Know Your Digital SLR Camera

Today, digital SLR cameras are very common gadget which people are using. The main reason why people are buying more and more DSLR is just because they have come down into the consumer price range. But, many users don’t know the proper functioning of digital SLRs and they start using it on auto mode. No doubt, you will surely get some good photographs’ shooting in auto mode, but it will limit the camera’s creativity to click amazing pictures.

Switching from auto to manual mode will open up a bundle of opportunities, such as shooting fast moving objects, shooting in different lighting conditions, creating a soft blurry background, the list is never-ending. Moreover, the camera has a lot of settings, like ISO, depth of field, white balance, aperture, shutter speed, and much more. Don’t worry, this tutorial is designed for this purpose only. It’s intended to be a brief and specific one-stop shop to help you take your camera off auto mode. This tutorial will guide you through the most common settings DSLRs have, and explain you how to use one. So let’s begin:

Shooting mode: This is the best option to start with. This mode will be found on the dial, labelled with four settings, i.e. aperture, shutter, program and manual. These are the most important functions of a DSLR. Below, is the brief of each:

Aperture Priority (Av or A): It is the size of the opening of the lens through which light is allowed to pass and helps to define how much light is being let in. Lenses with larger apertures can capture more light. The size and range of a lens aperture will be represented by numbers such as f22 (f/22), f16 (f/16), f/11, f/8.0, f/5.6, f/4.0, f/2.8, f/2.0, f/1.8, etc. A lower aperture number such as f/1.8 means there is more light flooding into the lens sensor. On the other hand, a higher aperture number such as f/22 or f/16 uses less light. The larger the range of the aperture, the bigger the lens will be.

Shutter Priority (Tv or S): Shutter priority stands for the duration a camera shutter is open to allow light into the lens sensor. It is measured in seconds or more often in fractions of a second. The longer the shutter will be open, more light enters into the camera sensor. It is the most important setting to get right in shooting fast moving subject, such as action or wildlife or shooting sports. If the shutter priority isn’t set fast enough, then the clicked images will come out too blurry.

Program (P): Also known as flexible program mode, is an advanced semi-automatic exposure mode that adjusts both the shutter speed and the aperture to deliver the best exposure for the subject you're shooting.

Manual (M): It is exactly the same as its name and gives you the full control over the exposure judgement. It sets the aperture and shutter speed itself.

ISO: It measures the sensitivity of the camera sensor to the light.  It is represented numerically from ISO 100, which is the lowest sensitivity up to ISO 6400, which is the highest sensitivity and controls the amount of light required by the sensor. At low ISO, more light is required to accomplish a given exposure. At high ISO, the less light is required to achieve the same exposure.

Auto exposure bracketing: This feature is best to use when you’re facing trouble in finding out which level of exposure to use or when you’re trying to shoot a high-dynamic range photo. All DSLRs judge the level of exposure by taking three photos — one at the current exposure, one underexposed and one overexposed.

White balance: In photography, it is related to the quality of light. It is an important setting of eliminating unrealistic or unwanted colors from the image. All the DSLRs have options this option, but users usually set the camera in the auto white balance mode. This means, when a camera captures an image, it estimates the color contrasts in the scene to find out the temperature of the light.

Depth of field: In cases where you want to focus on one point or aspect and want to blur out everything else, you can use the depth-of-field mode to help you make sure that your DSLR is going to capture the image the way you want it to be captured.

Exposure compensation: If some of your photos come out too light or too dark, or that they seem flat, colourless and demand for contrast, you can use exposure compensation setting to adjust the lighting condition into your camera.

So this is a brief of the different settings you will see when you want to take your camera off the auto mode. You certainly don’t need to use them all at once, but understanding and exploring the function of each setting will soon give you full control of your DSLR. The most noticeable and astonishing function you will find, once you start using shutter speed mode and aperture priority shooting mode. As you start using these modes frequently, you would love to explore them further.

We hope after reading this tutorial, you will no longer think of your DSLR as an unknown gadget, and will be able to achieve the amazing photographic results.

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