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Digital Camera Basics
Rating: 4.6 out of 5(14 ratings)
1,241 students

Digital Camera Basics

Master manual photography and get off automatic
Created byGus Cantavero
Last updated 5/2021
English

What you'll learn

  • Camera basics for manual digital photography.
  • A mastery of the digital camera controls and settings.
  • How to adjust shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, autofocus modes, metering and RAW vs JPEG.
  • We will cover several important accessories like tripods, straps and even how to clean your gear.

Course content

2 sections • 13 lectures • 5h 40m total length

  • Know your camera15:34

    We discuss the major and some minor manufacturers on the market. We also review the sensor formats and crop factors of the different sensors.

    Time Codes
    Camera Brands 0:46
    Camera Platforms 5:58
    Reflex Mirror 6:54
    Sensor Format 8:53
    Crop Factor 10:00

    Terminology reference list
    Stop: A halving, or doubling of light. I.e. 1 stop more of light is double the amount of light.
    Shutter Speed: How fast the shutter opens and closes, exposing light to the sensor. Measured in stops.
    Aperture: The iris of the lens. Measured in stops, referred to as f-stops.
    Viewfinder: The eye cup you look in to see the image as opposed to using the live-view screen back on some cameras.
    Field of view: The viewable area of a lens.
    Lens Milimeters: The MM of a lens is a reference to how wide or tight it’s field of view is. The SMALLER the number the wider the view. I.e. 24mm is wider than 50mm.
    Full Frame: A 35mm film sized sensor.
    Cropped frame, or cropped sensor: A smaller sized sensor, either Micro Four Thirds or APS-C. These smaller sensors only see the inner portion of the image so therefore they are cropping off the rest.

  • Know your camera
  • Lenses: Prims and Zooms27:00

    What lenses do you have? We talk about the prime lenses you will likely own, zoom lenses that would likely come with your kit, pancake lenses, macros and various quality levels.

    Time Codes
    MM and Field of View 0:23
    Prime Lenses 7:18
    Zoom Lenses 11:03
    Variable Aperture 13:45
    Lens Quality Levels 16:07
    Lens Sets 19:28
    Lens Features 24:05
    Image Stabilization 25:06
    Macro 30:14

    Terminology reference list
    Stop: A halving, or doubling of light. I.e. 1 stop more of light is double the amount of light.
    Shutter Speed: How fast the shutter opens and closes, exposing light to the sensor. Measured in stops.
    Aperture: The iris of the lens. Measured in stops, referred to as f-stops.
    Viewfinder: The eye cup you look in to see the image as opposed to using the live-view screen back on some cameras.
    Field of view: The viewable area of a lens.
    Lens Milimeters: The MM of a lens is a reference to how wide or tight it’s field of view is. The SMALLER the number the wider the view. I.e. 24mm is wider than 50mm.
    Full Frame: A 35mm film sized sensor.
    Cropped frame, or cropped sensor: A smaller sized sensor, either Micro Four Thirds or APS-C. These smaller sensors only see the inner portion of the image so therefore they are cropping off the rest.

    To expand on the description of “field of view” and the lens’ “MM” measurements: In short, the lower the MM number of a lens the wider it can see. So, think of a 24mm, 35mm, 50mm lens. The higher the number the narrower its vision and the more telephoto it becomes. That is to say the more it magnifies your subject. A lens’ “field of view” is a generic reference to the “viewing angle”. When you look at the specifics of a particular lens for sale it will tell you what the view angle is. This refers to how wide or narrow that angle is. For a visual, let’s say that 180 degrees is roughly perfect peripheral vision including everything to your right and left and 8 degrees is like looking through a paper towel roll. A wide angle lens of say 24mm would see about 84 degrees. An extreme wide angle would be even wider at 16mm and beyond. 16mm can see about 84 degrees. Once you get down to about 12mm and wider it would be considered a “fisheye” lens which means it sees way more than the human eye can and therefore creates a lot of distortion and curving. These lenses can see from about 160-180 degrees. A telephoto lens of 200mm would see about 12 degrees. Keep in mind that different manufacturers will have slightly different fields of view for the same mm lens. This is just due to design variations, but they will be very close.

  • Lenses: Primes and Zooms
  • The Camera Body19:11

    In unit 3 we talk about the buttons and controls that may be available on your camera body, the touch screen, swivel screens and the electronic viewfinder, or EVF.

    Time Codes
    Physical Controls 0:22
    Touchscreen 2:07
    Rear Screen Icons 3:20
    Articulating Screen 7:34
    Viewfinder Diopter 10:58
    Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) 13:16
    A/V and Ports 15:47

    Terminology reference list
    Stop: A halving, or doubling of light. I.e. 1 stop more of light is double the amount of light.
    Shutter Speed: How fast the shutter opens and closes, exposing light to the sensor. Measured in stops.
    Aperture: The iris of the lens. Measured in stops, referred to as f-stops.
    Viewfinder: The eye cup you look in to see the image as opposed to using the live-view screen back on some cameras.
    Field of view: The viewable area of a lens.
    Lens Milimeters: The MM of a lens is a reference to how wide or tight it’s field of view is. The SMALLER the number the wider the view. I.e. 24mm is wider than 50mm.
    Full Frame: A 35mm film sized sensor.
    Cropped frame, or cropped sensor: A smaller sized sensor, either Micro Four Thirds or APS-C. These smaller sensors only see the inner portion of the image so therefore they are cropping off the rest.

