Introduction to DSLR

In this blog post I will be listing some of the main features of a basic DSLR camera. I will be using a DSLR to film my preliminary task.

DSLR = Digital single lens reflux.

• 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.

Start with auto settings:

• Set the dial to the green automatic mode.
• Make sure the lens is set to AF (autofocus) and not MF (manual focus).
• Push shutter button halfway - camera will focus on the subject.
• Push the rest of the way down to take the picture.

3 primary camera settings:

ISO -

• The ISO is how sensitive your image sensor is to light. 
•  With the ISO setting a camera's image sensor can be adjusted to detect more, or less light needed for a good exposure.
• The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor will be, and the brighter the image will   be.
• The lower the ISO, the darker and less light there will be.
• Shooting in low light means you need to boost your ISO.
• Shooting in bright light means you need to lower your ISO.

Shutter speed -

• The shutter speed setting controls how long the shutter opens to expose the image sensor to the light.
• Open it for just a millisecond and you can freeze a fast moving object.
• Alternatively, you can show the movement of a fast moving object by keeping the shutter open longer with a slow shutter speed.

Aperture -

• The aperture setting controls the size of the lens opening that allows light into your camera.
• You can blur the foreground and background that bracket your subject (this is known as a shallow depth of field) by closing the aperture down with a high f-stop number.
• Alternatively, you can keep your photo sharp from the foreground through to the background (this is known as a wide depth of field) by closing the aperture down with a high f-stop number.

Exposure:

• Exposure is the amount of light a digital camera's sensor captures when a photo is taken.
• Too much light and the picture will be washed out, also known as overexposed.
• Too little light and the picture will be too dark, also known as underexposed.
• Exposure is affected by aperture, shutter speed and ISO.