Like other lens makers, Nikon has its own technical jargon for the features and specifications of its lenses. The first bit of Nikon lens jargon is the name – Nikon brands its lenses ‘Nikkor’’ – though some reviewers and retailers us the name ‘Nikon’ instead, just to be clear about who makes them. Nikon camera […]
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Dynamic range and exposure
Dynamic range is the camera sensor’s ability to capture detail in very bright and very dark parts of a scene. Cameras (or sensors) with a low dynamic range record dark shadows as a solid black or bright highlights as a featureless white. In the days of film, this was known as a film’s ‘exposure latitude’. […]
Picture styles and film simulation with digital cameras
Digital cameras typically offer a range of ‘picture styles’ to suit different subjects or different tastes in color rendition. Canon calls these Picture Styles, Nikon calls them Picture Controls and other camera makers have their own names. They include options like ‘Vivid’, ‘Landscape’, ‘Portrait’ and ‘Black and white’, but the key point with all of […]
Battery types and uses
All digital cameras and some camera accessories rely on batteries. Some accessories like flashguns may use regular AA batteries, but almost all cameras now use rechargeable lithium ion cells which have a longer life and deliver a more consistent power output between charges. AA batteries, as used in some flashguns and older battery grips, come […]
Sensor spots and what to do about them
Any DSLR or mirrorless camera that takes interchangeable lenses can collect dust or other debris on the sensor surface. Sensor dust can be annoying at best, because it produces dark diffuse spots in your images that become more even more obvious if you use heavy contrast and sharpening adjustments. The risk of getting dust on […]
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Video basics: resolution and frame rate
Video jargon can quickly get complicated, and can seem even worse to stills photographers who’ve learned a whole lexicon of photography concepts and terms and now have to do the same with the very different world of video. But the video basics are comparatively simple and easily learned, and the rest can follow from that. […]
LCD displays on cameras
Just about all cameras have an LCD display on the back. It’s used for playing back photos when they’ve been captured and for camera settings and menu navigation. On most cameras it’s also used for composing pictures – in fact, on cameras without viewfinders, it’s the ONLY way to compose your shots. These screens are […]
Tripod heads and the different types
Tripods essentially come in two parts: the tripod legs, used for support and height, and the tripod head, which is used for positioning and pointing the camera. Often, a tripod is sold with a head as a single item, but with more upmarket tripods the legs and head are usually sold separately so that you […]
Lens aberrations and what you can do about them
No lens is optically perfect. In the ideal world, every lens would produce a sharp, undistorted, evenly illuminated image that’s sharp from edge to edge. Some lenses come close, but the fact is that lens designers have to work within the limitations of the laws of physics and the glass materials they have available, and […]