AS G321: Introduction to the DSLR

In this blog post I am going to list some of the main features of a Canon 500D camera that we discussed in lesson, as this is the type of DSLR I will be using for the Preliminary Task. 

DSLR is short for Digital Single Lens Reflex and it basically means a camera with one lens and a mirror which reflects the light, where pictures are recorded on a digital card instead of film. 

When I begin my Preliminary Task I will start by having the camera setting on automatic, I will carry this out by:
- Setting the dial to the green automatic mode. 
- The lense being set to AF (Auto-focus) rather than MF (Manual-focus).
- Pushing the shutter button down therefore, the camera will auto-focus manually. 
- Pushing the button down all the way to take a picture. 

Exposure

• The amount of light a digital camera's sensor captures when a photo is taken.
• Overexposed - Too much light. 

This image is overexposed as the leaves are unclear due to the highly illuminated areas.

• Underexposed - Too little light. 

The exposure is clearly very low as this image of a street is very dark.

• Aperture, ISO and shutter speed directly affect exposure. 

Aperture

• Controls the size of the lens opening that allows light into your camera. 
• Blur the foreground/background and bracket your subject (known as depth of field) by opening up the aperture with a low f-stop number. 

The bike is clearly visible however, the background has been blurred. 

• Alternatively, you can keep your photo sharp from the foreground through to the background (known as wide depth of field) by closing the aperture down with a high f-stop number. 

This image has a wide depth of field as the streets in the background are clear and sharp and not blurred out.

Shutter Speed

• Controls how long the shutter opens to expose the image sensor to that light. 
• When it opens quickly, it freezes a fast moving subject. 

This image has been frozen so that this specific shot can be taken.

• When it is open for longer it shows a fast moving subject for a longer period of time.

This image clearly shows that the car was moving very fast therefore, is represented like so.

ISO

• Higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor will be and the brighter the image will be. 
• Lower the ISO, the less light it's going to bring in, and the image is going to appear darker. 
• High ISO will cause graininess.