pixel = contraction of picture element, one dot on screen or sensor
resolution = width x height in pixels
megapixel = 1 million pixels
ISO = sensitivity (50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600)
Metaphor of filling a bucket from a faucet:
ISO is the size of the bucket to be filled
aperture or f-stop is the size of the faucet opening
(how far you turn the handle)
light level is the water pressure coming out of the faucet
shutter speed is how long you keep the faucet open
Overexposure (too light) = bucket overflows
Underexposure (too dark) = bucket isn't full enough
Given a light level, what ISO, aperture and shutter speed will fill the bucket?
ISO too high = video noise (film grain), too low = underexposed
Keep the ISO as low as possible; only raise it when the best other settings are still too dark
Shutter speed needs to be 1/30 second or faster to freeze action.
Faster action needs higher speed. Too low shutter speed makes motion blur, especially handheld
Depth of Field/ Depth of Focus = DOF = distance from closest sharp focus to farthest sharp focus
Pinhole aperture = maximum DOF (Flip is a pinhole camera with a fixed lens)
Wide aperture = shallow DOF
Shallow DOF is good to emphasize subject, deemphasize foreground and background; shallow DOF requires more attention to focus, usually manual focus
Low light requires wide aperture, which gives shallow DOF; if you need deep DOF, you need more light or a higher ISO
File formats: JPEG lossy, RAW proprietary, TIFF lossless but large, PNG lossy
RGB red, green, blue color channels
24-bit color is 8 bits (256 levels) per color channel
