Photo How To

When Olympus and Panasonic launched the Micro Four Thirds system they offered adapters that enabled the use of regular Four Thirds lenses. Smart move, because it immediately expanded the library of available glass. The goal of Micro Four Thirds is smaller and lighter SLR cameras. The unanticipated benefit is compatibility with tons of lenses we all thought we’d never use again.

Camera sensor sizes can be confusing for the uninitiated because of the various options available. Pros and enthusiasts typically use cameras with either full-frame, APS-C, or 4/3 sensors. But there are a number of smaller options too, usually found in compact cameras, super-zoom models, and even our phones.

Many photographers rely on their camera’s sophisticated metering system to provide the “correct” exposure for the scene at hand. While this approach works well under a wide variety of lighting conditions, there are times when even the smartest camera can be fooled.

What the heck is a depth of field (DOF) preview button? It’s that little button adjacent to your camera’s lens mount that you’ve never used because you don’t know what it does. Believe it or not, the DOF preview button is there for a reason, so watch the video below and make it your friend.

The first step for capturing breathtaking images in the field is analyzing light intensity and direction to determine the necessary settings for achieving a balanced exposure. One foolproof method for accomplishing this task involves using your camera's histogram to get the light right every time without time-wasting experimentation.

Lately we’ve been featuring tutorials from a helpful series explaining the inner workings of a camera, intended to help photographers take better photos. This new episode, from Christian Tudor of the Academy of Photography, reviews the concept of exposure time and explains how and when to use a camera’s Shutter Priority exposure mode.