The basics of the camera

When I started shooting, this camera had 2 settings, aperture and shutter speed. Two? Yes, only two. What about the ISO you may ask? If you then bought a 35mm roll, you determined the ISO value at that time. The usual was 100, 200 and 400. Of course, there were exceptions, but you didn’t see them often in the regular store. You had to set this ISO value on the button with which you also set the shutter speed. In this blog, I want to tell you what you need to know to understand the basics of the camera and thus take better photos. That is why I wrote the blog “Photography for beginners”.

The ISO and why this choice is important.

Simply put, if you have more light, the ISO number can get smaller. At the current time, there are many more options and you can determine which ISO number is best while taking the photo. Experiment by keeping shutter speed and aperture the same and changing the ISO number under the same lighting conditions. And then do this during the day and at night when it is dark. In addition to the fact that the photo becomes lighter or darker, the higher the ISO number you choose, the more noise you will notice.

With an analog film, as the old-fashioned roll of film is also called, a larger grain can be seen at a higher ISO number. You can imitate this again in post-processing with, for example, lightroom. Before you start experimenting, set the camera to the M position so that you have total control over the settings. The ISO goes from 50 to 25600 (the min and max depend on the camera).

The shutter speed

To be able to take a photo you will have to capture the light in some way. Formerly on the light-sensitive film and nowadays on a light-sensitive sensor. There is a curtain in front of the sensor, which you open by pressing the print button for the duration that you have set with the shutter speed. You thus determine the duration of the light that falls on the sensor. The shutter speed ranges from 30 sec to 1/4000 sec.

In summary, we can state the following:

• The sensitivity of the sensor (ISO
• The length of time the light strikes the sensor (shutter speed)
• The amount of light falling on the sensor (Aperture)

The exposure triangle

Some explanation about this exposure triangle is necessary. Just as the number of degrees of the three corners of a triangle is always the same, you can also see the proportions of the exposure settings. If you change one you will also have to change 1 or 2 of the others. Of course, changing the settings affects the recording. For example, a higher ISO will generate more noise, a different aperture will have consequences for the depth of field, for example, a lower shutter speed can result in motion blur.

Camera modes

In general, we can say that the camera has the following settings:

• Fully automatic
  • Usually, only jpg is possible and the camera sets everything for you
• Program
  • Looks automatic only you can also work with this in raw
• Shutter priority
  • Here you set the shutter speed and the camera does the rest
• Aperture priority
  • Here you set the aperture and the camera does the rest
• Manual
  • Total control over the settings

Often also some program positions
Pre-programmed modes such as sports, night, etc.
To understand what you can do with all those modes, it is important to first understand the manual mode and learn to work with it. All other modes are there to make life simpler. To understand this, let’s take a closer look at the three parts of the exposure triangle.

To understand what you can do with all those modes, it is important to first understand the manual mode and learn to work with it. All other modes are there to make life simpler. To understand this, let’s take a closer look at the three parts of the exposure triangle. 

ISO

ISO – ASA – DIN => Designations formerly used to indicate light sensitivity. Today ISO is the only one left.

In those days it was a carrier (glass and later celluloid) with a chemical on it. To change the sensitivity, the chemical composition of the substance had to change. The first photographers had this knowledge, but when photography went on to roll, photography became available to a wider audience. The aforementioned names indicated the sensitivity of the film with a number.

A lot has changed in photography since then but digital photography has revolutionized it and now it is available in all shapes and sizes.

The celluloid has made way for a light-sensitive chip. That’s all. But that too has limits. For starters, there are different sizes in those chips. Each type of camera has its own sensor size.

We distinguish the following types of sensors:

• Full frame (36mm X 24mm) (Also called 35mm)
• APS-H (28.7mm X 19mm)
• APS-C (23.6mm X 15.8mm)
• Four Thirds (17.3mm X 13mm)
• CX-format (1 inch)
• 1/1.7inch (7.6mmX5.7mm)
• 1/2.5 inch (5.76mm X 4.29mm)

How sensitive the sensor depends on the specification of the sensor.

The ISO usually goes from 50 to 25600 (the min and max depend on the camera). Where 50 is the least sensitive but has the least noise and 25600 is the most sensitive to light but has the most noise. Despite the fact that the cameras are getting better and better, it is preferable to keep this value as low as possible.

Noise is what used to give that nice grain. This can still be reproduced through post-processing.

The shutter speed

To be able to take a photo you will have to capture the light in some way. Formerly on the light-sensitive film and nowadays on a light-sensitive sensor.

There is a curtain in front of the sensor, which you open by pressing the print button for the duration that you have set with the shutter speed. A shutter is needed to allow light to hit the sensor. Without going too deeply into it, this is a curtain (actually 2) that opens and closes for a short time. The time it takes to stay open is called the shutter speed. In short, the time for how long the sensor is exposed. You thus determine the duration of the light that falls on the sensor. The shutter speed ranges from 30 sec to 1/4000 sec.

As a rule, it is used for a short time for fast actions but usually gives a sharp subject. Longer time is usually used for quieter shots, where the subject and background are often sharp. This event is also called depth of field (depth of focus).

The diaphragm.

Unlike the shutter, the diaphragm is inside the lens. There are eight slats that are placed on top of each other in a kind of circle. When you look through the lens, they form an octagonal opening that you can make larger or smaller by changing the aperture number. This setting determines the amount of light that hits the sensor. A small number is a large opening and a large number is a small opening. The aperture values range from 1.2 (largest aperture) to 32 (smallest aperture.

What now?

Do you now know enough to take the top photos you want? Yes and no, if this is enough for you then it’s ok, and experiment with all the settings. Which I can certainly recommend. But if you want to go more and deeper into photography and post-processing, it is a good plan to follow courses.

This can be done through sources such as YouTube, but Photofactsacademy has been very helpful to me. There are more than 100 different courses taught by 40 different teachers. You can try it out for free for the first 14 days to see if it’s something for you and after that, the price depends on the chosen package. Whatever you do, I wish you lots of photo fun and beautiful pictures and hope the blog “Photography for beginners” was able to help you on your way!