  • The Camera Body
  • Tripod Plates, Power and Battery Grips19:58

    In this unit we’ll discuss the different kinds of tripod plates available, also known as QR plates which stands for “quick release”. We’ll discuss power consumption, or battery life and we’ll talk about battery grip accessories and how they’re used.

    Time Codes
    Power Consumption 0:22
    Battery Grips 4:58
    Tripod Plates 10:10
    L-Bracket 18:12

    Terminology reference list
    Stop: A halving, or doubling of light. I.e. 1 stop more of light is double the amount of light.
    Shutter Speed: How fast the shutter opens and closes, exposing light to the sensor. Measured in stops.
    Aperture: The iris of the lens. Measured in stops, referred to as f-stops.
    Viewfinder: The eye cup you look in to see the image as opposed to using the live-view screen back on some cameras.
    Field of view: The viewable area of a lens.
    Lens Milimeters: The MM of a lens is a reference to how wide or tight it’s field of view is. The SMALLER the number the wider the view. I.e. 24mm is wider than 50mm.
    Full Frame: A 35mm film sized sensor.
    Cropped frame, or cropped sensor: A smaller sized sensor, either Micro Four Thirds or APS-C. These smaller sensors only see the inner portion of the image so therefore they are cropping off the rest.

  • Tripod Plates, Power and Battery Grips
  • Camera Straps, Temperatures and Hot Shoes19:40

    Time Codes
    Camera Strap 0:24
    Hot Shoe 6:50
    Cold Shoe 9:00
    Sony Smart Shoe 11:03
    Safe Operating Temperatures 14:05

  • Camera Straps, Temperatures and Hot Shoes
  • Lens Handling18:24

    Time Codes
    Changing Your Lens 1:00
    Manual Focus Rings 8:00
    Hard Stops 11:00
    Lens Hoods 12:24

    Terminology reference list
    Stop: A halving, or doubling of light. I.e. 1 stop more of light is double the amount of light.
    Shutter Speed: How fast the shutter opens and closes, exposing light to the sensor. Measured in stops.
    Aperture: The iris of the lens. Measured in stops, referred to as f-stops.
    Viewfinder: The eye cup you look in to see the image as opposed to using the live-view screen back on some cameras.
    Field of view: The viewable area of a lens.
    Lens Milimeters: The MM of a lens is a reference to how wide or tight it’s field of view is. The SMALLER the number the wider the view. I.e. 24mm is wider than 50mm.
    Full Frame: A 35mm film sized sensor.
    Cropped frame, or cropped sensor: A smaller sized sensor, either Micro Four Thirds or APS-C. These smaller sensors only see the inner portion of the image so therefore they are cropping off the rest.

  • Lens Handling
  • Handheld and Tripod32:01

    Time Codes
    Holding The Camera 0:24
    Points of Contact 1:44
    Steady Yourself 2:35
    Viewfinder vs Screen 10:28
    Tabletop Tripod 12:28
    Joby 17:13
    Camera Shake 19:21
    Self Timer 20:19
    Intervalometer 21:32
    Normal Tripod 24:16
    Monopod 26:31
    Tripod Heads 29:55

    Terminology reference list
    Stop: A halving, or doubling of light. I.e. 1 stop more of light is double the amount of light.
    Shutter Speed: How fast the shutter opens and closes, exposing light to the sensor. Measured in stops.
    Aperture: The iris of the lens. Measured in stops, referred to as f-stops.
    Viewfinder: The eye cup you look in to see the image as opposed to using the live-view screen back on some cameras.
    Field of view: The viewable area of a lens.
    Lens Milimeters: The MM of a lens is a reference to how wide or tight it’s field of view is. The SMALLER the number the wider the view. I.e. 24mm is wider than 50mm.
    Full Frame: A 35mm film sized sensor.
    Cropped frame, or cropped sensor: A smaller sized sensor, either Micro Four Thirds or APS-C. These smaller sensors only see the inner portion of the image so therefore they are cropping off the rest.

  • Handheld and Tripod

Requirements

  • A digital camera will be very helpful. Several brands will be covered in detail.

Description

In this full featured course students will start at the beginning, assuming no prior knowledge. This is not a typical lightweight tutorial. This is equivalent to an 8 week in person course. Camera Basics focuses on the features, terminology and function of the camera, lenses and associated accessories like tripods, cleaning kits and battery grips. We will learn to identify the brand, platform and sensor format of your camera. You'll even learn an easy way to calculate your "crop factor" to easily compare different formats. Don't worry, it's all explained! We’ll identify and learn how to use all the controls available to you to achieve proper exposure and color. Did you ever get really blue images? Learn why! You’ll understand how to change and customize your camera strap, tripod plate types, accessories and flashes. That might not seem relevant but it can really make or break your photography experience. And without a good strap, I really do mean it can "break" it.

We’ll cover the exposure triangle how to easily translate it to learn proper exposure using our aperture, ISO and shutter speed. You'll get plenty of visual examples to demonstrate what happens with each setting. We’ll cover autofocus modes, metering modes, depth of field, how and when to use a tripod, shutter modes and much more. Any brand of camera can be used to follow along with this course and if you don’t yet own a camera this will be a great way to know what you’re doing before acquiring one because I'll cover different brands. Or, you can take my Camera Buying Guide course to research the different brands.

Feel free to skip ahead if needed. There is a handy downloadable study quiz you can print out to take with each lesson.

Each unit averages 25 minutes in length, some will be longer. This is an in depth course and not a casual tutorial. If you really want to learn how to use your camera, this is the course for you.

Who this course is for:

  • Beginner photography hobbyists
  • Photographers who want to get off automatic mode.
  • Homeschoolers, parents, hobbyists

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