digitaldingus Reference
Digital Photography Definitions
September 30, 2015
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| IEEE 1394 | see Firewire. |
| Infinity | When a subject is a very long distance away and is also at an undetermined distance away from a lens, it is referred to as infinity. Your lens will have a special symbol on it to reflect the farthest point the focus ring will go...which is ∞. |
| Interpolation | Artificially increasing resolution. Interpolation software takes a given pixel and/or area, and "guesses" at what the pixel or area would look like at a higher resolution. It's not TRUE resolution, and is certainly not perfect, but does help in some cases if the original image file was of high-quality to begin with. Some are very good while others are just terrible. In any case, be very careful of camera manufacturers who claim they interpolate their resolution in order to obtain the same pixel count as a higher megapixel camera. There is NO SUBSTITUTE for TRUE resolution. |
| IS (Canon) | Image Stabilization. This is Canon's term for a lens which uses "vibration-detecting gyro sensors" to move the image-stabilizing lens group in parallel, counter-acting Camera Shake, so that you get a blur-free image when taking photos at low-shutter speeds. |
| ISO | Equivalent measurement of ASA of film. It's a measurement on digital cameras, of how sensitive to light the imager is. The higher the ISO number, the higher the sensitivity to light. This is great for low-light events, where you want to take images, but don't have as much light as you would like. However, as you probably know or have heard, higher ISO levels mean higher noise levels as well. This is where high-end and professional cameras fair better than others. This also has to do with larger pixel sizes, too. The larger the pixel, the more sensitive to light it is and the lower noise it will have.Today, we have cameras which have such sensitivity, the ISO rating is often a large number which would be off the charts only 10 years ago. ISO ratings of 100,000+ are not uncommon. At the end of July 2015, Canon announced the ME20F-SH Full HD Video Camera capable of 4,000,000 ISO equivalency. It does seem as if we are at a point where a new ISO rating system needs to be implemented, specific to digital cameras and their imagers. |
| Jaggies | Also known as, Pixelization. This refers to a pattern in an image which many refer to as "Stair-Stepping", where the image shows signs of stair-stepped lines around the borders and outlines within an image. The Jaggie term is used when discussing low-resolution images because you often see them in an unmistakable stepped appearance, but do note, they can also be seen in high-resolution images as well. Jaggies are not an exclusive indicator of low-resolution images. |
| JPEG | Joint Photographic Experts Group; JPG; .jpg. JPEG is an image standards committee which formed a standard in image compression. This compression has an algorhythm, which gives the end-user a balance between quality of the image and a compressed image. For example, on most digital cameras, a JPEG compression ratio of 1:4 (JPEG FINE in Nikon cameras) yields a high-quality image, while a 1:16 compression (JPEG BASIC in Nikon cameras) results in a photo that has noticeable compression artifacts and is not recommended for printing but merely for web use. If you want to compress your JPEGs even further or more precisely for your particular need, it can be done in a photo editor, such as Photoshop. |
| Landscape | You'll often see this option within various levels of cameras, ranging from novice DSLRs on up to professional DSLRs. The width of the image is greater than the height of the image, which is the standard and default setting in your camera. |
| LCD Monitor | LCD monitors for cameras have become much more reliable and have higher resolution than ever before. One of the reasons why Live View is more successful with DSLRs, is because the LCD monitor is of such high quality, the photographer can distinguish small details without the need to look through the viewfinder.For more versatility, camera manufacturers have created adjustable LCD monitors, which can be positioned at many different angles, allowing the photographer to view their potential images in situations where it would very difficult otherwise (such as at a crowded event, where the camera has to be lifted up high to shoot over the crowd at the subject). |
| Lens | This is what goes on the front of your camera. Choose your lenses wisely. |
| LP-E4 | This is the proprietary rechargeable lithium-ion battery (11.1V / 2300mAh) which was originally for Canon's EOS 1D Mark II, 1D Mark III, 1D Mark IV, and 1Ds Mark III DSLRs, but has been replaced with the LP-E4N. The LP-E4N is compatible with EOS-1D Mark III, 1D Mark IV, 1D X, 1Ds Mark III, and 1D C DSLRs. |
| LP-E5 | This is the proprietary rechargeable lithium-ion battery (7.4V / 1080mAh) for Canon's EOS Rebel XS, XSi & T1i DSLRs. |
| LP-E6 (LP-E6N) | The LP-E6 (7.2V / 1800mAh) was replaced with the LP-E6N (7.2V / 1865mAh). The EP-6N is compatible with Canon's EOS 7D Mark II, 7D, 5D Mark II, 5D Mark III, 5DS, 5DS R, 60D, 60Da, 70D, and 6D DSLRs. |
| LP-E8 | The LP-E8 (7.2V / 1120mAh) Lithium-Ion battery is for Canon's Rebel T2i, T3i, T4i, and T5i DSLRs. |
| Live View | It used to be that DSLRs did not have a feature of their much less expensive and viewfinder-free counterpart: live view. This was due to the imagers of compact cameras having their output going directly to the LCD screen. Some liked it, while others who were used to taking pictures with a viewfinder, found it very irritating because there were larger differences in focal distances. Framing a picture was almost impossible. Today, we have DSLRs which can take advantage of the video mode, and can switch to sending a live feed to the LCD on the DSLR, allowing for an accurate framing view (because the DSLR has a much more accurate FOV of its subject). |
| Low-Pass Filter | Also known as an AA Filter; OLPF (Optical Low-Pass Filter) . Moiré is an inherent problem for imaging devices, and a filter was created to "break up" the frequency of the image being recorded by the sensor, allowing for the unwanted pattern to virtually disappear...but with a cost. With a Low-Pass Filter put in front of a camera imager, the image is ever so slightly blurred as a consequence. Due to recent imaging technology where the resolution is so great, camera companies such as Nikon and Canon have offered DSLR models without a Low-Pass Filter. |
| LUT | Look Up Table. Basically put, a LUT is the bridge of data which fills in the void between what your video source is...and what you want it to look like. So, a basic formula would like this: S + L = R. Source + LUT = Result (what you want it to look like on a consistent basis, no matter where it's being viewed and what equipment it might be viewed on). When properly used consistently, the LUT can be a way to keep your video looking consistent from lab to lab (computer to computer). If shot some video from your DSLR (because they are very capable of HD production), you could do all the editing yourself, but you might want somebody else to use their video talents. In this case, you'd send your LUT with the video, to make sure the video you saw on your monitor, looked the same when the video engineer received it. Do remember, a LUT is not meant to be the final say on your video, but more of adding what your original source video lacked in the first place.LUT is much like using photo editing colorspace information to make sure the proper colors are seen correctly (Adobe RGB vs. sRGB being the two primary color spaces) when you print images and view them on a monitor for accurate editing.You might want to look for Look Up Tables for your particular DSLR, and see if there are any avaiable. Technicolor has created the CineStyle profile for Canon DSLRs, so if you shoot Canon, you're set. |
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