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Technical Aspects

The document provides an overview of camera technology, detailing how cameras capture images using photographic film or electronic sensors, and the various controls involved in obtaining a proper exposure. It explains the differences between digital and film cameras, the role of image sensors, and the process of image compression. Additionally, it touches on the importance of settings like aperture, shutter speed, and white balance in achieving desired photographic results.

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9 views

Technical Aspects

The document provides an overview of camera technology, detailing how cameras capture images using photographic film or electronic sensors, and the various controls involved in obtaining a proper exposure. It explains the differences between digital and film cameras, the role of image sensors, and the process of image compression. Additionally, it touches on the importance of settings like aperture, shutter speed, and white balance in achieving desired photographic results.

Uploaded by

jcyjhtzqtn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Technical Aspects:

Camera | Focal length | Lenses | DOF


Camera
Main article: Camera

 The camera is the image-forming device, and

(photographic film or an electronic image sensor) is


the capture medium.
 The respective recording medium can be a film itself,

or a digital magnetic or electronic memory.


Photographers control the camera and lens to

"expose" the light-recording material to the


required amount of light to form a "latent image"
(on plate or film) or RAW file (in digital cameras)
which, after appropriate processing, is converted
to a usable image.
Digital cameras use an electronic image sensor

based on light-sensitive electronics such as


charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary
metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS) technology.
 The resulting digital image is stored

electronically, but can be reproduced on a paper.


The camera (or 'camera obscura') is a dark room

or chamber from which, all light is excluded


except the light that forms the image.
The subject being photographed, must be

illuminated.
Cameras can range from small to very large.
The movie camera is a type of photographic

camera which takes a rapid sequence of


photographs on recording medium.
In contrast to a still camera, which captures a

single snapshot at a time, the movie camera


takes a series of images, each called a "frame".
 This is accomplished through a recurrent
mechanism. The frames are later played back
in a movie projector at a specific speed, called
the "frame rate" (number of frames per second).
 While viewing, a person's eyes and brain merge
the separate pictures together to create the
illusion of motion.
Camera controls
 In all but certain specialized cameras, the process of

obtaining a usable exposure must involve the use


(manually or automatically) of a few controls to
ensure the photograph is clear, sharp and well
illuminated.
 The controls usually include but are not limited to the

following:
Camera controls

 Control Description Focus: The position of a viewed

object or the adjustment of an optical device necessary


to produce a clear image: in focus; out of focus.
 Aperture Adjustment of the lens opening, measured

as f-number, which controls the amount of light


passing through the lens.
Camera controls
 Aperture also has an effect on depth of

field and diffraction – the higher the f-number, the


smaller the opening, the less light, the greater the depth
of field, and the more the diffraction blur.
 The focal length divided by the f-number gives the

effective aperture diameter.


Shutter speed: Adjustment of the speed (often

expressed either as fractions of seconds or as an


angle, with mechanical shutters) of the shutter to
control the amount of time during which the imaging
medium is exposed to light for each exposure.
 Shutter speed may be used to control the amount of light

striking the image plane; 'faster' shutter speeds (that is,


those of shorter duration) decrease both the amount of light
and the amount of image blurring from motion of the subject
and/or camera.
 The slower shutter speeds allow long exposure shots that

are used to photograph images in very low light, including


the images of the night sky.
 White balance. On digital cameras, electronic

compensation for the colour temperature associated with


a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light
is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore
the colours in the frame will appear natural.
 In addition to using white balance to register natural

coloration of the image, photographers may employ white


balance to aesthetic end, for example white balancing on a
blue object in order to obtain a warm colour temperature.
 Metering Measurement of exposure so that highlights and

shadows are exposed according to the photographer's


wishes.
 Many modern cameras meter can set exposure

automatically.
 To translate the amount of light into a usable aperture

and shutter speed, the meter needs to adjust for the


sensitivity of the film or sensor to light. This is done by
setting the "film speed" or ISO sensitivity into the meter.
 Film speed. Traditionally used to "tell the camera" the film

speed of the selected film on film-based cameras.


 Film speed numbers are employed on modern digital cameras as

an indication of the system's gain from light to numerical output


and to control the automatic exposure system.
 Film speed is usually measured via the ISO system. The higher

the film speed number the greater the film sensitivity to light,
whereas with a lower number, the film is less sensitive to light.
 A correct combination of film speed, aperture, and shutter

speed leads to an image that is neither too dark nor too light,
hence it is 'correctly exposed', indicated by a centered meter.
 Auto focus point. On some cameras, the selection of a

point in the imaging frame upon which the auto-focus system


will attempt to focus.
 Many Single-lens reflex cameras(SLR) feature multiple auto-

focus points in the viewfinder.


How digital cameras work

Photo:
A typical image sensor.
The green rectangle in the
center (about the size of a
fingernail) is the light-sensitive
part; the gold wires coming off
it connect it into the camera
circuit.
 Digital cameras look very much like ordinary film

cameras but they work in a completely different way.


When you press the button to take a photograph with
a digital camera, an aperture opens at the front of the
camera and light streams in through the lens.
 So far, it's just the same as a film camera. From this
point on, however, everything is different.
 In a digital camera, there is a piece of electronic
equipment that captures the incoming light rays and
turns them into electrical signals.
 This light detector is one of two types, either a
charge-coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image
sensor.
 If you've ever looked at a television screen close up,

you will have noticed that the picture is made up of


millions of tiny colored dots or squares called pixels.
 Laptop LCD computer screens also make up their

images using pixels, although they are often much


too small to see.
 In a television or computer screen, electronic
equipment switches all these colored pixels on and off
very quickly.
 Light from the screen travels out to your eyes and
your brain is fooled to see a large, moving picture.
 In a digital camera, exactly the opposite happens. Light from the

object you are photographing zooms into the camera lens. This
incoming "picture" hits the image sensor chip, which breaks it up
into millions of pixels.
 The sensor measures the color and brightness of each pixel and

stores it as a number.
 Digital photograph is effectively an enormously long string of

numbers describing the exact details of each pixel it contains.


How digital cameras use digital
technology

 Once a picture is stored in numeric form, you can do all kinds of

things with it.

 Plug your digital camera into your computer, and you can

download the images you've taken and load them into


programs like Photoshop to edit them or jazz them up.

 Or you can upload them onto websites, email them to friends,

and so on.
Why digital cameras compress images

o Digital cameras, computers, and other digital gadgets


use a technique called compression.
o Compression is a mathematical trick that involves
squeezing digital photos so they can be stored with
fewer numbers of pixels or resolution and less memory.
 One popular form of compression is called JPG

(pronounced J-PEG, which stands for Joint


Photographic Experts Group, after the scientists and
mathematicians who thought up the idea).
 JPG is known as a "lossy" compression because, when

photographs are squeezed this way, some information is


lost and can never be restored.
 High-resolution JPGs use lots of memory space and look

very clear; low resolution JPGs use much less space and
look more blurred.
 Most digital cameras have settings that let you take pictures

at higher or lower resolutions.


 If you select high-resolution, the camera can store fewer

images on its memory card but they are much better quality.
 If you opt for low-resolution and you will get more images,

but the quality won't be as good. Low-resolution images are


stored with greater compression.
Next topic:
Lenses and Focal Length

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