In need of technical camera assistance!

Question

Can someone please suggest to me an easy-to-understand manual, book, or website to help me get a handle on things like f-stops, ISO, etc.? I have troubs keeping all that stuff straight in my head. What I need is "Technical Camera Lingo for Dummies."

I shoot w/ a Nikon D40 camera...

Answer 1

"How Digital Photography Works, Second Edition" Ron White

"Hands-On Digital Photography" George Schaub

Magic Lantern Guides - Nikon D40 DVD. Should be available at Amazon or Circuit City.

Answer 2

F-Stops

F-stops are technically called Aperture Settings. On your cameras, most will have a manual setting for Aperture or a letter "A". This setting controls the inner window in the camera by either making it WIDER or NARROWER. The term F-Stop is referred to the F number. They can range from an F4 to an F22, though some cameras will have lower F numbers and some will have slightly higher. This is where it can become confusing because the average person would assume that the larger number would mean a wider opening. It is in actuality reversed!

The Aperture setting controls the amount of light that is being allowed into the camera lens, as well as control depth of field. An F4, for example, will mean that the window will be open very wide..think of a toilet paper roll. When you look at the roll thru the opening..that is pretty big ! Now the extreme other side is an F22..that is a very narrow tight opening..think of a straw. So in comparison with those two extremes..the amount of light coming in from the toilet paper roll compared to the straw is a big difference. So in essence, an F4 would be used when photographing in a dark setting because we would need the wider to let the most light in. And an F22 would be used when photographing in a bright setting because we need the narrower to let the least light in.

Depth of Field is another aspect and control that Fstops (Aperture) have. The higher the Fstop number..the more your image will be in clear focus (ex. F16,F22,F32) The lower the number..your foreground will be in focus but your background will be slightly out of focus (ex. F8, F5, F4).

So for example..you are taking a shot of a model standing in front of a busy street corner. You goal is to make this person stand out..you wouldnt want the background of a busy street corner to take away from your model...so you set your Fstop between an F5 - F8 and your model (foreground) will be clear and more in focus..and the busy street (background) will be slightly out of focus..therefore pointing attention to the model. This technique of Depth of Field is a way for you to control where the focal point of the image is as well as give a sense of depth to the viewer.

Shutter

Most cameras with a manual setting will have a certain amount of shutter control. On your cameras, most will have a Shutter setting as a "S". The shutter on the camera is meant to control how FAST that inner window we spoke about OPENS and CLOSES. What this does is controls how fast to capture the light..as oposed to Aperture which controls the amount being let in to hit the film. Shutter speeds range on some cameras from 1/30 (one thirdith of a second) to 1/2000 (one two thousandth of a second). Some cameras will be even slower at 1 second and some will be faster at 1/5000 (one five thousandth of a second) and some also have what is called BULB which is leaving the shutter open until you close it.

Shutter will also control movement .You can capture a freezing motion at high fast settings (ex 1/2000) or capture slow movement like those cotton candy looking waterfalls (ex under 1/15).

So for example..you want to take a picture of your cat jumping in the air...you would set your shutter speed manually to a fast speed..like 1/500 or 1/1000..as soon as the cat jumps..you hit the shutter button to take the picture. The window will open and shut at lightning speed to capture the freeze motion of the cat in the air. Please note: keep in mind some point and shoots have a shutter lag..which can really be bad..and you can not control your clarity of the subject..I suggest if you camera has a bad shutter lag..pleaseeeeeee get a new camera!!!

ISO

Before the digital age..and all we had was film cameras..we would head to the local store and buy film. 800,400, 200, and even 100. What those numbers mean are ISO film speeds. ISO or the older ASA term is basically a rating of sensitivity to light In film we bought 100/200 when we shot outdoors because of the bright light sensitivity..and we bought 800 for indoor for low light sensitivity. The higher numbers of like 800 or 400 is in lahman term what you would use at a concert, in the home, or any other darker lit areas. The lower numbers of like 200 or 100 you would use for the opposite brighter lit areas such as sunlight. Most digital cameras will have a menu option for you to manually set this speed! That is actually beneficial because say your at a concert and you shoot some shots..you set your ISO to 800 and take pictures..then when you go out the next day and you want to shoot your kids in the yard on that sunny day..you just switch the ISO to 100. With film cameras..you would have to waste the film in order to switch to a different roll!

Another point to remember with ISO film speed is graininess or as the digital world calls it, noise. Higher film speeds of 800 for instance will cause a higher amount of grain/noise on the image as opposed to lower film speeds of like 100 which will cause almost no grain/noise. That is why most black and white photographers who used film would shoot with under ISO 100 to get the cleanest image.

I hope by now you have at least noticed one thing about all three of these keys....they all have a control of light of some sort! Light is what makes the image! That is why cameras were called Light Boxes in the early days! All three of these elements control this light in different ways..but combined they aide in taking the perfect photo with the correct exposure and correct color.

Nice camera choice BTW! :)

Answer 3

You can save yourself a lot of grief and learning bad habits buy taking a beginning photo class at your local community college.  In one semester you will learn to control your camera ... eventually without having to think about ISO, shutter speed or f/stop and be able to spend more time being creative

Take a look in your local library for text books on photography and pick one or two that you find the easiest to understand .... then buy them and start on chapter one.

I agree, you have a fine camera that you will not outgrow for a many years.

Answer 4

f stops lower numer=more light let in

            higher number less light let in

100

200 for well lit conditions

400 works well indoors or out

800

1600 for low light conditons

shutter speeds- fast (1/250 and higher) to freeze action