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5
KEY DSLR CAMERA SETTINGS
What
is the best shutter speed for ... what is the best Aperture
for ... what is the best
ISO for ... what is the best White Ballence for
... Sports, Landscape, Portraits?
Setting
# 1 is "M"
for Manual
This
setting is found on your picture mode dial indicated
by an "M". By selecting this setting you are
telling your camera, I am in charge. You will be able to set
the speed you desire to track moving objects, adjust your aperture
for depth of field control. The manual setting also allows you
to play with lighting for great silhouette shots, or lighten
subjects that might otherwise be a silhouette against a bright
background. Once you get use to shooting in Manual you will
see why most professional cameras don't include fully automatic
settings. When shooting in manual pay attention to the light
meter seen in your viewfinder, or on your setting screen. Some
cameras are adjusted to expose about an f stop low. In manual
you can adjust that stop to +1 for a better exposure. Experiment
with it. It's great to be free to shoot the way you want.
Setting
# 2
is "S", or "Tv"
for Shutter Speed
Your
shutter speed is also very important. If your shutter speed
is too slow (for the lens mounted) you get out-of-focus pictures.
If you are shooting a stream with a waterfall at a slow shutter
speeds (on a tripod) you get a milky soft motion feel, increase
the shutter speed much higher and you get sharp motion detail.
It is difficult to capture clean images of fast moving objects
without high shutter speeds. For slow moving, or still subjects
I recommend a shutter speed of 1.5 times you lenses focal length,
and three times that for faster moving human objects. For moving
cars, boats and fast moving animals you need to shoot with speeds
as fast as your camera will allow under the available light.
Different brands of cameras use different dials to control shutter
speeds. Canon uses the main dial by the shutter button. Nikon
uses a dial on the camera back.
Setting
# 3
is "A", or "Av" for Aperture
Priority
Aperture
priority allows your lens to control the amount of light that
registers on your cameras sensor. A small number f stop (f1.2,
f2, f2.8) allows more light to pass through your lens. This
makes it possible to shoot at faster shutter speeds in lower
light. Because small number f stops reduces your depth of field
it is also good for portrait shooting where you want to blur
out backgrounds. A larger f stop (f6+) is useful in brighter
shooting conditions, or where you need to restrict light and
increase your depth of field (products, landscapes, cars, architectural,
etc.). Aperture is used in conjunction with shutter speed in
most shooting conditions. Your lens f stop becomes very important
as faster lenses f1.2- f2.8 can offer more latitude in Aperture
and shutter speed. To set the aperture on a Canon DSLR you need
to make sure the on/off switch is turned to the line that points
to the quick control dial (on the back). Then use the back dial
to scroll to the desired f stop number. Nikon is simpler as
they use the main control dial near the shutter button.
Setting
# 4
is "ISO" for Light Sensitivity
ISO
is the holy grail of photography tools. It adjusts how sensitive
to light your sensor will be. Low number sensitivities (ISO
100 to 200) result in creamy smooth pictures with little, to
no sensor noise. In many new DSLR cameras you can push the ISO
number to 800, or even 1,600 before you notice a significant
amount of sensor noise. As the shooting conditions get darker
you can use higher ISO settings. This allows you to shoot handheld
at higher shutter speeds. On most newer digital cameras you
set your ISO by pushing the designated ISO button and then using
your control dial to increase, or decrease sensitivity to a
desired number. I usually keep my ISO set at 200 for outdoors,
400 for well lit indoors scenes, 800-1600 for indoor sporting
events, etc. Pro-sumer and professional cameras are designed
to shoot at higher ISO levels, so if you are using a consumer
digital camera try to keep your ISO no higher than 800.
Setting
# 5 is
"WB" for White Balance
White balance controls the colorcast that different types of
lighting have on a digital cameras sensor. AWB, or Auto White
Balance does a pretty good job in most natural light situations.
The camera has settings for the most common lighting conditions,
including flash (represented by a lightning bolt) cloudy day,
shade, sunlight, florescent lighting, incandescent light, etc.
Each type of lighting is represented by a symbol so it is easy
to find the right setting and make adjustments in changing lighting
conditions. Many digital cameras now offer custom white balance
settings. These settings can be found by pressing on your menu
button and scrolling to the Custom WB listing. Each camera manufacturer
has their own way of handling custom White Balance so I will
just refer you to your camera's user manual.
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