MIDTERM

CAMERA

A camera is simply a box which has been designed to keep out all light except for such light as
the photographer may wish to have entered. Inside the camera, the photographer places a sheet of
acetate. The acetate is coated with a chemical which changes when light hits it, hence the reason for
making the box light tight.

To take a photograph, the photographer must let a certain amount of light through a small
opening in the box. This light will strike the acetate and change the chemicals. When enough light has
been let in, the photographer shuts out any more light. The light which did enter is then recorded on the
acetate.

The simple camera, also known as the box camera, is little more than a pinhole camera to which
has been added a lens and a shutter. The lens cannot be moved in relation to the back of the camera,
nor can the time the shutter is open be changed.

It is defined as a light tight box chambered to the aperture enclosed in a shutter at the opposite
end of which is the place where sensitized material is located.

A Camera may also be defined as a light tight (proof) box with a means of forming the image- LENS or
PINHOLE, with a means of holding sensitized material at one end- FILM HOLDER, and with a means of
controlling the amount of light needed to affect the film at the other end- SHUTTER.

Other Definitions:

 Device for taking photographs: a device for taking photographs by letting light from an image fall
briefly onto sensitized film, usually by means of a lens and shutter mechanism.

 device for making pictures: a device that converts images into electrical signals for television
transmission, video recording, or digital storage

The camera is the mechanism by which film can be exposed in a controlled manner. Although
they differ in structural details, modern cameras consist of four basic components: body, shutter,
diaphragm, and lens.
BASIC PARTS OF THE MODERN CAMERA

1. Body or Light tight box- an enclosure devoid of light.

2. Lens or Pinhole- necessary to focus rays of light that is reflected by the subject unto the film.

3. Aperture/Diaphragm – it is located in the lens and is a set of leaf-like piece of metal that can
change the size of the hole where light enters.

4. Film Holder- Located at the opposite side/end of the lens of a camera, necessary to hold firmly
the sensitized material in the correct plane during exposure intervals.

5. Shutter- it is often known to be the door of the camera; it controls, when and how long will the
light fall on the film.

6. Viewing System or Viewfinder- used to determine what will be included or covered in the
picture serves as the viewing of all cameras. This will show the entire scene coverage that can be
recorded in the film inside the camera. It is usually attached on the top or side of the camera of the
viewing lens is the taking lens itself when the camera is a single lens reflex type.

CAMERA DESIGNS

Cameras come in a variety of configurations and sizes. The first cameras, “pinhole” cameras, had no
lens. The flow of light was controlled simply by blocking the pinhole.

View Cameras

View cameras are generally larger and heavier than medium- and small-format cameras and are
most often used for studio, landscape, and architectural photography. These cameras use large-format
films that produce either negatives or transparencies with far greater detail and sharpness than smaller
format film.

Auto focus cameras use electronics and a CPU to sample automatically the distance between camera
and subject and to determine the optimum exposure level. Most autofocus cameras bounce either an
infrared light beam or ultrasonic (sonar) waves off the subject to determine distance and set the focus.
Rangefinder Cameras

Rangefinder cameras have a viewfinder through which the photographer sees and frames the
subject or scene. The viewfinder does not, however, show the scene through the lens but instead closely
approximates what the lens would record. The rangefinder camera has a viewfinder which, like most
instamatic cameras, is independent of the main lens of the camera. The viewfinder presents a miniature
view of the subject; focusing is aided by a split-screen rangefinder which is coupled to the main lens. The
view through the viewfinder is fixed and the photographer must compensate for changed view when
using other than a standard lens. This is accomplished by attaching a correcting lens to the viewfinder.
Reflex Cameras

Reflex cameras, both the SLR and the TLR types, are equipped with mirrors that reflect in the
viewfinder the scene to be photographed. The twin-lens reflex is box-shaped, with a viewfinder
consisting of a horizontal ground-glass screen located at the top of the camera. Mounted vertically on
the front panel of the camera are two lenses, one for taking photographs and the other for viewing.

