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Chapter 12: Taking Great Pictures
Microsoft Digital Image Standard User’s Manual
Using Your Camera’s Manual Settings
In today’s camera marketplace, the lines between manual and automatic cam-
eras have become blurred. It used to be that manual cameras were 35mm SLR
(single-lens reflex) cameras with manual controls for focusing, aperture, shutter
speed, and film speed. On the other end of the spectrum were fully automatic
cameras with very limited controls, possibly only a shutter button.
For serious camera users, the manual SLR cameras were usually the best
option, since they offered so much control. The creative process was not left to
the automatic settings of a camera. Automatic point-and-shoot cameras were
good for novice photographers who didn’t want to worry about setting the cam
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era controls. Many automatic cameras could produce adequate or even excellent
photos without requiring knowledge of advanced photography concepts.
While you can still find fully automatic and fully manual cameras, many of
today’s cameras offer different modes for different degrees of automatic and
manual control. For example, some SLR film cameras let you switch to an auto
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matic mode where the camera determines everything from focusing to setting
the aperture. Many compact digital cameras are designed to be used primarily
in automatic mode, but also allow you to switch to program and manual modes
to control exposure settings, like shutter speed and aperture.
With digital cameras, the adjustments that you make are often digital approxi
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mations of the equivalent function in film cameras, as with shutter speed or
ISO. But the photographic result is the same. The following sections provide an
overview of the most important manual camera settings and concepts.
Exposure
Exposure describes the amount of light that comes into your camera when you
take a picture. Setting the camera to the correct exposure is crucial to getting
the proper tones and colors in your pictures. Overexposure occurs when too
much light has reached the image sensor (or film in a film camera), which
decreases detail and causes the photo to look washed out. Underexposure
occurs when insufficient light has been let into the camera, and the picture
looks dim and murky.
Exposure is controlled by three factors: the aperture, the shutter speed, and the
ISO rating. Aperture is the size of the opening that lets light into the camera.
Shutter speed is how long light is allowed into the camera. ISO rating (the film
speed in a film camera) is the sensor or film’s sensitivity to light.