Photographic Equipment Part I

There are many different kinds of cameras. Some are very simple. Others are quite complex. But all of them can be used to take good photographs.

No matter how simple or how complex a camera is, it has five basic parts-the body, lens, shutter, film holder, and viewfinder. Many cameras also have special features that help you in such steps as counting exposures and focusing.

The body of a camera is a lightproof framework, or box. It keeps out all the light except the light that passes through the lens.

In the simplest cameras, the lens is a piece of glass or plastic with curved surfaces. The lens concentrates the light rays as they enter the camera to make a sharp image of the photographed object on the film.

The subjects you photograph will be at different distances from you. It is important that you focus on a subject before shooting the picture. Otherwise, the picture may be out of focus, or blurry. When a picture is in focus, it is sharp and clear.

Some cameras have a fixed-focus lens. You cannot change the focus. Such a lens is set to focus on most objects beyond 150 or 180 centimeters (5 or 6 feet) fairly well.

A lens that you can focus will provide a greater variety of pictures. It can be set to focus sharply on subjects at almost any distance. You do not have to compromise as you must with a fixed-focus lens.

In many cameras, you focus by turning the lens. The lens mount contains special threads. You turn the lens along these threads to focus the image on the film.

The shutter is a mechanical device behind the lens. It opens and closes to let the light in. The photographer opens the shutter by pressing the shutter release, a button on the outside of the camera. In many cameras, you can change the speed at which the shutter opens and closes. If the shutter opens and closes quickly, little light enters the camera. If the shutter is set to open longer, more light enters.

In bright sunlight, the photographer can set the shutter at a fast speed, since there is plenty of light to make an image on the film. On gloomy days or in dim light, the shutter can be set at a slower speed. This gives time for more light to enter the camera.

A fast shutter speed lets you take of moving objects without blurring. Even if the subject is one that does not move, such as a landscape, a fast exposure cuts down the chance of getting a blurred picture. This could happen at a slower speed if you moved the camera.

A simple camera has only one shutter speed. A more costly camera will have many shutter speeds, ranging from as slow as 30 seconds to 1/1000 of a second or even less.