Glossary of Terms Frequently Found on DPChallenge

AlienBees, studio lighting.

Adobe Camera RAW file format.

Auto Exposure.

Auto Focus.

The opening in a lens, analogous the iris of your eye, that admits light to the camera sensor. Aperture is expressed as an “f” number: a ratio of the focal length to the aperture diameter (f/1.8, f/2.0, f2.8, f/4, f/5.6, etc.). The larger the number, the smaller the aperture, which ultimately equates to less light reaching the sensor.

Aperture Value. Used to specify a particular aperture, allowing the camera to calculate the necessary shutter speed.

Auto White Balance.

Black and White.

Abbreviation for the word “background”.

The quality of out-of-focus areas of an image (generally the smoother, the better). Examples.

1. Taking photos with different exposure settings or other adjustments to ensure a “correct” capture.
2. A device that provides more separation between the camera and external flashes to reduce redeye and shadows.

Chromatic Aberration. A lens defect that produces color halos in areas of sharp contrast, often purple or red & blue.

The Critique Club.

Compact Flash media.

Composition.

The apparent magnification that results from a lens used on a sensor that's smaller than 35mm. The smaller image area captured must be enlarged more than a 35mm frame to reach a given print size, so the resulting image is magnified (1.6X on Canon consumer DSLRs, 1.3X on higher end Canon DSLRs, 1.5X on most Nikon, Fuji, Pentax and Sony DSLRs, and 2.0X on Olympus and Panasonic DSLRs) compared to an image taken at the same focal length with a full frame camera.

Versions of Adobe's Photoshop software (the de facto standard of image editing software).

Drew & Langdon: the owners of DPChallenge.com. Anger at your own risk.

Color desaturation.

Digital Image Pro. A discontinued graphic editing software package from Microsoft.

Adobe's digital negative format, a “standard” alternative to RAW file formats. *Note that DNG files are not considered valid originals for DPChallenge entries unless recorded in that format by your camera.

Does Not Meet Challenge. Refers to an entry that doesn't appear to fit the challenge topic. *Note that this is not grounds for disqualification.

Depth of Field. Refers to the range of a given image that's in focus.

DPChallenge.com

DPCPrints.com

Dots per inch. The number of printed dots per square inch of a print. The more dots per inch, the smoother and generally higher quality the print will be. The dimension in pixels of your image on any given length divided by the DPI will give you the size of your print for that dimension. For example, if you had a 3000 x 2000 image, printing at 100 DPI would yield a 30” x 20” print. Printing that same image at 1000 DPI would yield a 3” x 2” print.

Digital Photography League, a side contest based upon the average score of “teams” in regular challenges.

Disqualification.

A Digital Single Lens Reflex camera (see SLR).

The range of luminosity (dark to light) apparent in an image.

Evaluative through-the-lens flash metering. Found on Canon cameras.

Electronic viewfinder. A camera format that typically uses a separate sensor to display the scene on a miniature monitor in the viewfinder.

Exchangeable image file format, which is capture-related information embedded into (most commonly) JPEG files.

Flash Exposure Compensation. Adjusts the camera's flash output to be stronger or weaker than the automatically calculated strength.

For Auction, see Buy/Sell Rules.

Frequently asked questions.

1. DPC FAQ
2. mk’s Unofficial FAQ for DPC

Typically, a lens with a maximum aperture larger than f/2.8 (f2.0, f/1.8, f/1.4. etc.). By admitting more light to the sensor, such lenses allow faster shutter speeds in low light.

A low power light or reflector used to brighten the foreground in back lit subjects.

Full Frame. A camera sensor the size of a 35mm frame (currently limited to high-end DSLRs).

Field of View. The area visible in your frame.

1. Free Study.
2. For Sale, see Buy/Sell Rules.

Free Study Marathon. A side challenge where participants agree to enter and compete in regular Free Studies.

For Trade, see Buy/Sell Rules.

Get Together. A site or event where DPC members meet each other in-person and take photos for fun. See the Out and About forum.

High dynamic range.

Sigma's hypersonic motor. A lens mechanism that offers rapid, quiet focusing (see also USM).

Image Quality.

Infrared.

