Anti-Shake

							JARGON BUSTER – ABREVIATIONS - Photography

Jargon
Anti-Shake
This is the latest technology and is extremely desirable on a digital camera. Although it can never completely
eliminate blurry photos, it can increase your chances of taking a reasonable photo in poorer light.


Aperture
This is the opening inside the lens that is capable of varying the amount of light entering the camera.
Aperture diameter is expressed in f-stops. (f stops/f number = focal length.) The lower the number, the larger
the aperture opening, so f2.8 is a larger light opening than f8. The advantage of a large light opening, Is that
this will allow the camera to operate In lower light conditions without using flash.


Aperture Priority
Where the lens aperture is set and the camera automatically selects the appropriate shutter speed. This
gives the creative photographer a useful tool to have more control over the camera.

Backing up
Making a copy of your precious image files, either to your computer or to a portable memory device, so that
you don’t lose them.


Buffer
A temporary camera storage area. So a camera with a large internal buffer will be able to write your images
to your memory card more quickly and will enable you to take photos in rapid succession.


Charging dock
Some digital cameras come with a charging dock onto which the camera can be placed. The dock allows
easy connection to your computer for transferring images and may provide connection to a power supply for
recharging the cameras batteries. Some docks also have the facility to print.


Compact camera
This term applies to any camera that is at least pocketable. The fashion at the moment is to very small size
and to use internal zoom technology. This means the zooming lens does not stick out from the camera,
taking up extra room, but works internally like a periscope.


Compact Flash
The largest of all the memory cards, available with huge capacities but mainly now only geared to the larger
cameras and SLR types. Some cameras have the ability to take Compact Flash cards and another type of
memory card.


Digital zoom
This is an undesirable function. The camera's software will electronically enlarge part of the image like an
optical zoom but without the quality. Use at your peril! In a way, the camera is guessing what the subject
looks like closer up.


Dual-Format cards
SD and MMC are dual-format memory cards. They are popular and readily available as they are also used in
some mobile phones.


EVF
Electronic View-Finder
Fixed lens
A lens without a zoom. Only desirable if it is of the very wide angle variety and your interest is landscape
photography. Without a zoom lens your photography will be very restricted.


Flash
Cameras that have a flash have the ability to give a brief burst of very bright light to illuminate the subject.
Cameras without inbuilt flash are very restricted to good lighting only and are not popular, except for very
basic ones.


Internal memory
The larger the internal memory a camera has, the more images you can store on the camera without having
to insert your memory card. Cameras with internal memory alone are not as convenient as cameras with
memory cards as you are forced to physically connect your camera to your computer every time you wish to
download your images.


Jpeg/Tiff files
Jpeg files are the most common digital camera choice of image file format. Jpeg files are compressed digital
files and can vary in quality. The least compression offers the best quality but, for the ultimate, you can save
the file as a Tiff, which is a non-compressed file format. File sizes vary according to compression and non-
compressed files.


Macro Mode
A close-up picture-taking ability. Some cameras have the ability to focus on a subject as little as 1cm from
the lens. If you love taking close-ups of flowers or insects you need this on a camera. The symbol on the
camera is usually a flower.


Mega pixel
One million pixels. You should only consider a camera with at least 3 million pixels if you want to see you
images as you remember the original scenes!


Memory Card
A camera image storage card that can come in many formats. The card is inserted into the camera so that it
can store your photos. Then it is removed for downloading onto your computer or for digital printing. See also
downloading, Pictbridge and card reader.


Memory Stick
A type of memory card developed by Sony, reminiscent of a stick of chewing gum! Also available in high
capacity PRO and DUO Formats. Mainly featured in Sony cameras, although Samsung have some cameras
that also use this format.



Optical zoom
This is a very desirable function. It allows the camera's lens to change smoothly from a long shot to a close-
up or vice versa by varying the focal length. The bigger the quoted optical zoom the nearer to the subject you
will be able to get without physically moving. Three times (usually shown as x3) optical zoom is the norm, so
anything over this is a bonus.


Photoshop
No it’s not Jessop’s or J & A Camera’s, it is, or rather they are Photo editing software, the Photoshop
Elements programme is easier and less costly as opposed to Photoshop CS.5 is not easy to master and is
considerably more expensive.
PictBridge
PictBridge is a printing protocol that allows a digital camera to connect directly to an enabled printer. (usually
via a supplied USB cable.) Options such as tagging for print, quantity and quality can be selected on the
camera (via the camera's LCD screen) for easy PC free printing.



