Advanced Settings
Digital cameras are capable of producing amazing images. Despite their features and sophistication, it is possible, even likely, to take an improperly exposed photo. By taking time to learn about advanced digital camera settings, you’ll gain more control over the exposure, and the look and depth of your photos.
Flash compensation
A flash compensation setting allows you to change the output of a digital camera flash to avoid under or over exposure of a subject.
Shutter speed
The shutter controls the length of time light hits the camera sensor. Slow shutter speeds capture the feeling of movement, while fast shutter speeds freeze movement.
Aperture
The aperture controls the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor, acting much like the pupil of an eye that widens or decreases in size as the intensity of light changes.
F-stops
F-stop refers to a quantity taking into account aperture and focal length. This articles describes how to calculate the effect of f-stops.
Exposure compensation
Adjust the Exposure Compensation setting to control the amount of light entering the lens. Selecting an acceptable Exposure Value helps preserve detail in both dark and bright areas of a photo.
ISO: digital camera sensitivity
ISO is the number indicating a digital camera sensors sensitivity to light. Learn when and why you may want to manually select the ISO.
Histogram
Learn why many photographers use the histogram on a digital camera to avoid under and over exposure of a scene.
Histogram part two
Sample photographs and their associated histograms, showing too bright, too dark and balanced exposures.