This has given you a good introduction to the world of photography, however there are other important and fundamental camera functions and skills

THE DSLR CAMERA

Before we Begin For those of you who have studied photography the chances are that in most cases you have been using a digital compact camera. This has probably involved you turning the camera on and then going off to take photographs.

This has given you a good introduction to the world of photography, however there are other important and fundamental camera functions and skills that you must learn if you hope to reach your full potential as a photographer.

A sound understanding of how and what the camera functions do combined with the knowledge of what to use and when, plus an understanding about image composition will result in you producing very powerful and eye catching images.

There are no short cuts so lets start at the beginning.

The Digital SLR (DSLR) Camera DSLR s are generally not as robust as traditional film based cameras and for this reason alone you need to take additional care. They should never be handled roughly and all care should be taken to prevent them from being dropped. So 1. Where possible carry the camera in its bag. 2. When using the camera have the strap around you neck. 3. When using a tripod make sure the legs are secure and set up so that the camera is as level as possible.

Sensor Care The sensor is one of the most fragile components of the camera and is also the most expensive component to replace. It is important to know how to care for the sensor to prevent an expensive repair bill. 1. Don t go looking for it unless you really need to. 2. Avoid poking fingers or other objects in and around the front of the camera.

Sensor Care 1. Air born dust is the major cause for maintenance to be carried out to the sensor. 2. Sensors tend to build up a static charge and attract small dust particles. To remove them the sensor needs to be carefully cleaned. This is not a simple task and requires knowledge, care and specialized cleaning equipment.

Sensor Care To reduce the amount of dust that can enter the camera 1. Limit the amount of times that you need to change lenses. 2. When changing lenses face the camera down towards the ground. 3. Never leave the camera body uncapped. Always have a lense or body cap in place.

The DSLR Camera Basic Parts

View Finder Exposure Compensation and Aperture Value Button Mode Dial Flash Hot Shoe Popup Flash Lens Zoom Adjustment Shutter Release Button/ On/Off Button Depth of Field Preview Button Lens Release Button Focus Adjustment

Raw Button Changes the file format temporarily to Raw and saves both Jpeg and RAW files Mode Dial Manual Focus /Auto Focus Switch

View Finder Diopter Adjustment Lever E-dial Adjusts Shutter Speed, Aperture and Exposure Value Compensation Menu Button Shutter Speed Dial Shutter Play Back Button Function Button Shake Reduction Button

Before We Begin Taking Photographs Before you even consider taking photographs you need to setup the camera by setting up the a. ISO b. White Balance c. Motor Drive Options d. Popup flash Options e. Image Quality Setting f. Install the batteries and the SD media card You may also need to format the SD card to make sure you have room for your images

The Function (Fn) Button The ISO, White Balance, Motor Drive and Flash options can all be adjusted using the Fn button on the back of the camera.

The Function (Fn) Button To adjust press the Fn button, select your options using the arrow keys and once you are happy with your choices press OK Arrow Keys Fn

ISO (International Standards Organisation) The DSLR has the ability to have the sensitivity of the image sensor adjusted. The major advantage is that you can adjust it as often as you need to depending on the lighting conditions etc. This is a great feature to be aware of and make use of. ISO settings on most digital cameras range from 200iso to 1600 or 3400iso.

ISO The higher the ISO the better the sensor is at capturing images in lower light. The trade off is an increase in noise (a multi coloured pixel effect). This is most obvious when the image is enlarged and it is not always desirable.

White Balance You need to select the White Balance for the type of lighting that you will be taking photographs in. If you are in any doubt select AWB (Auto White Balance)

Motor Drive Motor Drive options range from single frame, continuous shooting, time exposures, bracketed exposures and more. In most cases the single frame option will be most desirable

Flash Options There are a number of flash options that control the popup flash and accessory flashes. My preference is to turn off the auto flash option and make the decision to use the flash myself and manually raise the flash.

SD Cards SD Cards are fitting in the side of the camera. You need to make sure that the card is not locked or camera will not be able to write the image files to it.

The Menu Button To format the SD card you need to enter the camera menu settings and follow the path to the format option. Most of the time the image quality will be preset for you at the highest Jpeg option so you will not need to change this. Menu

What Comes Next Now that the camera is setup we can move on and look at the important parts of the camera that control image exposure, depth of field, focus and the overall way that your image will look.

So what happens when you take a photograph? At the moment that you press the shutter release button a series of events occur inside of the camera that ultimately result in an image being recorded. The mirror lifts, the aperture closes to the chosen settings and the shutter opens. At the end of the exposure time the actions take place in reverse.

