cameras offering a large

In this diagram we have symbolically

All photographs by Ashok Kandimalla

a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Several sizes, from

Micro Four Thirds System (MFT) Olympus and Panasonic

All Canon D-SLRs except EOS 1D

All Nikon D-SLRs except D3, D700, D3X. 1.50

Canon EOS 1D series, Leica M8

Full Frame (FX) or

Nikon D3, D3X, D700;

Pentax, Mamiya, Bronica, Hasselblad

Pentax, Mamiya, Bronica, Hasselblad

Lens showing the AF contact

DIFFErENT TyPES oF LENSES

Wide-angle lenses: These are opposite-end counterparts of telephoto lenses

Pic showing various parts on a zoom lens

So, how do you change the focal

to increase or decrease the focal length.

Focal Length for

Focal Length for

NoW LET US Look aT SoME SPECIaL PUrPoSE LENSES

Shot with a normal lens

Shot with a macro lens

Macro lens focused at Infinity

Same lens focused at 1:2 (one half life size).

This picture shows a 50mm

Picture taken with a Fish-eye lens. Note the pronounced barrel

Apart from scientific uses, these are

A 2x Tele-Converter with a 300mm

Note: The computer monitors as of now are manufactured to a resolution of

ProS aND CoNS oF HIgH PIxEL CoUNTS:

ProS aND CoNS oF a LargE SENSor:

1. Full frame (36 X 24 mm)

2. APS-C size (24 X 16 mm)

5. 1/3.6 inch Type

Best image quality, largest file size

Via media moderate image quality

Least image quality, smallest file size

Quality: Small and Basic

Saved with a quality setting

Adobe, Hasselblad, Leica

File Sizes Table for Camera generated Files

File Size in Megabytes

JPEG Fine (best quality,

JPEG Basic (smallest size,

Crop of image captured at 12 MP.