What is a camera?

What is a camera?

Cameras come in many shapes and sizes, the first "camera" was invented 100s of years ago and named The Camera Obscura. This camera did not record an image like film or digital cameras, it worked like a pinhole camera by projecting an image onto a viewing plate where an artist would trace over. 

The next generation of cameras were fixed image cameras where the image is recorded. the first successful image was made by Nicephore Niepce in around 1816, the image was recorded onto paper coated in silver chloride, this paper darkened when exposed but this made the image only temporary which would be no use in most applications. bitumen was then used with this camera and the exposed areas would harden then unexposed areas dissolve away, leaving an image behind

Within the time between this and film, dry plates were most commonly used in multiple designs which were like prototypes such as field cameras, disguised cameras and twin lens cameras which were used for a while.

The TLR stood for "Twin Lens Reflex" one lens was used for focusing and viewing your image through a viewfinder and the other for capturing the image onto a dry plate.

The invention of film brought cameras to life and really kick-started the image-recording revolution. George Eastman pioneered the paper film, his first camera which he called the well known "Kodak" was first sold in 1888. the camera was a single lens with fixed focus and one shutter speed! the Kodak came pre-loaded with 100 film and once used it had to be sent back to the factory for resetting and enveloping. this camera was the first "automatic camera" as the slogan for sale of the Kodak was "you press the button and we do the rest."


So, now that film has been introduced into the world, out comes the new line of film single lens reflexes (SLRs). Manufacturers from all around the world such as Olympus, Pentax, Canon and Nikon started mass producing these film slrs with new lenses due to the high demand from this new craze. 













So, the film era is making a killing as millions of people own a new SLR camera. But what's this? A new camera which can focus its self! Nikon realised that manual focus was both slow and inaccurate, therefore they created the Nikon F3AF, this was still a film camera but performed like our digital SLRs today and is similar in terms of design.

This then started a new manufacturing innovation when companies such as canon and Nikon started manufacturing Digital cameras where it auto-focuses and has a screen where you can see your images without processing! This was a big event in camera history and this event soon developed with hundreds of different types of cameras now, from PRO DSLRs all the way down to phone cameras. 

Now we have millions of cameras around the world and over 80% of all images uploaded to Facebook were taken on a smartphone! What will the future of digital imagery hold?

Shutter Speeds

Shutter speed means the duration of time that the cameras shutter is held open for, this is measured in fractions of a second such as 1/200th , all the way down to seconds such as 1”. The cameras shutter is located behind the mirror but just in-front of the sensor, the shutter also protects the sensor when its not in use.

Shutter speed changes the way movement is recorded in the camera. It also changes the amount of light entering the sensor. If you have a shutter speed of 1/4000th the subject will appear frozen as the light bouncing off the subject has not had time to change before the shutter has closed. Now, being able to freeze action is great but it does come with one flaw, light.

If the shutter is only left open for a very short duration of time then there isn’t enough time for light to be recorded and in situations such as a dark room, this is inadequate. If the shutter is left open for a long duration of time, then the light has time to change and movement is recorded. This movement can be the movement of people within a scene or can result in camera shake with shutter speeds below 1/50th. the best ways to reduce camera shake are:

1. Use a tripod! If you experience camera shake during long exposure photography then the most useful tool is a tripod. A good, sturdy tripod will last a long time.2. Monopod. If I tripod is too heavy or just not your thing, then a monopod is very useful for most things including sports or wildlife photography because they are mobile and usually quite light.3. Image stabiliser for Canon or Vibration reduction for Nikon lenses, this little switch on your camera is very useful and can sometimes allow you to go four stops lower in shutter speed than usual!4. If none of these methods are available to you, the general rule of thumb for handling a dslr is to keep to the same shutter speed as your focal length because as you zoom in, vibration and camera shake are magnified drastically. For example If you are shooting at 200mm, keep your shutter speed to 1/200th, if you are shooting at 50mm then you can go to 1/50th of a secondShutter speed can be used for cool effects such as light trails or movement in clouds and water to create a dreamy effect. So get out there and experiment with different shutter speeds to create different effects with you images.

