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Ever wonder what all those manual settings on your camera are for? Don't let them scare you! Find out
how to use them and begin improving the quality of your photos.
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Shutter speed |
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Shutter speed / Action shots: In bright light, use faster shutter speeds for stopping action and getting crisp
photos without blur—like this photo of the girl and the soccer ball.
Move the slider to find the right shutter speed for this action shot.
Shutter speed / Low-light shots: Use slow shutter speeds in low light. Unlike using your flash in dark situations,
slow shutter speeds create photos with rich color and detail-like this photo of holiday lights.
Move the slider to find the right shutter speed for this slow shot.
Your camera's shutter opens and closes to allow light in. The length of time it stays open is the shutter speed. Shutter
speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second. So, 1/200 would be one two-hundredths of a second.
Faster shutter speeds are used for stopping action. Slower shutter speeds are for situations where there isn't a lot of light.
Action shots |
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1/2000 sec.
This shutter speed is too fast. The photo comes out dark.
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1/320 sec.
This shutter speed is just right. You've caught the action and it has good light.
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1/40 sec.
This shutter speed is too slow. The result is blurry with too much light.
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Low-light shots |
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1/6 sec.
This shutter speed was too fast. Even though the camera was steady, there just wasn't enough light.
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2 sec. (with tripod)
This shutter speed is just right for catching detail, as long as the camera is held steady.
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2 sec. (without tripod)
This shutter is just right, but without holding the camera perfectly still, the photo comes out blurry.
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How do I change my camera settings? |
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Select the Aperture Priority shooting mode (Av) to adjust aperture. Your camera will automatically choose the right
shutter speed to make sure you have enough light.
For complete control over both shutter speed and aperture, choose the Manual shooting mode (M).
Menu navigation may vary by manufacturer and model.
Aperture |
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Like shutter speed, aperture controls the amount of light entering the camera. But it also determines what's in
focus in your photo. This area of focus is called your depth of field.
For example, in this photo, you would adjust aperture and depth of field to control whether you wanted everything
in focus, or just the flower and nothing else.
Move the slider to see how different apertures determine what subjects are in focus and how much light your
camera lets in.
The diameter of the opening in your camera's lens is called aperture. Aperture, together with shutter speed, controls
the amount of light entering the camera.
- Wider aperture = faster shutter speeds
- Smaller aperture = slower shutter speeds
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f2.8
With a wide-open aperture (low f-number), you'll have a limited depth of field. When you focus
on the flower, only the flower will have sharp detail.
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f4.3
As aperture gets smaller, your depth of field grows. When you focus on the flower, both it and
some other portions of the scene will have sharp detail.
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f7.8
With aperture set very small (high f-number), you'll have the most depth of field. Your entire
scene will have sharp detail.
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How do I change my camera settings? |
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Select the Aperture Priority shooting mode (Av) to adjust aperture. Your camera will automatically choose the right shutter
speed to make sure you have enough light.
For complete control over both shutter speed and aperture, choose the Manual shooting mode (M).
Menu navigation may vary by manufacturer and model.
ISO |
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Adjusting ISO makes your camera more or less sensitive to light. It also controls the amount of noise in your photo.
Low ISO numbers, like 50 or 100, are less sensitive to light but give you detailed photos in low light. So why not
use a low ISO all the time? Click each section next to the photo to find out.
Tripod shots: The lower the ISO number, the longer you have to wait for your camera to get the picture. So, unless
you're holding your camera perfectly still with a tripod, your photo will probably come out blurred.
Handheld shots: If you can't hold your camera still enough, you can increase the ISO number to 400 or 800, and get
a photo in low light that you might not have been able to catch otherwise. The trade-off is that you add more noise
to your photo.
Lower ISO speeds make your camera less sensitive to light, while higher numbers increase the sensitivity. So, in low-light
situations, instead of using your flash (which adds a harsh, shallow burst of light), you can capture dramatic photos like
these by making your camera more sensitive to whatever light is available.
ISO speed not only determines sensitivity, it also dictates how much "noise" or "grain" you'll see in your photo.
Tripod shots
A low ISO speed allows for fine detail in this night shot (taken without a flash), but a tripod is necessary
to avoid blur.
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Handheld shots
Adjusting ISO up for more light sensitivity lets you take handheld shots (without a flash) with less blur in
low-light situations. The trade-off is more image noise.