The basic operation of a digital SLR camera are the same as a film SLR camera. The major difference is that the film is replaced with an electronic sensor to capture the image. 1. Lens Optics 2. Mirror 3. Focal Plane Shutter 4. CCD Sensor 5. Focussing Screen 6. Condensing Lens 7. Pentaprism 8. Eye Piece

How Much Light Does the image sensor (CCD) Need? To produce a correctly exposed image, a measured amount of light is required to reach the cameras CCD sensor. Modern day cameras are designed to help us achieve this, by telling us when the settings we have chosen will create the correct exposure. However they do not take into account what we are photographing or when we are photographing. The information may be correct to expose the image properly but it may be the wrong information for what we are trying to photograph.

Now Lets begin to look at how these controls work with one another to let us take photographs

Iris Diaphragm The iris diaphragm is located inside of the lens and it is made up of a series of overlapping metal or plastic leaves that together create an opening called an aperture. The aperture controls the volume of light that is allowed to reach the CCD / film.

Iris Diaphragm On older style lenses the size of the aperture can be adjusted by turning the aperture control ring to let more or less light pass through, in a similar way to the pupil in the human eye. Most modern cameras have control wheels on the camera body that can adjust the aperture settings, making the process a little easier and as a result new lenses no longer are fitted with aperture control rings.

Iris Diaphragm Controls the size of the aperture opening

Iris Diaphragm To assist the photographer a universal series of numbers is used to define the size of the aperture opening. These are known as f numbers or f- stops. The number sequence runs as follows 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32 It will be important that you become familiar with the number sequence and understand what the relationship between the number and the size of the aperture opening.

Iris Diaphragm and Aperture So how do they work and what do they do? The bigger the aperture opening the lower the f-number and the smaller the aperture opening the greater the f-number. The bigger the aperture opening, the greater the amount of light that can pass through.

F- Stop Settings f22 f16 f8 These are the typical settings seen on the lens aperture ring of a standard lens. f5.6 f3.5

Note the difference between the standard lens (on the right) and the newer lense design (on the left) No aperture ring on the newer lense. Rather than manually adjust the aperture we can now use the camera controls. Note that the aperture ring needs to be locked into the A position when using it on a DSLR

To correctly expose an image, a combination of an aperture setting and a shutter speed must be correctly selected. We are going to use some of the cameras technology to assist us to make the correct choices. You must then check that the image is in sharp focus before releasing the shutter

Adjusting Aperture Settings To adjust the Aperture settings the camera needs to be in the M mode (Manual) or Av mode (Aperture Value). Mode Dial E- Dial Note that the Aperture number selected will be underlined when you check settings inside of the viewfinder

Adjusting Aperture Settings in M (Manual) Mode To adjust the Aperture settings when the camera is in M mode (Manual) press the Av button near the shutter release hold it down whilst turning the E-Dial. The light meter will need to be set in this mode to achieve a correct exposure. Set to M Av Button E- Dial Note that the Aperture number selected will be underlined when you check settings inside of the viewfinder

Adjusting Aperture Settings in Av (Aperture Value) Mode To adjust the Aperture settings when the camera is in Av mode (Aperture Value) turn the mode dial to Av and then adjust the settings by turning the E-Dial. The camera will automatically set the light meter to produce a correct exposure. Set to Av E- Dial Note that the Aperture number selected will be underlined when you check settings inside of the viewfinder

Shutter Speed The Shutter Speed indicates the amount of time that the camera shutter will be allowed to stay open. The shutter works like a blind. When it is shut no light can reach the digital sensor (also known as the Charge-Coupled Device or CCD ). The shutter is a timing device that controls the amount of time that light is allowed to reach the CCD

The Shutter Speed The Shutter Speed Numbers are also a universal sequence and measure time in seconds or fractions of seconds. The sequence is as follows B(bulb), 1sec, ½, ¼, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000 So if the camera was set to 1/1000 (one thousandths of a second) you would need to take 1000 photographs to capture 1 second of time. This is also a sequence of number that you will need to become familiar with.

Adjusting Shutter Speed settings To adjust the Shutter Speed settings the camera needs to be in the M mode (Manual) or Tv mode (Time Value). You can then use the e-dial to make your shutter speed adjustments. Set to M or TV E- Dial Note that the Shutter Speed number selected will be underlined when you check settings inside of the viewfinder

Adjusting Shutter Speed settings in M (Manual) Mode To adjust the Shutter speeds when the camera is in M mode (Manual) you just need to use the E-Dial. Turning it left and right will increase or decrease the shutter speed. The light meter will need to be set in this mode to achieve a correct exposure. Set to M E- Dial Note that the Shutter Speed number selected will be underlined when you check settings inside of the viewfinder

Adjusting Shutter Speed settings in Tv (Time Value) Mode To adjust the Shutter speed settings when the camera is in Tv mode (Time Value) turn the mode dial to Tv and then adjust the settings by turning the E-Dial. The camera will automatically set the light meter to produce a correct exposure. Set to Tv E- Dial Note that the Shutter Speed number selected will be underlined when you check settings inside of the viewfinder

End of Part 1

Part 2

In part 1 we looked at the major camera parts, setting up the camera, aperture and shutter speed settings. We then explored some of the different modes on the camera and learnt how to use them. During part 2 we need to spent some time making some sense of the aperture and shutter speed settings, learn how and what to use and then practice.

