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All Things Photography - Photography terms Category: Arts > Photography Date & country: 28/08/2013, USA Words: 193

Image Resolution
This relates to the number of pixels per unit length of image. E.g. pixels per inch, pixels per millimetre, or pixels wide etc..

Image Sensor
Digital cameras use an electronic image sensor (CCD or CMOS), to gather the image data, whereas a traditional camera exposes light to emulsion film,

Image Stabilization
(IS)

incredible 500% zooms
on some cameras, the images won't be really acceptable. The optical zoom gives much more clarity to an image.

Interlaced
This is the term used to describe an image sensor that gathers its data by first processing the odd lines, and then processing the even lines.

Intervalometer
(Or Interval Recording) Another term for Time Lapse Photography. You can capture an image or images at preset intervals automatically. Good quality remote releases have this function built in, meaning you don't have to stand around pressing the shutter every 5 or 10 seconds.

IR
Infra Red. This uses a beam of light that is invisible to us humans to either control a device without wires or as a method of transferring data from camera to computer (or printer) without cables. Some cameras also employ infrared in the auto focusing system.

JFIF
Also known as EXIF , this is a specific type of the JPG file. format.

JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is the name of the committee that designed the standard image compression algorithm. JPEG was designed for compressing full colour or grey scale digital images of natural scenes. It doesn't work so well with non-realistic images, such as cartoons however. JPEG does not handle the compression of black and whi...

JPEG - 2000
The new JPEG compression standard that may start to be used in digital cameras and software. It will feature higher compression with less image quality loss.

LCD
(Liquid Crystal Display). There are 2 types. First, a TFT high-resolution colour display device like a very small TV set. Secondly, a monochrome (B and W) information display using just black alphanumeric characters on a grey or green background.

LED
(Light Emitting Diode). This refers to all the little red, green and yellow indicator lights used on most cameras, power supplies and electronic devices.

Li-ion
(Lithium ION). Some digicams are packaged with a lithium-ion re-chargeable battery pack. Lithium ION batteries are lighter but are more costly than Ni-MH or Ni-Cd (NiCad) rechargeables. One advantage is that Lithium cells can be recharged regardless of the amount of discharge; also, they are lighter and maintain a charge much better in colder tem...

Lossless
Refers to storing an image in a non-compressed format, such as TIFF.

mAh
(milliAmperehour). A rating used in the consumption of power of an electronic device such as an LCD, or the storage capability of a device like an NiMH or Nicad rechargeable battery.

Matrix Metering
Most digicams have a matrix metering option which uses 256 areas of the frame to calculate the best overall exposure value.

MB
(MegaByte). Memory term meaning 1024 Kilobytes. Used to denote the size of a flash memory card such as 4MB, 8MB etc. MB is often confused with Mb (megabit), there's 8 bits in a byte so 256Mb = 32MB.

MD
(Minidisk). Digital recording media similar to a small floppy disc. Common for audio data and has been used on several digicams sold in Japan and Europe.

Megapixel
This is the CCD (or CMOS) resolution of one million pixels. Digicams are commonly rated by Megapixels. You multiply the horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution to get the total pixel count. For example 2590 x 1920 = 5 Megapixels.

Memory Stick
A flash memory card type from Sony. They resemble a stick of chewing gum and vary in size.

Memory Stick Pro
The year 2003 upgrade to Sony's Memory Stick flash cards. The new MS Pro cards are available in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacities and offer faster read/write times. All of Sony's digicams made in 2003 or after can use MS Pro cards.

Metering
Metering is used to calculate the exposure from the existing light conditions. Includes Matrix Metering, Spot metering and Center-weighted metering.

Microdrive
IBM/Hitachi mini hard disk drive for digital cameras and PDA devices. Packaged in a CompactFlash Type II housing and available in 170MB, 340MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and above as the years progress!

MMC
Multi-Media Card. A flash memory card used in some digicams and MP3 players. The MMC is identical in size and shape to the Secure Digital (SD) flash cards.

Moir
A visible pattern that occurs when one or more halftone screens are mis-registered in a colour image. Often produces a coloured checkerboard (or rainbow) pattern.

Motion JPEG
A video clip composed of a sequence of JPEG compressed images. Sometimes abbreviated to MPEG (see MPEG below), although they are slightly different. The main difference is that MPEG provides temporal compression, while MJPEG simply provides spatial compression.

MOV
Apple QuickTime Movie file format.

Movie clip
A sequence of motion captured in AVI, MOV or MPEG formats. More and more digital cameras can now capture short movie clips, many can also record the sound.

MP
Abbreviation of Megapixel, i.e. 5MP or 8MP.

MPEG-EX
Motion JPEG movie file created by Sony cameras. This was the first motion video recording sequence mode that was limited in length only by the amount of available storage space.

MPEG-HQX
Motion JPEG movie file created by Sony in 2002, whose cameras incorporate the MPEG-HQ (high quality, full-screen) and the unlimited recording capability of MPEG-EX in 320x240 resolution.

