Digital Camera Manual Settings Guide
From Extreme Overclocking
Upon request, here is a small guide to using your camera's settings.
There are usually multiple scene modes on a camera like sports, daylight, sunsets etc., but to get the most creative control out of your camera you can use either Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Manual.
Camera Topview Here you can see the settings dial.
First, some terms.
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ISO
This is how bright the "digital film" is. Higher ISO's (like 200 or 400) will give you a brighter picture, therefore allowing you to use faster shutter speeds and eliminate blurring, but they also introduce digital noise (grain) the higher they go. Lower ISO's (like 50 or 100) give you much lower digital noise but require slower shutter speeds to obtain bright enough pictures.
Digital Noise As seen in this picture, digital noise can be bothersome.
Film Grain However, it can be used creatively for a "film grain" effect.
Aperture
This is the hole through which your camera gets the light that make up pictures. Aperture can be adjusted in Fstops. f/3.0 is a very low aperture (number), meaning the hole is opened up very wide. This lets much more light in and also makes the depth of field much shallower, creating a blurred background. f/8.0 is a very high setting and is used in very bright daylight, as well as to eliminate DOF (depth of field) that could create focusing issues on a large subject.
Blurred Background This picture has the subject in focus and a very blurred background.
Shutter(speed)
This is the speed at which the shutter opens and closes. The faster the shutter, the less motion blur you'll get. The picture is however darker with a faster shutter because less light can get in. Slow shutters let more light in but the picture becomes very sensitive to movement. This, however, can be used creatively
Motion Blur This picture demonstrates using motion blur effectively.
White Balance
This controls the overall hue of the picture. Most cameras include presets like Sunny, Cloudy, Indoor Lighting, etc. Use these accordingly. AUTO white balance usually does an OK job, but in some circumstances it does not meter correctly.
Poor White Balance This demonstrates poor white balance.
Focus
This is where the picture is the clearest and the sharpest. Almost all cameras have an autofocus system, and some have a manual setting. Some cameras give you the option for different autofocus modes. My Minolta Z1 has Multi-Segment, Center-Weighted and Spot. Consult your manual for info on your specific camera.
For Aperture priority mode, the user selects the aperture they want to use and the camera then meters the frame and selects the best shutter speed to create a nice picture based on your current ISO, aperture and focus settings. In Shutter priority, it is the opposite. The user selects the shutter speed they wish to use and the camera then meters the correct aperture. Manual focus is usually not required, but for very close range shooting it is almost necessary to focus where you want. This brings up:
Macro mode (Symbolized by a small flower)
Macro mode (or Super Macro if your camera has it) allows the camera to focus very close up to the lens. However, I find most AF systems in cameras aren't sufficient enough to autofocus in macro mode, so switch to manual focus for this if your pictures come out blurry. Macro also creates an extremely shallow DOF, so focus wisely!