Image Stabilization (see also OS, VR). A camera or lens mechanism used to steady the image in hand held shots, usually by shifting the sensor or lens elements to counter movement.

Number indicating a digital camera sensor's sensitivity to light (ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, etc.) Larger numbers indicate increased sensitivity, often at the expense of increased noise.

A lossy (some data is lost) compressed image file format

Canon’s professional lens series, which typically include low-dispersion glass along with dust and weather sealing.

Shutter Lag. The time elapsed between pressing the shutter button and capturing the image, which can be excessive in older consumer cameras.

League of Death, a forum based side challenge.

The lossless Liv-Zempel-Welch compression algorithm used with TIFF files.

The Manual Mode camera setting that gives the photographer full control over shutter speed and aperture.

1. Manual Focus.
2. A medium format camera (the film or sensor is larger than a 35mm frame).

A generally undesirable interference pattern that results when two grids are overlaid at an angle (in this case sensor pixels and image patterns).

Megapixels.

Neutral Density.

Neat Image, noise reduction software.

Noise Ninja, noise reduction software.

An image artifact caused by variations in sensor sensitivity that results in a grainy appearance, most readily apparent in small camera sensors and high ISO photos.

Noise Reduction. Software or camera tools designed to reduce the grainy appearance in photos, often at the expense of detail.

Not Safe for Work. Indicates nude or inappropriate material that may require viewer discretion.

Out of Focus.

The original post or person in a forum thread.

Sigma's Optical Stabilization (see IS). May also refer to a user's Operating System (Macintosh, Windows, etc.).

Point and shoot camera, typically a handhold model with small image sensor and no interchangeable lens.

Refers to Photo a Day project.

Refers to a Photo a Week project.

Podcasts for Digital Photographers. A podcast hosted by lkn4truth and Judi.

Picture.

Point of View.

1. Private Message. A DPC communication feature that provides email without disclosing the user's email address.
2. Photomatix software for assisting in the creation of HDR images.

Post processing. Any image editing that takes place after the capture.

Post Processing Challenge (hosted by smurfguy).

Pixels per Inch.

Abbreviation for the word “people”.

Adobe's Photoshop software.

Adobe's Photoshop Elements software.

Corel's Paint Shop Pro software (previous Jasc's Paint Shop Pro).

Questions and Answers.

A file format that records the full, unprocessed data captured by the camera's sensor.

Glowing “demon” eyes caused by light from a flash that is positioned too close to the sensor reflecting off the back of the subject's eyeball.

Rule of Thirds. A compositional guideline that divides the image in thirds and places important elements along these invisible lines or intersections.

Report Post. A button that calls forum posts and comments to the attention of the Site Council.

RAW Shooter Essentials software.

RAW Shooter Premium software.

1. Site Council. A group of volunteers appointed to moderate the forums, judge photo validity and help with general site maintenance.
2. Side Challenge. A community-organised informal contest held on the forums.

Secure Digital media

The effect of converting most of an image to gray scale and leaving part of it in color.

An entry removed at the request of the photographer, only allowed if the photographer has no prior DQs in his/her last 25 entries and the entry is otherwise legal.

Shadow/Highlight. A Photoshop tool used to bring out detail in the darkest or lightest parts of an image.

Shipping & Handling.

Single-lens reflex. A camera format (usually with interchangeable lenses) that permits viewing the scene with an optical viewfinder through the lens itself.

When the Site Council or Admins impose a suspension or ban on a user.

Self Portrait.

Shutter Speed.

Tagged Image File Format (see LZW).

Terms of Service / Terms of Use. The rules governing user participation on DPChallenge.

Any application used to download files to the computer (as opposed to simply dragging files off the media card).

Through the Lens, in reference to metering and viewing.

Time Value. Used to specify a particular shutter speed, allowing the camera to calculate the necessary aperture.

1. Ultra Sonic Motor, a high speed silent lens focusing mechanism.
2. Unsharp Mask, a commonly used image sharpening tool.

Vibration Reduction. Nikon's name for image stabilization (see IS).

White Balance. A setting used to neutralize the color cast produced by light sources of varying color temperature.

World Photography League: a side contest that was the precursor to the DPL (see DPL).

Wanted to Buy, see Buy/Sell Rules.

What Were You Thinking?