Common Camera Terms

When selecting a camera, whether digital or film, there is several terms used in the camera specifications that may be foreign to new photographers. This guide will explain some of the common terms used to help you make an informed decision when selecting a camera.

AA Filter is most commonly seen in SLR cameras. His means the camera employs a Low Pass Filter in front of the imager to help eliminate color aliasing issues.

AE stands for "Auto Exposure". This is a system that selects the proper exposure for you from the existing lighting conditions of the target. There are three types of AE to be familiar with.

1. Programmed AE is where the camera selects the best shutter speed and aperture for the photo.
2. Aperture Priority AE is where the camera selects the correct shutter speed depending on the lighting and the photographer selects the aperture.
3. Shutter Priority AE is the opposite of Aperture Priority. The camera selects the correct aperture depending on the lighting and the photographer selects the shutter speed.

AE Lock is the cameras’ ability to hold the current exposure settings while the photographer moves the camera before the image is captured.

AF is known as the Auto Focus and means the camera has the ability to automatically focus the lens.

Anti-aliasing is used to reduce the jagged edges in images by smoothing the edges of individual pixels.

Aspect Ratio refers to the vertical and horizontal dimensions of an image. You may know this term from your TV being a 4:3 ratio. Most digital cameras are usually a 4:3 ratio so the images will fit on computer screens.

Burst Mode is the cameras’ ability to continuously capture frames by holding the shutter button down.

Digital Zoom refers to a zoom where the focal length of the camera is fixed and the image is simply magnified. This may cause images to become distorted or blurry.

Optical Zoom refers to a zoom where the focal length of the camera lens moves. This allows the photographer to move closer to the image without distortion. The most common optical zoom found on digital camera is 3:1 (or 35-105mm).

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