In the SLR type of reflex camera, a single lens is used for both viewing the scene and taking the
photograph. A hinged mirror situated between the lens and the film reflects the image formed by the
lens through a five-sided prism and on to a ground-glass screen on top of the camera.
Single-lens reflex, or SLR, cameras are among the most common in use today. Single-lens reflex means
that the same lens is used for viewing and taking the photograph.

SLR Camera Anatomy

1. Film winder.

2. Shutter Speed Dial.

3. Flash hot shoe.

4. Focusing ring.

5. Film Rewind Crank.

6. Film Speed Dial.

7. Flash Synch Socket.

8. Lens.

9. Depth of Field Preview.

10. Self Timer/Exposure Lock.

11. Aperture Ring.

12. Shutter Release.

1. Shutter speed dial- controls the opening and closing of the shutter; regulates quantity of light
that reaches and affects the film inside the camera; a dial which sets the length of time in which the light
is allowed to enter the camera.

*Cameras without SSD have a default shutter speed of:

a. 125 or 1/125 of a second without flash

b. 60 or 1/60 of a second with flash

2. Shutter release button- the “click” of the camera which releases the shutter

3. Focusing Mechanism- estimates the appropriate objects distance from the camera to form a
sharp or clear image on the photograph.

a. Focusing Ring- outer ring of the lens which is rotated or adjusted to obtain clear and sharp
photograph; it enables photographer to adjust focal range
b. Distance scale- the focus index or range of sharp focus; a set of number which determines the
appropriate depth of field

4. Diaphragm- the window, the eyes of the camera; to control how much light reaches the film; the
mechanical device in the focusing assembly that is used to adjust the aperture. The Aperture refers to
the diameter of the camera lens opening.

a. F-Stop Ring- Diaphragm ring or aperture ring. This is a narrow rotating ring on the barrel of the
lens. It is generally located close to the body of the camera.

5. F-Stops, F-Numbers- the number indicating the size of lens opening located at the inner ring of
the focusing mechanism.

6. ASA Dial- Film Speed Dial On the top plate usually to the left. Newer electronic cameras set the
film speed from the DX code on the film cassette itself. Flash Units

a. Flash terminal

b. Flash accessory shoe

c. Plane accessory shoe

d. Hot shoe

7. Timer- Self Timer

Digital Photography

Digital Camera Unlike conventional film cameras, photographs taken with a digital camera are stored, as
the name suggests, digitally on a memory chip.

Digital cameras aimed at the amateur photography market function much as point-and-shoot cameras
do, with automatic focus, automatic exposure, and built-in electronic flash. Pictures from these cameras
contain fewer pixels than those from a more expensive camera and are therefore not as sharp. After
taking pictures, image files can be transferred to a home computer, stored on disk, or sent via e-mail.
Digital Camera Anatomy

The key differences between digital and conventional photography are the means by which the image is
captured and stored. In the digital process, instead of light-sensitive film, the camera uses a charged-
coupled device (CCD)—an electronic sensor that translates light into an electrical signal. This signal is
converted into digital data via an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). A digital signal processor (DSP)
then adjusts the contrast and detail, before compressing the image so that it can be conveniently stored
on the camera's memory card (Flash memory card). Images can be downloaded directly to a computer
either by using an adapter for the memory card or by connecting a cable to the camera's serial
port/universal serial bus (USB) socket. The advantages of the digital camera are its capacity—many more
images can be accommodated than on a conventional roll of film—and its immediacy, as a liquid-crystal
display on the back of the camera allows the user to preview and review images instantly.
FOUR IMPORTANT CONTROLS OF THE CAMERA

1. Focusing Control

2. Shutter Speed Control

3. Aperture Control

4. Film Speed Control

Focusing Control

Focusing is considered as the most important control on a camera. It is the adjusting or changing
the distance between the focal plane and the lens.