MPEG-VX
Motion JPEG movie file created by Sony digicams in 2003. Its VGA resolution (640x480) at 16fps with audio and the length is limited only by available storage space. VX Fine is 30fps or very high quality.

Multi-Pattern Metering
Exposure is determined by reading many different zones in the frame. This gives a more optimum exposure than those cameras using just a central zone metering system.

Multi-Point Focusing
The autofocus systems uses several different portions of the image to determine the correct focus.

NEF
(Nikon Electronic Format). The Raw image data file format used by the Nikon DSLR (D2x, D100, etc) also some Coolpix digicams.

NiCd
Nickel Cadmium (Nicad). A type of rechargeable battery. NiCad was the original type of rechargeable battery and has been all but replaced by the NiMH type.

NiMH
(Nickel-Metal Hydride). A type of rechargeable battery. NiMH is the more modern type of rechargeable battery and has been touted as having no memory effect as is common with Nicad type batteries when they are charged before they have been fully discharged.

Noise
Relates to pixels in your image that were misinterpreted. Normally occurs when you shoot a long exposure (beyond 1/2-second) or when you use the higher ISO values from 400 or above. It appears as random groups of red, green or blue pixels. Programs such as Neat Image can remove most noise from an image.

OEM
(Original Equipment Manufacturer). Means that a piece of equipment is made by one company but labelled for (and sold by) another company.

Optical Viewfinder
An eye level viewfinder that is used to compose the photograph.

ORF
(Olympus RAW format). The un-processed image format created by modern Olympus Digital SLR's and high end Digicams.

Orientation Sensor
A special sensor in some cameras that can tell when you turn the camera round to portrait orientation to take a vertical shot. It also tells the camera to display it that way later when viewed on a monitor or TV screen during playback.

PAL
The 50 field video format used mostly in Europe and other places outside of the U.S. and Japan.

Palette
A thumbnail of all available colours to a computer or devices (much like an artist's palette). The palette allows the user to choose which colours are available for the computer to display. The more colours the larger the data and the more processing time required to display your images. If the system uses 24-bit colour, then over 16.7 million co...

Parallax
An effect seen in close-up photography where the viewfinder does not see the same as the lens. This is normally due to the offset of the viewfinder and lens. This is not an issue if you are using the LCD as a viewfinder or if your camera is an SLR..

PC
In camera terms it denotes a type of flash synch connector, popular on most film and high end digital cameras. Otherwise, it means Personal Computer.

PC Card
Refers to a credit card sized device which can be a flash memory card, a network card, a modem or even a hard drive. Comes in two types; The type I/II which is a single slot height and type III which requires a double height card slot.

PCMCIA
These are the card slots found on modern laptop computers to enable the user to insert PC Cards. There are PCMCIA adapters for Compact Flash (CF), SmartMedia (SM), Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC) and Memory Stick (MS) flash cards.

PictBridge
This is a new standard for direct USB printing from digital cameras to inkjet and dye sub photo printers. It does not need the use of a computer.

PIM
(Print Image Matching). Epson's new standard of embedded colour and printing information for digital cameras. Many of the camera manufacturers have joined with Epson and now embed the PIM information in the Exif header of the JPEG images created.

Pin-Cushioning
This is a common geometric lens distortion causing an acquired image to pucker toward the centre of the image, usually found at telephoto focal lengths.

Pixel
The individual imaging element of a CCD or CMOS sensor, or the individual output point of a display device. This is what is meant by the figures 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x960 etc., when dealing with the resolution of a particular digicam. Higher numbers are best.

PNG
(Portable Network Graphics). This is an image file format. It is a compressed file format similar to JPG.

Polarizer.
(Polarising Filter) . A filter for eliminating glare and reflections which attached to the front of your lens (normally just SLR's). Just like your polarized sunglasses it will get rid of glare, the polarizer filter does the same for your digicam. There are 2 types of polarising filter, linear and circular. Linear is for film onl...

PPI
Pixels Per Inch. A measurement to describe the size of a printed image. The higher the number the more detailed the print will be.

Pre-Flash
Some digicams use a low power flash before the main flash to automatically set the exposure and white balance.

Programmed AE
The camera chooses the best shutter speed and aperture automatically.

QuickTime
A motion video standard created by Apple. QuickTime video sequences can contain an audio track and are stored as .MOV files.

RAM
(Random Access Memory). The most common type of computer memory where the CPU stores software, programs, and data currently being used. RAM is usually volatile memory, meaning that when the computer is turned off, crashes, or loses power, the contents of the memory are lost. More RAM usually means faster manipulation or faster background processi...

Rangefinder
This is the viewfinder on most smaller digital cameras and is a separate viewing device which is independent of the lens. It is often above and to the right or left of the lens. It exhibits a problem known as parallax when trying to frame subjects closer than five feet from the camera so it is advisable to use the colour LCD when shooting close-u...

Red-Eye
An effect caused by an electronic flash reflecting off the retina at the back of the eye making it look red. Compact cameras with the flash located close to the lens suffer the worst from this problem. Professional photographers use a bracket to hold an external flash unit above and off to the side of the lens to eliminate red-eye. It can also be...

