Basic Camera Controls

EXPOSURE

Shutter speed and aperture combine to help you allow the correct amount of light to enter your camera, known as “exposure”. It is very much like filling up a glass of water. You could let the water trickle in for a long time, or you could pour it in very quickly. Shutter speed is like how long the water runs for, and the aperture is like how hard the water is running. A third variable - ISO - controls your camera sensor’s light sensitivity.

A. Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second according to how long the shutter is open for. A shutter speed of 60 means the shutter is open for 1/60 of a second. The longer the shutter is open, the more light enters the camera. Faster shutter speeds (1/250 - 1/1000) will be help you stop action. Slower shutter speeds (1/15 - 1sec) will allow more blur of motion. Because of this, you shouldn’t hand hold your camera at shutter speeds lower than 1/60. Otherwise you will likely produce a blurry image, one having “camera shake.” SLOWER (More Blur) FASTER (Stops Action) 1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/15 1/30 1/60 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000

B. Apature

Aperture describes the size of the iris inside your lens. The lower the number, the larger the iris is. Also, the larger the aperture is, the more light enters the camera. Higher numbers mean a small opening, and less light. Aperture is used to compensate for the changing of light due to faster or slower shutter speeds. In other words, a faster shutter speed (less light) will require a larger aperture (more light) and vice verse. But aperture also has an effect on the amount of focus in your scene, or the “depth of field.” The higher the f-number (f11, f16, f22), the more of the scene will be in focus. Lower f-numbers will reduce the amount of focus in your scene leaving just the critical plane of focus. Often with digital cameras the range of f-stops is very limited (2.8-8). MORE LIGHT (Shallower Focus) LESS LIGHT (Deeper Focus) 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22

C. ISO

ISO is a number to indicate the sensitivity or “speed” of the sensor chip recording your image. The higher the number, the more sensitive (or “faster”) the sensor is, and therefore the less light it requires to make an adequate exposure. A sensor at 100 will need twice as much light to make the same exposure than at 200. In lower light situations you will find it easier to get a decent shutter speed by setting the ISO higher, however the higher it goes the more “noise” or graininess you’ll get. Try to keep the ISO as low as you can get away with, still getting shutter speeds of 1/30 or higher. SLOWER (LESS “GRAIN”) FASTER (MORE “GRAIN”) 50 100 200 400 800 1600