Camera technology, jargon and techniques explained • Use the A-Z index or the search box to look up your chosen term
The EOS 1D Mk IV is the latest version of Canon’s professional high-speed sports/action/press camera. It’s designed for speed rather than resolution, with a maximum continuous shooting speed of 10 frames per second. The Mk IV boasts a number of improvements [...]
ISO is the measure of a sensor’s sensitivity to light. It’s the same as the ISO ratings given to traditional film. The difference is that a film only has one fixed ISO, while you can change the ISO of your [...]
Available light photography is the technique of shooting in low light levels and not using any additional illumination like flash, but simply using whatever light there is. It’s the light that makes the photograph, not just the subject. ‘Available light’ [...]
The level of random variation in the pixels of digital photos. The pixels (photosites) on sensors record the levels of light falling on them as an electrical signal. However, there’s always a certain level of random background electrical activity which [...]
Reducing the appearance of noise with software. The physically tiny sensors in compact digital cameras and increasing megapixels don’t mix. The pixels on the sensors are now so tiny that they suffer badly from random digital ‘noise’ – it’s like [...]
This is the ‘speckling’ effect seen at high ISO settings. It’s more prominent in cameras with physically small sensors (most compacts, and ‘superslim’ cameras in particular). The pixels on the sensor don’t just record the intensity of the light falling on [...]
The light levels at night are generally too low for hand-held photography, even at high ISOs, but with a tripod it becomes possible to photograph practically any scene. What’s more, you can then use a low ISO to get the [...]