Manual Camera Settings

Ben Holmes

ApertureIn photography, Aperture is a device that controls the amount of light admitted through an opening. Aperture is the unit of measurement that defines the size of the opening in the lens that can be adjusted to control the amount of light reaching the film/digital sensor. The size of the aperture is measured in F-stop.

Shutter SpeedThe shutter speed is the unit of measurement which determines how long the shutter remains open as the picture is taken. (The slower the shutter speed, the longer the exposure time.) The shutter speed combined with the aperture control the total amount of light reaching the sensor. Shutter speeds are measured in seconds or fractions of a second.

For example 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000. Each speed increment halves the amount of light.

ISOISO is a common short name for the International Organisation for Standardization. The ISO on a digital SLR camera refers to film speed. Although most cameras are now most likely not film at all, but rather digital, the ISO camera setting still has the same function as older film cameras. ISO determines how sensitive the image sensor is to light.• The lower the ISO number, the slower the speed. • The higher the ISO number the faster the speed.

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