Focus – is the means by which the object distance is estimated or calculated to form a sharp or
clear image.

Focal length – is the distance measured from the axis of the lens through the film plane.
 Focusing Mechanism- estimates the appropriate objects distance from the camera to form a
sharp or clear image on the photograph.

a. Focusing Ring- outer ring of the lens which is rotated or adjusted to obtain clear and sharp
photograph; it enables photographer to adjust focal range

b. Distance scale- the focus index or range of sharp focus; a set of number which determines the
appropriate depth of field.

APERTURE CONTROL OR DIAPHRAGM CONTROL

The aperture is a hole whose size can be varied to allow more or less light to pass through it. The size of
apertures is expressed in f-numbers. You can calculate an f-number by dividing the lens focal length by
the diameter of the aperture. The range of f-numbers follows a standard sequence with each f-number
being half as bright, passing half as much light, as the previous one. A typical aperture range may look
like this:

f 1.4; f 2; f 2.8; f 4; f5.6; f 8; f 11; f 16; f 22; f 32

• Works like the pupil of the eye. It may be enlarged or contracted

• If it is enlarged, it allows more light to enter the lens

• If it is contracted, it allows a lesser amount of light to enter the lens.

• The larger the diameter of the aperture, the more light reaches the film / image sensor

• Aperture is expressed as F-stop, e.g. F2.8 or f/2.8

• The smaller the F-stop number (or f/value), the larger the lens opening (aperture) (inverse
relationship)

• Controls depth of field.

USES OF F-STOP

a. Acts as a partial control of exposure

b. To control the depth of the field

c. To allow the photographer to close the aperture to the point of the sharp focusing of the lens.

Depth of Field

This term refers to a zone of focus, that is, the area between the closest and farthest objects
that will appear sharply focused in the photograph.

Depth of Focus

This refers to a zone of focus in the camera. If an image is focused on a ground glass screen in a camera,
depth of focus makes it possible to move the screen slightly backward or forward and still have the
image in acceptable focus.
SHUTTER SPEED CONTROL

The shutter prevents light from reaching the film until the moment of exposure. It opens for a
predetermined time allowing light passing through the lens aperture to reach the film. Unlike the
aperture, which is always in an open position the shutter is always closed. Shutter values or 'speeds'
follow a standard sequence with each one being half that of the next, allowing half as much light to pass
through.

Two types of Shutters

a. Leaf shutter- shutter that is found either between the elements in the lens; made of small
overlapping metal blades powered by a spring and generally placed either between the lens also known
as the central plane shutter or after the lens of the camera.

b. Focal Plane Shutter- shutter is found adjacent to the film; made of black cloth of small sheet of
metal which is also powered by a spring and generally found in the film plane. When shutter release
button is pressed, leaf shutter is opened and closed again in pre-set time in the shutter speed dial of the
camera.

Focal plane shutter

00 - to infinity – end

T - time setting

B - Bulb setting

1 - One full second exposure

2 - ½ full second of exposure

4 - ¼ full second of exposure

8 - 1/8 full second of exposure

15 - 1/15 full second of exposure

30 - 1/30 full second of exposure

60 - 1/60 full second of exposure

120 - 1/120 full second of exposure

250 - 1/250 full second of exposure

500 - 1/500 full second of exposure

1001 - 1/1000 full second of exposure

1sec; 1/2sec; 1/4sec; 1/8th; 1/ 15th; 1/30th; 1/60th; 1/125th;

1/250th; 1/500th; 1/1000th; 1/2000th

Shutter speeds are expressed in seconds or fractions of a second. Slow shutter speeds run into seconds
while fast shutter speeds will be shorter than 1/500th of a second. In normal photography shutter
speeds will probably fall into the range 1/60th to 1/1000th of a second.

• Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open

• Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds

• It is not in isolation from the other two elements of the Exposure Triangle (aperture and ISO)

• Long shutter causes blur and fast shutter freezes motion.