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How do I change my camera settings? |
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To change your ISO number, select ISO from your HP camera's Capture menu, select the desired number, and press Menu/Ok.
Menu navigation may vary by manufacturer and model.
White balance |
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Different kinds of light cast different hues. White balance adjusts for these hues so your photos don't come out
looking slightly blue or green, for example.
Auto white balance does a good job most of time, but specific white balance presets often do it better.
It's simple to manually adjust white balance settings. Just consider where you are when taking your photo.
If you're outside on a bright sunny day, try the Sun setting. When you're indoors with lights that use regular
bulbs, try the Tungsten setting, and so on.
Move the slider to see how different white balance settings can improve your photos.
Different types of light produce different hues. Adjusting white balance is a way of making sure the colors in your photos
come out accurately.
Your camera's Auto mode does a good job most of the time, but it has its limits. Sometimes, you'll have to manually
choose the right white balance setting to get a good shot.
Sun |
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Bright sunlight often casts a blue tone. Setting white balance to Sun diminishes these blues so other colors look correct.
Shade |
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Photos taken in shade take on cooler tones. Setting white balance to Shade diminishes this so the other colors look correct.
Tungsten |
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Conventional light bulbs cast a strong orange glow. Setting white balance to Tungsten corrects this.
Flourescent |
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Photos taken in fluorescent light tend to take on a green tone. Setting white balance to Fluorescent corrects this.
How do I change my camera settings? |
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To adjust white balance, select WB from your HP camera's main Capture menu. Next, select which white balance shooting mode
you want and press Menu/OK.
Menu navigation may vary by manufacturer and model.
Saturation & Contrast |
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When you want your photos to pop, adjust the saturation and contrast. Click each section next to the photo to find
out how.
Saturation: Saturation makes colors more vibrant.
In this photo, the red paint on the house is begging to stand out more. Increasing saturation helps you do that.
Move the slider to experiment with low, medium, and high saturation.
Contrast: Contrast can help add more definition to subjects that need it. By making the light and dark values in your
photo more defined, you can bring out fine details in your photo.
Move the slider to experiment with low, medium, and high contrast.
Saturation determines how vibrant the colors in your photos appear.You can manually adjust saturation to fit your preference.
HP cameras (and most other brands) have three saturation levels: low, medium, and high.
You can also manually adjust your camera to brighten highlights or make dark details darker. These contrast adjustments bring
out crispness in your photo.
Saturation |
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Low
Low saturation mutes colors and adds a fine art aesthetic to your photo.
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Medium
Medium saturation is ideal for most situations.
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High
High saturation makes colors pop.
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Contrast |
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Low
Lowering contrast can soften scenes with harsh shadows, but some detail is sacrificed.
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Medium
Medium contrast is best for most conditions.
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High
High contrast can bring out beautiful detail in your photos and help clearly define objects.
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How do I change my camera settings? |
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Select Saturation from your HP camera's Capture menu and decide between Low, Medium, or High. Then press Menu/Ok.
Adjust contrast much the same way. Simply select Contrast from the Capture menu and select Low, Medium, or High
contrast from the list.
Menu navigation may vary by manufacturer and model.
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Focus |
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Sometimes your camera has a difficult time figuring out what you want it to focus on. This might shift attention
away from the subject you're aiming to highlight in your photo. Remedy this by adjusting your auto focus area.
Click each section next to the photo to see how focus changes.
Multi: The multi setting will capture a wide area in focus, so most subjects in your photo are clear and sharp.
For example, you could use Multi for a group photo.
Spot: This setting lets you choose a smaller area to bring into focus. It can help bring attention to one subject
over another.
In situations that have several subjects, all at varying distances, it can be difficult for your camera to choose what to
focus on. The solution is to manually set your auto focus to a wide ("multi") area, or a narrow ("point") area.
Multi (wider area of focus)
In this mode, your camera will find the correct focus for several objects at once. It will base focus off any objects within the two brackets.
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Spot (smaller area of focus)
In this mode, your camera will use just one single object to calculate the correct focus. It will base focus off any object within the two brackets.
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How do I change my camera settings? |
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Select Auto Focus Area from your HP camera's Capture menu. Then select either Multi or Spot, and press Menu/Ok.
Menu navigation may vary by manufacturer and model.
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