Davis - Photography: DSLR photography made easy

DSLR

Copyright 2015 by Fred Davis - All rights reserved.

This document is geared towards providing exact and reliable information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary, legal or professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered.

- From a Declaration of Principles which was accepted and approved equally by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.

In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

The information provided herein is stated to be truthful and consistent, in that any liability, in terms of inattention or otherwise, by any usage or abuse of any policies, processes, or directions contained within is the solitary and utter responsibility of the recipient reader. Under no circumstances will any legal responsibility or blame be held against the publisher for any reparation, damages, or monetary loss due to the information herein, either directly or indirectly.

Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

The information herein is offered for informational purposes solely, and is universal as so. The presentation of the information is without contract or any type of guarantee assurance.

The trademarks that are used are without any consent, and the publication of the trademark is without permission or backing by the trademark owner. All trademarks and brands within this book are for clarifying purposes only and are the owned by the owners themselves, not affiliated with this document.

Tip #1: What is a DSLR camera?

Here are the major components:

1. Lens
2. Reflex mirror
3. Shutter
4. Image sensor
5. Matte focusing screen
6. Condenser lens
7. Pentaprism
8. Eyepiece/Viewfinder

Tip #2: How does it work?

Basically, the scene that you are taking a picture of passes through the lens as light into a reflex mirror (#2 from the graph from tip #1), which forwards the light vertically to the optical element called pentaprism (#7). The role of the pentaprism is to convert the vertical light into horizontal by redirecting the light into two separate mirrors ( the viewfinder ). As soon as you take the picture, the reflex mirror (#2) swings upward and this blocks the vertical pathway. This lets the light directly through. As soon as this is done, the shutter (#3) opens up to let the light hit the image sensor (#4). The ways it works is that the shutter (#3) stays open until the light reaches the image sensor (#4). After that, the shutter closes and the reflex mirror (#2) comes back to the 45 degree angle. I know I know...All of this is really complicated but I wanted to explain it to you before we get into actual useful information.

Tip #3: What brand should you buy?

Even if you gave me the best drawing tools available on the market, I would still be terrible. The fact is, it is not only about the tools. You have to know how to use the tools. If you are new to this, even if someone would give you the best camera in the world, probably a professional could take better pictures than you with an average camera. Of course the quality of the camera matters, but learn how to use it too. This is ultimately what matters the most. You cant really go wrong with Canon or Nikon. There are a few things that matters a lot: the sensor size, dynamic range, depth field, viewing angles...

Tip #4: Understanding ISO

What is ISO? Camera ISO is one of the three pillars of photography (with Aperture and Shutter speed). Basically, ISO is the level of sensitivity of your camera to available light. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive the camera is to the light. The higher the ISO, the more your camera is sensitive to the light. Every camera has what is called an Image sensor with which you can change the ISO.

The image sensor is probably the most important component of your camera as it is what gather the light and converts it into an image. When you increase the ISO of your camera, your sensor will be able to capture images in low light environments much better (often without a flash). The only downside with a higher sensitivity is that it adds noise to the picture. That being said, pretty much every camera has what is called Base ISO, which is the lowest ISO number of the sensor that will produce the highest quality of image, without adding any noise to the picture. To take high quality picture, select the base ISO. The only time you should put a higher ISO is in a low light environment.

Tip #5: Understanding Aperture