4 MODES OF CAMERA AUTOMATION

1. Manual. (M) You set the aperture and shutter yourself.

2. Aperture Priority. (A) You set the aperture and the camera will automatically select the
corresponding shutter speed.

3. Shutter Priority. (S) You set the shutter speed and the camera will automatically select the
corresponding aperture.

4. Program. (P) You point the camera and it will select a suitable aperture and shutter combination.

Lens

Lenses can be used to focus light.

A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light,
converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element. A compound lens is
an array of simple lenses (elements) with a common axis; the use of multiple elements allows more
optical aberrations to be corrected than is possible with a single element.

Construction of simple lenses

Convex Lens
A convex lens has a thick centre and thinner edges. Light passing through a convex lens is bent inward,
or made to converge.

Concave Lens

A concave lens is curved inward; it is shaped like two dishes placed back-to-back. Light passing through a
concave lens bends outward, or diverges. Unlike convex lenses, which produce real images, concave
lenses produce only virtual images.

Lens are classified according to the type of image they produced

(a) Positive Lens or Converging Lens – Is a convex lens which is characterized by the fact that it is
thicker on the middle than the edge and form a real image on the opposite side of the lens. It has a
positive focal length and bends the light rays together which makes it as a converging lens. In using this
type of lens, it will require a proper distance between the object and the lens; otherwise, the image that
it will produce will be blurred or fuzzy. Focusing on this type of lens can be done by moving the nearer or
farther from the object until the zone of the best definition is attained.

(b) Negative lens or Diverging Lens – is a concave lens which is characterized by the fact that it is
thinner on the middle than the edge and form a virtual image on the opposite side of the lens. It does
not require focusing at all as everything will be sharp, upright, and clear no matter how close or far away
the subject is. It also known as a diverging lens because of its power to diverge rays of light that passes
through it. Practically, this type of lens is exactly what is needed in the viewing mechanism of a
viewfinder camera (it produces a clear image for the eye, if not for the film).

Camera Lenses

Assorted Lenses Interchangeable lenses allow a photographer to capture a variety of pictures that would
otherwise be difficult or impossible to obtain with a single camera. For instance, a zoom lens may be
used to photograph individual drops of dew on a spider’s web. A telephoto lens might be used to shoot
a close-up view of a dangerous or easily frightened wild animal. Other options provided by special lenses
include wide-angle lenses such as the fisheye lens, which curves outward to show a view of 180 degrees
or more.

Lens According to Focal Length

Focal Plane- The area/location in which the image is formed or the location of the film.

Hyperfocal Distance- the distance from the lens to the nearest object in sharp focus when the lens is set
to infinity.

Infinity- the distance so far away that the rays are considered parallel when they reach the camera.

Real focus- point of convergence of the light rays

Virtual Focus- the point where diverging rays should meet if their directions were reversed.

Classification of lenses according to its focal length

Cameras used by professional photographers and serious amateurs are designed to accept all three lens
types interchangeably.

a. Wide Angle Lens – a lens with a focal length less than the diagonal of the negative material. It
has a shorter focal length but with a large or wide area coverage. This lens is very useful in
photographing an object(s) in a narrow, restricted, or small area. In this type of lens, the object(s) will
appear far to the lens and the resulting image of the object(s) in the negative will be small. The
drawback of this lens is that it will increase distortion towards the edge of the negative material.

In 35-mm photography, lenses with focal lengths from 20 to 35 mm are considered wide-angle
lenses. They provide greater depth of field and encompass a larger field (or angle) of view but provide
relatively low magnification. Extreme wide-angle, or fisheye, lenses provide fields of view of 180° or
more. A 6-mm fisheye lens made by Nikon has a 220° field of view that produces a circular image on
film, rather than the normal rectangular or square image.

b. Normal Lens – A lens with a focal length approximately equal but not more than twice the
length of the diagonal of the negative material. The angle view of this lens is 75 degrees but not less
than 45 degrees. This lens has the best area of coverage and the resulting image of the object(s)
produced will be the same as seen by the naked eye in the viewing.

