The Textbook of Digital Photography - PhotoCourse

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http://www.photocourse.com/itext/icons/iconography.pdf


Camera Controls...


There are two ways to change settings on a camera—using menu commands
or a combination of buttons and dials. Menu commands are usually slower
and can be difficult in bright light when you can’t read the monitor on which
they are displayed. Buttons and dials are faster because you can get familiar
enough with them to use them without looking, but at first their functions are
harder to remember.
Most cameras use both approaches, putting the most frequently used func-
tions on buttons and dials and less frequently used ones on menus. One
recent addition to the button/dial family is a button or dial with four points.
Pressing any of the points, or in some cases rotating the dial, moves a menu
highlight up, down or sideways or lets you scroll through images in playback
mode. A button or joystick-like lever in the middle of this “button” acts like
the Enter key on a computer by completing commands.
On many cameras icons indicating the current settings are often displayed on
a separate LCD panel. Some new cameras dispose of this second screen and
display them on the monitor.
As you change settings, it is sometimes easy to forget what you’ve done or it’s
time consuming to reset them to their original values one at a time. For this
reason some cameras have a button or menu command that lets you quickly
reset the camera to its original factory default settings.
Buttons and dials vary from camera to camera but here are some that are
fairly common on all but the simplest point and shoot models. In some cases
the same button performs different functions in shooting and playback
modes.


  • Zoom lever or buttons zoom the lens. (On SLR cameras you zoom by turn-
    ing a ring on the lens.)

  • Shutter button locks exposure and focus when pressed halfway down,
    and takes the picture when pressed all the way.

  • Continuous/self-timer button sets the camera to shoot sequences of
    photos one after another or turns on the self-timer.

  • Mode dial selects various shooting modes such as auto or programmed.
    The same or a different lever or button switches between shooting and play-
    back modes.

  • ON/OFF button or lever turns the camera on and off.

  • Flash button selects flash modes.

  • Macro button turns macro mode on and off.

  • MENU button displays or hides the menu.

  • Print/Share button lets you print or download images when connected to
    a printer or computer.

  • Erase or delete button deletes the selected image in review or playback
    mode.


The Kodak EasyShare
has a touch-sensitive
screen where you can
make menu selections
using a stylus.


Click to see a PDF
poster of typical digital


Camera icons


Many cameras have an
LCD panel that displays
settings and an LCD
monitor that displays
images and menus.


Some cameras display
settings and setting
choices on the monitor
when you use buttons
or dials.


CAmerA Controls
Free download pdf