Senior CSA Test-Photo Glossary

the amount of a scene that can be recorded by a particular lens;determined by the focal length of the lens

Used to insert a smaller storage device into a larger slot in a computer or other device

The lens opening formed by the iris diaphragm inside the lens. The size of the lens can by made larger or smaller by the autofocus system or a manual control

The ratio between the width and height of an image or image sensor

A standard for storage devices that lets them be treated as if they were hard drives on the system. Any ATA compatible media can be read by any ATA device

A mode of camera operation in which the camera automatically adjusts the aperture, shutter speed, or both for proper exposure

An electronic flash unit with a light sensitive cell that determines the length of the flash for proper exposure by measuring the light reflected back from the subject

a pattern of red, green, and bllue filters on the image sensor's photosites. there are twice as many green filters as the other colors because the human eye is more sensitive to green and therefore green color accuracy is more important

formed from pixels with each pixel a shade of gray or color. Using 24 bit color, each pixel can be set to any one of 16 million colors

The sealed package containing storage chips or other devices with electrical connectors that make contact when inserted into a card slot on a camera printer computer or other device

the uninterpolated data collected directly from the image sensor before processing

An image sensor that reads the charges built up on the senor's photosites a row at a time

an image sensor created using CMOS technology

the overall accuracy with which the colors in a photograph match or are capable of matching those in the original scene

the number of bits assigned to each pixel in the image and hte number of colors that can be created from those bits. True color uses 24 bits per pixel to render 16 million colors

A file compression scheme that makes the file smaller without degrading the image

a file compressio scheme that reduces the size of a file but degrades it in the process so it can't be restored to its original quality

the process of reducing the size of the file

the distance between the nearest and farthest points that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. DOF varies with lens aperture, focal length, and camera to subject distance

sending a filed from another device to your computer

the act of allowing light to strike a light sensitive surface. the amount of light reaching the image sensor, controlled by the combo of aperture and shutter speed

the ability to adjust exposure by one or two stops to lighten or darken the image

The ability to point at one part of hte scene and hold the shutter button halfway down to lock in exposure and focus settings when you point the camera elsewhere to compose the scene

Flash used to fill shadows even when there is enough light to otherwise take the photograh

A special circular flash that fits over a lens to take close up pictures

A flash that fires with it senses the light from another flash

An image format that contains a number of resolutions, each of which is broken into tiles that can be edited and displayed independently

the distance from the optical center of the lens to the image sensor when the lens is focused on infinity. the FL is usually expressed in mm and determines the angle of view (how much can be included in the frame) and the size of the objects in the image. The longer the FL the narrower the angle of view and the more objects are magnified

the process of bringing one plane of the scene into sharp focus on the image sensor

a device that lets you capture individual frames out of a video camera or off a video tape

the number of pictures that can be taken in a given period of time

the numerical designation indicating the size of the aperature

an image file format designed for display of line art on the Web

importing camera equipment outside the normal manufacturer's distribution channels to take advantage of lower prices elewhere in the world

a series of 256 tones ranging from pure white to pure black

a rating of a flash's power

A clip on the top of the camera that attaches the flash unit and provides an electrical link to synchronize the flash with the camera shutter

A solid state device containing a photosite for each pixel in the image. Each photosite records the brightness of the light that strikes it during exposure

in an image, it adds extra pixels. it's done with some zoom lenses

the physical law that causes light from a flash to fall off in such a way that as flash to subject distance doubles, the light falls off by a factor of 4

A number rating indicating the relative sensitivity of light of an image sensor or film. Faster film (high ISO) is more sensitive to light and requires less exposure than slower film

A very popular digital camera file format that uses lossy compression to reduce file sizes.

telephoto lens; a lens that provides a narrow angle of view of a scene, including less of a scene than a lens of normal FL and therefore magnifying objects in the image

a compression scheme used to reduce the size of image files

a lens mode that allows you to get very close to objects so they appear greatly enlarged in the picture

an exposure system that breaks the scene up into a grid and evaluates each section to determine the exposure

An image or image sensor with over one million pixels

an image or image sensor with over 2 million pixels

an image made up of two or more images superimposed in the camera

Pixels on the image sensor that misread the light

a lens that provides about the same angle of view of a scene as the human eye and does not seem to magnify/diminish the size of objects in the image unduly

to increase the size of the lens aperature. the opposite is to stop down

A sensor that knows when you turn the camera to take a vertical shot and rotates the picture so it won't be displayed on it's side when you view it

Exposing the image sensor to more light than is needed to render the scene as the eye sees it. results in too light of phot

an effect seen in closeup photography when the viewfinder is offset by some distance from the lens. the scene through the viewfinder is offset from the scene through the lens

A small area on the surface of an image sensor that captures the brightness for a single pixel in the image. there is one photosite for each pixel in the image

an effect seen when you enlarge a digital images too much and the pixels become obvious

the small picture elements that make up a digital photograph

A very serious photographer who can be either an amateur or professional

a camera design that has a viewfinder separate from the lens

an image file containing all the data captured by the images sensor but not processed in the camera. the highest quality image format

the part of a CCD image sensor that reads the charges built up during an exposure

the time it takes to process and store a captured image

the time it takes the camerato capture the image after you press the shutter release

a process that enlarges an image by adding extra pixels without acutally capturing light fro those pixles in the initial exposure

the true resolution of an image based on the number of photosites on the surface of the image sensor

an indication of the sharpness of images on a printout or the display screen. it is based on the number and density of the pixels used. the more pixels used in an image, the more detail can be seen and the higher the image's resolution

the color system used in most digital cameras where red, green, and blue light is captured separately and then combined to create a full color imag

wide angle; a lens that provides a wide angle of view of a scene; including more of the subject area than does a normal FL

the length of time the shutter is open and light strikes the images sensor

the device in the camera that opens and closes to let light from the scene strike the image sensor and expose the image

single-lens reflex, a type of camera with one lens which is used both for viewing and taking the picture

autoexposure is based on a meter reading of a small circle in the center of the viewfinder

an aperature setting that indicates the size of the lens opening. a change in exposure by a factor of 2. changing the aperature from one setting to the next doubles or halves the amount of light reaching the image sensor. changing the shutter speed from one setting to the next does the same thing. either changes the exposure one stop

to decrease the size of the lens aperature. opposite of open up

tagged images file format; a popular lossless image format used in digital photography

a camera design that let's you compose an image while looking at the scene through the lens that will take the picture.

exposing the film to less light than is needed to render the scene as the eye sees it. results in too dark photo

Sending a file from your computer to another device

a resolution of 640 x 480

a separate window on the camera through which you look to compose images

An automatic or manual control that adjusts the brightest part of the scene so it looks white

a lens that lets you change focal lengths on the fly