Total noob in photography.

[SirDarknight]

Hello,

I'm a total noob in this DSLR camera field. I want to buy one so if you'd kindly tell me what those things(aperture, sensor size, lens) mean in a camera's specification and what to look for while buying one, I'd really appreciate it

Thanks a lot.

[ALwin]

2 hours ago, SirDarknight said:

Hello,

I'm a total noob in this DSLR camera field. I want to buy one so if you'd kindly tell me what those things(aperture, sensor size, lens) mean in a camera's specification and what to look for while buying one, I'd really appreciate it

Thanks a lot.

 

Aperture is the size of the iris opening inside the lens:

 

 

This image explains how shutter speed, aperture and ISO work.

• larger the "F" number, the smaller the aperture, and usually Aperture (also referred to as F-Stops) is more appropriately indicated as F/##.
• F-stop is the Focal Length of the lens divided by the diameter of the iris opening. hence F/##, e.g. F/1.4, F/1.2.
• Wider aperture, faster F-stop means thinner Depth of Field (DoF), narrower aperture, slower F-stop means wider DoF.
• Depth of Field refers to how much of the scene is in focus.  (see the image below with the stuffed monkey to get an idea of what DoF means)
• Slower shutter speed more motion blur, faster shutter speed less motion blur.
• Most digital cameras have shutter speeds ranging from 1/8000th of a second and up to 30 seconds, then they also include BULB mode so that the photographer can either manually hold down the shutter release button or use a timer remote to set any desired shutter speed longer than 1-30 seconds.
• ISO in relation to photography originates from film days when more sensitive film stock used larger grains of the chemicals coated on the film.  In digital photography, ISO relates to how much the camera boosts the signal that's generated by light hitting the camera sensor.  With digital cameras, increasing the ISO doesn't mean that the sensor becomes more sensitive to light, it means the camera is amplifying the signal.
• Lower ISO = cleaner looking image, higher ISO = image contains more noise.

 

 

 

 

This chart shows you various sensor sizes and their crop factors (which is measured relative to 35mm Full Frame size being 1x).  Smaller sensors than Full Frame have a larger crop factor and sensors larger than FF have a smaller crop factor.  Basically what this means is that if you mount a 50mm lens on an APS-C sensor with a crop factor of 1.5-1.6, the field of view you see looking through the viewfinder is similar to having mounted a 75mm lens on a FF sensor camera.

 

 

And this article explains focal length and field of view

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/article/g3cu6o2o/understanding-focal-length.html

[BleuFire]

This site got me started with the very basic fundamentals of my new XTi back 8+ years ago.

http://www.canon.co.jp/imaging/enjoydslr/index.html 

[ALwin]

22 hours ago, SirDarknight said:

snip

By the way, I forgot to mention.  Knowing and understanding the meaning of those terms is not enough.  You should also learn how to apply them in photography.

 

For example, Aperture allows you to achieve two main things:

1. The first is it allows you to control how much light reaches the sensor (similar to how shutter speed can control how long the sensor is exposed to light).  If you use a small aperture less light reaches the sensor while a wider open aperture means more light of course.  This can be useful when you photograph in places where the external lighting is not sufficient.  However....
2. However because the size of the aperture opening also determines the depth of field, opening or closing the aperture should not necessarily be the first thing you do when shooting in low or highly lit conditions.  An example is portrait photography where many professionals prefer to use a wide aperture to take portraits.  Wide apertures like F/1.2, F/1.4, F/2.8 have shallow depth of field that are just a few millimeters thick.  What portrait photographers do is they use that wide aperture and very thin DoF and when taking a portrait photo of a person they focus mainly on the eyes of their subject.  This creates an effect where only elements of the person's face that is in the same plane of focus as their eyes are in sharp focus while everything in front and in the back appear soft/out-of-focus.  This helps in reducing the visibility of pores and perhaps flaws in the skin.
3. Shallow DoF also makes backgrounds look blurry, creamy, with nice bokeh.

Note: By the way, like the crop factor that affects the field of view of a lens, the crop factor also affects the DoF and it is easier to achieve thinner DoF with larger sensors.

[Tork]

I want to thank ALwin.. I scored a D3300 for dirt cheap at an estate sale. Up until now I was confused on f-stop and DoF.. 

 

I think now I better understand the functionality of my camera. I know I want a second lens in the 55-300 format to match my 18-55 f1.8. And maybe a 35mm prime.  Well I've been told it's best to have a prime lens with a good f-stop. 

 

I enjoy photographing wildlife and scenic landscapes. 

 

Sorry I'm not trying to jack the tread.. just wanted to put in my input.