Pixels
An abbreviation of “picture element” and is a minute area of illumination on a digital display screen. A mega
pixel camera has one million light-sensitive pixels.



Portable storage media
The latest portable storage devices come with huge memory capacities and can even have a viewing
screen. This means you can download your images from your memory card to them and store them. Think of
them as electronic photo albums. See also Memory card


RAW
An image format where the camera does not alter the data or process it. This format needs to be processed
by you when downloaded from the camera. Not many printers can at present interpret the data in RAW
image files as the data is specific to the camera.



Red-eye, Anti-Red-eye, Red-eye Reduction
The nasty bright red-eye phenomenon seen on images where a flash has picked up the reflection of the back
of the person’s retina and given them the possessed look! Anti-red-eye is either a special kind of flash
(usually two flashes) or a red beam that shines out from the camera. Some cameras have in-camera
processing where redeye is identified and removed.


Secure Digital
Shortened to SD, this is a memory card about the size of a postage stamp and is very popular. SD cards
come in a range of memory capacities now up to 4 gigabytes. This means it can store thousands of images.


Sensitivity
This is a measure of the camera’s ability to respond to light.


Shutter Priority
This is a system used in cameras in which the shutter speed is selected by the user and the appropriate
aperture is then set by the camera. This feature is for creative and advanced photographers.


Snapshot Mode
Usually a totally automatic mode, where all the user has to do is press the shutter to take a photo.


Sports Mode
A nice feature on a camera, which enables you to set a fast shutter speed (and appropriate aperture) to
freeze fast action.


USB
Universal Serial Bus, the most common type of connection on digital cameras. USB2 is the latest faster
version.


VGA/QVGA/SVGA
VGA (stands for Video Graphics Array) is a default video format for mobile phones (for example, the LG
Renoir) but is also the standard for cameras as well. This format uses very little space on the card/disk, and
is relatively poor quality, and has small screen space (640x480), so that you can record more video quickly
and easily (only recommended for simple videos). Also, Windows uses a system called SVGA (Super Video
Graphics Array), which, only can display in poor quality modes, and, is unable to support a big display
(SVGA supports 800x600 up to 1680x1050). QVGA (stands for Quarter Video Graphics Array) is the same
as VGA, but smaller (320x240).


White Balance
Cameras have to deal with various lighting situations and this is a function that compensates for different
colours of light. For instance, household lighting is very different from sunshine; some cameras read the
colour of the light and adjust automatically to compensate.


WiFi enabled
This is the most recent new technology for cameras and means a Wi-Fi equipped camera can download its
images wirelessly to either your WiFi enabled computer or to a Wi-Fi printer. No wires! No leads! No
connectors!


XD Card
Developed by Fuji and Olympus, this card is seriously tiny, but still can have a huge storage capacity.

ABBREVIATIONS

AV’s            Audio Visual Presentations (digitally projected images on a specific subject), with
                Commentary and/or music – normally produced on to a CD

DPI’s           Digitally Projected Images as opposed to printed images

Pictures to Exe A Computer programme which assists in producing AV’s

PAGB            Photographic Alliance of Great Britain

WCPF            Western Counties Photographic Federation

APAGB           Award for Meritorious Service to Member Societies of a Federation
                of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain. Name placed on a
                Roll of Honour.

CPAGB           Consideration of 10 prints or projected images considered to be
                Good Club Photography – awarded “Credit” PAGB.

DPAGB           Consideration of 15 prints or projected images considered to be
                of Open Exhibition Standard – awarded “Distinction” PAGB.

MPAGB           Consideration of 20 prints or projected images and the standard
                Is the Highest Standard of UK Amateur Photography – awarded
                “Master” PAGB.

Credit, Distinction and Master are also awarded for Audio Visual (AV) presentations – example – DPAGB
AV.

RPS             Royal Photographic Society.

LRPS            Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society.

ARPS            Associate of the Royal Photographic Society.

FRPS            Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.

BPE             British Photographic Exhibitions.
FIAP       International Federation of Photographic Art.

ESFIAP     Excellence for services rendered to photography.

HonEFIAP   Honorary Excellence for services rendered to photography.

AFIAP      Artist FIAP.

EFIAP      Excellence FIAP.

EFIAP/b    EFIAP Bronze.

EFIAP/s    EFIAP Silver.

EFIAP/g    EFIAP Gold.

EFIAP/p    EFIAP Platinum.

MFIAP      Master Photographer FIAP.