0.5s

1/360th

1 Second

Aperture

Aperture

Aperture is the opening in the lens, created by a number of “blades” Aperture is measured in f/stops such as f/1.8 and f/32. When the aperture is set on the camera with a number such as f/1.8 the aperture diaphragm blades retract to leave a wide opening in the lens, this allows more light into the cameras sensor and also creates shallower depth of field. An aperture of f/32 makes the blades in the lens protract, this allows less light into the camera body and creates a deeper depth of field.

In these images I will demonstrate the use of depth of field within the photos by showing the same photo twice, one with a small aperture such as f/5.6 and one with an aperture of f/16 or above.

This was shot at f/5.0, not much of the image is in focus
(about 2cm either side of the focal point which is the 0cm)

Taken at f/16, more of the image is in focus
(atleast 6cm more in each direction)

Aperture

Depth of field can create great effect to your images and often make an image more pleasing to the eye. It is used in many applications, for example in a landscape you would not want the background to be blurred as the viewer will not be able to see the rest of the landscape, therefore you would use a deeper depth of field with an aperture of f/16 or higher. With portraits for example you would need to use an aperture of f/1.8 or somewhere around that value to create background blur and lure the viewer’s eye to the subject.

Depth of field is also altered in two other ways, one being the distance from you and the subject (the reason why macro photography tends to have minute depth of field!) The other variable is the focal length of your lens. As you are either closer or shooting at a longer focal length such as 200mm, the depth of field will decrease. If you are further away or shooting at a focal length which is short such as 18mm or a 10mm fisheye, your depth of field will incease.

 This diagram explains the hyperfocal distance simply, hyperfocal distance is basically  the distance either side of your focal point that is in focus. This varies with Aperture, Focal length and distance to subject. In the case of the diagram, distance to subject and focal length stay the same, the Aperture changes only.

ISO

ISO

ISO is the third exposure control in the triangle. It is used to increase or decrease the cameras sensitivity to light. If you are in a dark room or place and your camera is set to the settings that you want, such as if you were doing a concert and the aperture was at the lenses minimum and your shutter at 1/60th, if your exposure meter is still reading -2ev then you need to compensate for this by boosting the ISO! the boosted ISO will then even your exposure. 
If your exposure was under by 2 then increase your ISO by 2 increments to compensate.

ISO 3200

ISO 400

Raising the ISO is a great advantage because in the film days, you had a set standard of film such as 100, 200, 400, 800 and this caused a pain as you would not be able to change it. The huge disadvantage of raising your ISO is the quality degrades as you increase the value. A higher current passes through the sensor, this creates "noise" and the image will lose some colour and detail.

ISO is an extremely useful tool in the manual controls, it is useful when you have the settings you want such as shutter and aperture, then if the image is too dark, you can boost your ISO, but be careful and remember the effects.

A day in the life of college

College life. A new start, a change in scenery and fresh beginning.

Starting college for the first time is a pretty scary concept. The huge building and mass of students combined with the whole new prospect of making new friends and starting a totally new routine can be daunting to even the strongest of hearts.

So here I am stood in front of the shiny, modern front of York College, ready to start my new college life. Of course college comes with the perks such as NUS cards and new technology to play with alongside subjects that you have chosen to do because you enjoy them, not because some government education nut told you to.

Unfortunately it also comes with the downsides... The size of York College is an advantage in some scenarios, but not this one. In the morning I have to climb 8 flights of stairs to access my locker, I have to say that you don’t know the size of this place until you’re looking down at tiny little ants roaming the floor of the atrium!

That’s all my folders sorted for my lessons I have today and because we arrive quite early to college, there is a lot of time to kill before first lesson so we have chance to visit the canteen on the ground floor for a bacon and sausage sandwich, mmm… 

 

As the first week of college comes to a close and all my lessons are sorted out, the routine of getting up early and coming to college has seeped its way into my life and now claims its place where my no longer existent social life sat. Bring on the next two years York College!