Lenses with focal lengths of 45 to 55 mm are referred to as normal lenses because they produce
an image that approximates the perspective perceived by the human eye.

c. Telephoto Lens – A lens with focal length more than twice the diagonal of the negative material,
it has a longer focal length with small area coverage. This lens is useful in photographing an abject(s) at a
far distance. In this type of lens, the object(s) will appear close to the lens and the resulting image of the
object(s) in the negative will appear larger. The disadvantage of this lens is that the image quality in the
photograph usually deteriorates which is apparent when the subject is in great motion.

Lenses with longer focal lengths, called telephoto lenses, constrict the field of view and decrease
the depth of field while greatly magnifying the image. For a 35-mm camera, lenses with focal lengths of
85 mm or more are considered telephoto.

d. Zoom Lens – This lens has a variable focal length which can be adjusted continuously by the
movement of one or more elements in the lens system, known as the variable focus lens.

A fourth generic lens type, the zoom lens, is designed to have a variable focal length, which can be
adjusted continuously between two fixed limits. Zoom lenses are especially useful in conjunction with
single-lens reflex cameras, for which they allow continuous control of image scale.

Other Classification of Lenses

Close-up Lens – it is a supplementary lens which is placed over the regular lens in order to allow the
photographer to take pictures closer to an object that the camera will ordinarily permit.

Varifocal Lens – it is used as alternative to a zoom lens. While a zoom lens stays in a focus as you change
the focal length, the varifocal lens must be refocused at its new focal length.

Catadioptric Lens – is a long focus lens that employs a curve mirror to increase the size of the image.

Macro Lens – a lens that can be focused so close to an object that the image it forms in the film is about
the same size as the real life or as that object itself.

Portrait Lens – is a lens that has a focal length that is long enough to avoid perspective distortion.

Fish Eye Lens – is a lens of such extremely short focal length that its angle of view is close to or equal to
180 degrees.

Enlarging Lens – these are especially designed at close distances and with a flat field. This means that
the lens must yield a sharp image not only at the center but the edge as well.

FILTERS

A transparent medium which transmits and absorbs different wavelength of lights usually made
of glass or gelatin material placed in front of the camera lens. Made of gelatin or glass, filters are used in
front of a camera lens to alter the color balance of light, to change contrast or brightness, to minimize
haze, or to create special effects. In black-and-white photography, color filters are used with
panchromatic film to transmit light of the matching color while blocking light of a contrasting color. In a
landscape photograph taken with a red filter, for example, some of the blue light of the sky is blocked,
causing the sky to appear darker and thereby emphasizing clouds. Under a blue sky, a yellow filter
produces a less extreme effect because more blue light is transmitted to the film. The No. 8 yellow filter
is often used for outdoor black-and-white photography because it renders the tone of a blue sky in
much the same way that the human eye perceives it.

Filters Used In Color Photography

Conversion filters change the color balance of light for a given film. Tungsten films, for example, are
designed and balanced for the color temperature of amber tungsten light. Exposed in daylight, they will
produce pictures with a bluish cast. A series 85 conversion filter can correct this. Daylight film, on the
other hand, balanced for sunlight at noon, which has a greater concentration of blue wavelengths than
tungsten light, will have a yellow-amber cast when exposed under tungsten light. A series 80 conversion
filter corrects this problem.

Light-balancing filters are generally used to make small adjustments in color. These pale-toned filters
eliminate undesirable color casts or add a general warming hue.

Color-compensating (CC) magenta filters can balance greenish fluorescent light for daylight or

tungsten film. Another type of filter, the polarizer, is used primarily to reduce reflection from the surface
of shiny subjects. Polarizing filters are also used in color photography to increase color saturation.

