Digital Camera Terms 1
A brief explanation of some commonly used camera terminology.
Hand-Shake
When a photograph is taken the movement that is caused by depressing the cameras shutter button is known as hand-shake. This shaking of the camera at the instant the shutter is opened, can blur the image. All of the cameras in the Lumix digital camera range (even the cheap LS1) have the OIS system which counters this effect.Hot Shoe
Placed on the top of a digital camera and equipped with a flash contact, this device allows the attachment of a clip-on type synchronised flash unit.Manual focus
Manual focus refers to Camera lenses such as the Leica one on the DMC FZ30, which have a lever or ring on which to set the subject distance to bring the subject into sharp focus. On modern cameras distances are normally shown in both feet and metres, though older cameras usually use feet alone. The camera normally has a mark against which the distance is set.With some newer cameras and most digital cameras, manual focus is by wheels or push buttons and the distance set is shown on a LCD display. Ironically this is usually slower and less convenient to use.
Megapixel
The term for one million pixels. The Lumix FZ30 for instance has 8 Megapixels.Pixel
A pixel is short for a 'picture element', and is used to describe both a point on a display screen consisting of red, green and blue dots and also a point in an image file.Passive AF
A cameras auto focus system that optically ranges the subject image distance. Unlike active AF systems that send out beams of light, such as infrared, etc., with this system the camera is passive, hence the name.RAW Format
The name for raw data read directly from the CCD, which has only been converted from analogue to digital, the digital camera has not processed it internally and the data output is in its original state.Resolution of lenses
The resolution of Camera lenses and films is determined by finding the smallest distance between set parallel lines that can clearly be distinguished when the image is examined using a microscope. Test charts using sets of lines ruled at different distances apart are viewed or photographed and then examined. Since the targets being examined consist of alternate white and black lines, the results are expressed in terms of line pairs per inch (lppi) or per millimetre.SD Memory Card
A memory card used by a digital camera that is the size of a postage stamp. The SD Memory Card comes in sizes such as 16MB.Shutter
One of the digital camera's most important mechanisms, the shutter controls the light exposure by opening for a precisely determined time and then closing.Previous Digital Camera Terms«
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A good place to buy a Lumix Camera is the Panasonic website as this ensures you will get a great after sales service and free delivery.
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