Photography?

Question:

Photography?

! What is ISO, what are the kind of zooming options ( digital vs optical?)....not sure
@ I love texture and effects what kind of camera do i need and what should i look for when purchasing a camera.....SLR or any?
# What is SLR
$ How come some cameras have less pixels and still moe expensive
% What is the best way to expand my knowledge in Photography without taking a formal class

Thanks

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: !a First off, ISO is not shutter speed. ISO stands for International Standards Organization but the following numbers mean light sensitivity. ISO created the scale so no matter where in the world you take pictures, the standards are the same. The higher the number, the more sensitive it is to light.

!b Optical zoom uses lenses to bend light so you can zoom in to a narrower field of vision; hence making the subject bigger. Digital zoom also narrows the field of vision but in a way cheats. Because there are open spaces between pixels when you enlarge, a computer fills in the missing pixels by guessing what pixel should be in between (AKA interpolation). This causes the image to be a bit fuzzier than using optical zooming. So if at all possible, AVOID Digital Zoom but don't limit yourself if you really need it.

@a I'm not sure what you mean by texture. There are 2 textures I can think of. The first would be grainy pictures. That's easy to get; all you have to do is use a high ISO. The second texture I can think of is paper texture. Of course that's just paper selection and not a real photographic technique.

@b For purchasing cameras, the 2 things to consider is your purpose and your budget. For instance, if you like taking your camera to parties and gatherings, it's great to have an SLR but it's bulky and a bit complicated. You might want a small and simple point-and-shoot. But if you want to learn photography, take sports pictures, and/or studio type pictures, you'll want an SLR. SLRs are more expensive but you get more features and options with an SLR. The only real limit for SLRs is your budget of how much you want to spend.

# SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex. What this means is there is a Single Lens for your viewfinder and picture taking. Generally your emulsion (the image taking medium: Film or CCD for digital) is blocked by a mirror that reflects the image through a prism (Reflex) to your viewfinder. As you take the picture, the mirror moves out of the way and the shutter opens to give your emulsion light. So one lens does the job for to things. The larger body and interchangeable lens cameras are generally referred to as SLR because that's usually how they work.

$ Now mega-pixels is NOT the equation for better cameras. It's just that usually the better the camera is, the more mega-pixels it can handle. But software, optics, and other mechanisms determine the price of the camera. This is why one camera can do less mega-pixels and still be more expensive. This is a clear case of quality versus quantity.

% The best way to expand your knowledge is to find people that can constructively criticize your photography. Even if all your doing is experimenting, you can get an idea of what to do and how to do it. That's basically what half a photography course does; in addition, a course teaches you developing and developing techniques. Another ways to learn is apprenticing. You can learn just by experimenting but you can wind up sacrificing a lot of time and money without some form of help.