How much light does the CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) need? There are many combinations of shutter speed and aperture setting that can be used that will produce a correct exposure. When one is found the camera light meter will let you know, or if you use the Av or Tv modes the camera will make some of the selections for you and try to automatically set the light meter.

This all sounds wonderful BUT!! Shhhhhhh!! Cameras are quite Dumb A Camera is just a machine. It does not have a logically thinking brain, therefore it is dumb. It is up to the photographer to interpret the information that the camera gives us and know what is right and wrong. Teaching you this is one of my key goals.

How much light does the CCD need? - continued Lets look at this concept using an everyday set of objects. A Tap, a hose and a bucket. CCD / Film

How much light does the CCD need? - continued The tap represents our timing device (the shutter). The various sized hoses, our apertures The bucket is the CCD / film. The aim is to fill the bucket exactly to the top. CCD / Film

So back to the question! How much light does CCD / film need? - continued Connect a big hose and it only takes a short time to fill the bucket. Connect a small hose and it takes much longer. It works the same way with any digital camera, or film camera. CCD / Film

How do we know when we get it right? Modern day cameras are fitted with a light measuring device called a light meter. There are various configurations but they all do the same job. The light meter indicates when your camera settings would achieve the correct exposure for the CCD / film. They also indicate when it would be incorrect.

Camera Light Meter - on the Pentax K100D and K200D Camera The light meter can be seen on the right hand side as you look through the camera when it is in (M) manual mode. The aim is to have it set to 0.0 for a correct exposure. It will not be visible in Tv or Av modes the camera will automatically try to produce a setting that achieves a correct exposure.

An incorrect exposure will be indicated by a number up to +3.0 or -3.0. If the exposure is out of range the light meter will flash on and off.

But What If?? The problems begin when either too much or too little light reaches the CCD. If too much light reaches the CCD the image it will be too bright. The term used to describe this is OVER EXPOSURE. It would be like over filling the bucket and the light meter would indicate this as follows. If too little light reaches the CCD the images will be too dark. The term used to describe this is UNDER EXPOSED. It would be like under filling the bucket and the light meter would indicate this as follows. CCD CCD

Getting It Right Getting the combination of Shutter Speed and Aperture Correct will allow you to produce the best results. The image will be neither too light or too dark and this makes the printing process much easier. Correctly exposed images are very desirable. CCD

It s Time to Practice Now lets practice using some combinations of Shutter Speeds and Aperture Settings to get a better understanding about what we have covered.

Multiple Combinations It is important to realize that there can be many combinations that will produce a correct exposure. Lets see how this works

Working Out the Combinations B (Bulb), 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 f32, f22, f16, f11, f8, f5.6, f4, f2.8, f2, f1.4 Lets say for example that you discover that a combination of 1/125 (shutter speed) and f8 (aperture) will produce a correct exposure. What other shutter speed and aperture combinations will also result in a correct exposure? Lets change the shutter speed and see what aperture settings will achieve this. 1/60 f11 1/8 1/500 1/30 1/125 1/1000 1/15 1/250

Knowing What to Use Although there can be many combinations of Aperture and Shutter Speed that will produce a correct exposure, some will not be suitable to use. Getting it wrong can ruin your great photographs.

Avoiding Camera Shake Whilst there are many combinations that will work for us, some would require us to use a tripod to avoid camera shake and others may be unsuitable for the type of subject that we are photographing. For example, the following three pictures have been given an equal amount of light, but the f-stop and shutter combinations make each one unique.

A Safe Shutter Speed Guide As a guide never use a shutter speed below 1/60 if you hand holding the camera. Where possible use Shutter Speeds higher than 1/60. 1/125 1/500 are ideal.

A Safe Shutter Speed Guide The ideal settings If you need to use shutter speeds below 1/60 always set the camera up on a tripod.

So Now What This isn t the end but it is now your turn to practice and begin to understand how to get the best from the camera. It is absolutely vital that you have a good working knowledge about how to use the camera using the M (manual) mode, the Tv (Time Value) mode and the Av (Aperture Value) mode.

Reviewing This Power Point You can review this power point at any time by visiting our web page and following the link on the first task sheet. It is located under - task 1 Camera and Printing Basics GOOD LUCK