VGA

What Does VGA Mean When Talking About Photography? VGA or ‘Video Graphics Array’ refers to an image resolution size of 640 x 480 pixels (0.3MP) at an aspect ratio of 4:3. The use of VGA to describe a specific resolution began in the early 1990’s when VGA, or 640 x 480 resolution was the standard video resolution output of the graphics chips onboard many home PCs. VGA was superseded in around 1996 by SVGA, or ‘super video graphics array’ which features a resolution on 800 x 600. The VGA resolution is now extremely out of date, but serves as a …

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Video Mode

What Is Video Mode When Talking About Cameras? Video mode refers to a specific shooting mode found on many cameras specifically made for capturing video. In this mode the camera will keep the shutter open permanently to allow the capturing of moving images. When using video mode on a camera with a dedicated phase detection autofocus sensor the mirror which reflects the incoming light onto the Af sensor remains in the lifted position. This limits the camera to using contrast detection autofocus only whilst recording video. Modern digital cameras have begun to use sensor based phase detection autofocus, greatly improving …

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Video Out

What Is Video out and How Is It Used When Recording Videos? When talking about digital cameras and cam-corders the ‘video-out’ is a graphics connection which allows a video signal to be output from the camera via a cable to an external piece of viewing or recording equipment. A video-out port will output a video signal in a number of formats including NTSC, PAL, and HDMI. With a camera connected to external equipment via the video-out port images can be viewed and streamed live, or recorder directly to external storage medium. Security cameras for example use a video-out port to …

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View Camera

What Is A View Camera? A view camera is a style of camera that dates back to the 1850’s and most commonly shoots to 4″x5″ film slides, though other larger sizes are also available (6×6, 6×7 are popular). A view camera has a very distinctive 2-part design that is joined in the middle by a flexible bellows. The front section of the camera holds a lens mount and a mechanical shutter, while the rear section of the camera holds a piece of “ground glass”. The image from the lens is projected onto the glass to allow the photographer to focus …

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Viewfinder

What Is a Viewfinder and How Is It Used When Taking Photos? When talking about cameras and photography a ‘viewfinder’ is the part of a camera used for composing and focusing the subject being photographed, and viewing the entire frame of an image. Viewfinders can be glass, as found in rangefinder and DSLR type cameras, or an LCD screen as found in mirrorless cameras. In modern cameras the viewfinder also includes an overlay of useful camera and exposure information, include a visual representation of camera focus settings and metering settings. The viewfinder is a photographers one-stop shop for capturing correctly …

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