15 June 2009
In terms of digital camera photography, exposure is defined as the amount of light which falls on the image sensor when taking a photograph. Exposure is dependent on two things, the size of the image sensor and the length time that the image sensor is exposed for. If your compact digital camera has manual shutter speed control, you can directly change the exposure time, and therefore alter the overall exposure, otherwise this is generally done automatically.
You may be wondering how this actually affects your photographs. Well if you take an overexposed image, i.e. too much light falls on the cameras image sensor during the shot, then you'll notice a loss of highlight detail. The brightest parts of the image will become completely white and not give a true representation of the scene.
Alternatively, if you have an underexposed image, the darkest areas of the image will become completely black.
Most compact digital cameras, such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC FS7 have automatic exposure. The image processor detects ambient conditions and automatically adjusts the shutter speed to achieve the best possible image.
However, some high range compacts such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3
have manual exposure control. This gives more freedom to the photographer and lets them adjust aperture size and shutter speed independently. Both functions need to be considered as opening up the aperture alone will also decrease the depth of field resulting in loss of focus or cropping of the image, and reducing the shutter speed will result in motion blur of moving objects.
If you enjoy taking simple photographs with no hassle, then you should consider an auto exposure compact digital camera. If however, you would like the opportunity to experiment with exposure settings, then opt for a more advanced manual exposure control camera to unleash the creativity from within.
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