Red-Eye Reduction Mode
A special flash mode whereby a pre flash or a series of low powered flashes are emitted before the main flash goes off. This causes the iris of the eye to contract meaning less light gets in the eye, therefore reducing red eye.

Render
This is the final step of an image transformation or three-dimensional scene through which a new image is refreshed on the screen.

Resolution
The quality of any digital image, whether printed or displayed on a screen, depends on its resolution, or the number of pixels used to create the image. More, smaller pixels add detail and sharpen the edges.

Saturation
The degree to which a colour is undiluted by white light. If a colour is 100 percent saturated, it contains no white light. If a colour has no saturation, it is a shade of grey.

Scanner
An optical device that converts images such as photographs, into digital form so that they can be stored and manipulated on your PC. Different methods of illumination transmit light through red, green and blue filters and digitize the image into a stream of pixels.

scene
where the user selects the best pre-programmed scene to suit the current shooting conditions. The camera will automatically change many settings to capture the best possible image. E.g. Sports, landscape, portrait etc.

Shutter
The physical device that opens and closes to let light from the scene strike the image sensor. Digicams use both electronic and mechanical shutters.

Shutter Lag
The time between pressing the shutter and actually capturing the image. This is due to the camera having to calculate the exposure, set the white balance and focus the lens. Is worse with smaller digicams whereas the better DSLR's now have little or no shutter lag, like the better film SLR's.

Shutter Priority
You choose the shutter speed and the camera will select the correct aperture as long as there is enough light. Good for sports or action photography where you need control over the shutter speeds.

Shutter Priority AE
This is where the user chooses a shutter speed and the aperture is automatically determined by lighting conditions. Shutter speed priority is used to control motion capture. A fast shutter speed stops fast action, a slow shutter speed blurs a fast moving subject. It is good to use shutter priority for sports or wildlife photography.

Skylight Filter
This is an Ultra Violet absorbing filter that helps overcome the abundance of blue in outdoor photographs. Not really necessary in digital photography as the camera's white balance system adjusts for the colour temperature of the scene. You can also use them to protect the camera's lens from scratching, fingerprints or dirt.

Slow Sync
A flash mode in some digicams that opens the shutter for a longer than normal period and fires the flash just before it closes. Is used for illuminating a foreground subject, but allowing a darker background to also be well exposed. Good for night time shots of buildings with people in the foreground.

SLR
(Single Lens Reflex). This means the camera has a viewfinder that sees through the lens (TTL) by way of a 45

SmartMedia
(SSFDC). A flash memory card that consists of a thin piece of plastic with laminated memory on the surface and uses a gold contact strip to connect to the camera. SmartMedia cards are available in various sizes.

Telephoto
This is the focal length that gives you the narrowest angle of coverage, good for bringing distant objects closer. (i.e. 100mm, 200mm, 500mm etc.).

Thumbnail
A small, low resolution version of a larger image file, which is used for quick identification or speedy editing choices.

TIFF
(Tagged Image File Format). An uncompressed image file that is lossless and produces no artefacts as is common with other image formats such as JPEG.

Time-Lapse
Capturing a series of images at preset intervals. Also known as Interval Recording or Intervalometer.

Tran reflective
This is a type of LCD display that uses ambient light as well as a backlight to illuminate the pixels. It can be seen more easily in bright, outdoor conditions.

True Colour
Colour that has a depth of 24-bits per pixel and a total of 16.7 million colours.

Under exposure
A picture which appears too dark because insufficient light was delivered to the imaging system. Opposite of over exposure.

Unsharp Masking
(Unsharp Mask). The process by which the apparent detail and sharpness of an image is increased. Generally accomplished by the input scanner or through computer manipulation using editing software.

USB
(Universal Serial Bus). This is the data I/O port on most digicams and is also found on modern home PC and Mac computers. It is faster than the serial port and transfers up to 12Mb/s (megabytes per second) with v1.1 interfaces.

USB 2.0
The newest USB standard which is close in throughput speed to FireWire, up to 400Mb/s.

UV Filter
This is an Ultra Violet absorbing filter that helps overcome the abundance of blue in outdoor photographs. Not really necessary in digital photography as the camera's white balance system adjusts for the colour temperature of the scene. Can be used to protect the camera's lens from scratching, fingerprints or dirt.

VGA
Refers to an image resolution size of 640 x 480 pixels.

Video Out
This means that the digicam has the ability to output its images on television screens and computer monitors using either NTSC or PAL format.

Viewfinder
The eye level device you look through to compose the image.

xD-Picture Card
A new flash memory card standard that was co-developed by Fuji film and Olympus in mid 2002. Rumoured at the time, to be replacing SmartMedia which had stalled at 128MB. xD is scheduled to go as large as 8GB (at the time of writing), in a form the size of a postage stamp.

B & W
Abbreviation for Black and White.

F-Stop
Number indicating the size of the aperture. It is an inversely proportionate number as in F2.8 is a large opening and F16 is a small opening.

X3 Image Sensor
Foveon's new image sensor for digital cameras that captures red, green and blue data on every pixel.