Types of Filter

(a) Correction Filter – Used to change the response of the film so that all colors are recorded at
approximately the relative brightness values seen by the eye (or used to correct lens defects)

(b) Contrast Filter – Used to change the relative brightness values so that the two colors which
would otherwise be recorded as nearly the same will have decidedly different brightness in the picture
of used to differentiate color.

(c) Haze Filter – Used to eliminate or reduce the effect of serial haze during cloudiness or foggy
conditions.

(d) Neutral Density Filter – Used for reducing the amount of light transmitted without changing the
color value.

(e) Polarizing Filter – Used to reduce or eliminate reflections on highly reflective surface.

Chemical Process

FILM DEVELOPMENT
The latent image on film becomes visible through the process called developing—the application of
certain chemical solutions to transform the film into a negative. Film is developed by treating it with a
weak reducing alkaline chemical, the developing solution, or developer. This solution reactivates the
process begun by the action of light when the film was exposed. The effect is to further reduce the
silver-halide crystals in which metallic silver had already formed, so that large grains of silver form
around the minute particles that makes up the latent image.

Developing Film Developing photographic film requires a series of chemical baths that cause the latent
image on the exposed film to become visible as a negative. The process begins with the developer (1),
which causes metallic silver to form where the film has been exposed to light, in densities that depend
on the amount of exposure. To stop the action of the developer, the film goes into a stop bath (2). After
a rinse in water, the film goes into a fixer (3) to removes any silver salts not converted to metallic silver.
After a short rinse, the film is submerged in fixer remover (4) to clear any remaining fixer from the film.
The final bath (5) is a thorough rinse in water. The developed negative is then allowed to dry.

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING

The negative is used in the process of producing positive print or photograph.

The process in which this negative is used to create a positive image is called printing; the image is called
a print.

Printing is done by either of two methods: contact or projection. The contact printing method is used
when prints of exactly the same size as the negative are desired. They are made by placing the emulsion
side of the negative in contact with the printing material and exposing the two together under a source
of light.

In projection printing, the negative is first placed in a type of projector called an enlarger. Light from the
enlarger passes through the negative to a lens which projects an enlarged or reduced image of the
negative on to sensitized printing material. The process allows the photographer to reduce or increase
the amount of light falling on particular portions of the printing material. Known as “dodging” and
“burning”, these techniques render the final print lighter or darker in selected areas.
1. Development – is the process of reduction. Exposed silver halides are reduced into metallic silver.
There is a separate developer for film (D-76) and another for paper (Dektol). The factors that affect
developing time are: agitation, temperature, concentration, concentration of chemical and exposure.

2. Stop-bath – an intermediate bath between the developer and the fixer. It is usually a combination of
water plus acetic acid or just plain water. Primarily, its function is to prevent the combination of the two
chemical solutions

3. Fixation – The process of removing unexposed silver halides remaining in the emulsion after the first
stage of development of the latent image. The usual composition of a fixing solution are a solvent silver
halide known as hypo, an anti-staining agent like acetic acid, a preservative like sodium sulfide and a
hardening agent like potassium alum.

4. Washing – after the fixing is completed, the film is rinsed in running water to remove all of the
unexposed silver (Ag compound and other chemicals).

5. Drying – the emulsion is composed of gelatin which softens when submerged in water.
Digital Photography

Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photo-detectors to produce images
focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The captured images are digitized
and stored as a computer file ready for further digital processing, viewing, electronic publishing, or
digital printing.

Until the advent of such technology, photographs were made by exposing light sensitive photographic
film and paper, which was processed in liquid chemical solutions to develop and stabilize the image.
Digital photographs are typically created solely by computer-based photoelectric and mechanical
techniques, without wet bath chemical processing.

Printing Photography Digitally

Digital photo printing usually incorporates the use of a high-volume laser or inkjet printer. Printing
photography digitally is a much less labor-intensive process than traditional methods, because of the
lessened time required to set up and maintain a print throughout the production process. Digital
printing also tends to allow a larger role for the photographer in the production process, including
retouching and color correction.