Know How... 44

In today's episode, Leo explains the things you should know to get the most out of your digital camera.

The three parameters we covered in today's episode were shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

Your shutter speed setting on your camera determines how long the shutter is open when you're taking pictures. It's displayed as a fraction of a second. If you're taking pictures of quick actions, you'll want that shutter to move quickly.

However, you're going to need a well lit subject if your shutter is open for a small amount of time. That's where aperture comes in. Aperture is the hole where light comes in. The larger your aperture, the more light is coming into the camera sensor. In camera lingo, aperture is delineated by "f-numbers" - the lens has a set of "f-stops" that you can set that f-number to.

So what's ISO then? ISO amplifies the image. The higher the ISO, the more noise you'll see in the image. A high ISO means that the camera can amplify the image a lot.

We touched upon the differences between RAW and JPEG shooting. JPEG might create smaller file sizes, but they are a lossy format. Once you take that picture, the only data you have is in that JPEG. RAW shooting keeps all the data the camera is seeing. That leads to much larger file sizes, but you can go in and change a multitude of factors after the fact.

Feedback from our know-it-alls

We asked you "What's your favorite Android or iOS camera app? Use #twitkh and your answer could appear on 'Know How...'"

Cory Futrell @Coryfutrell
@iyaz Camera+ for iOS for grid view, focus and exposure lock, timer, burst mode, and a good selection of post editing tools. #twitkh

Ben Foote @Benpocalypse
@iyaz I really like HDR Camera+ on android since my galaxy nexus doesn't offer HDR. #twitkh

James Freeman @James_A_Freeman
Best camera app: The stock camera app on the galaxy s4 is the best I have used #twitkh

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Links

• Aperture Settings (F-Stops)
• The Golden Mean
• Web based SLR simulator
• iOS SLR Simulator