Camera Technician

An abbreviation of the American Standards Association, ASA is the term used to describe the light-sensitivity levels of film and camera imaging sensors.

The ability to scan and process more than one image in a single action. Batch scanning is only recommended if all of the images being scanned or corrected are equal in tonal values.

A palette is the set of available colors. For a given application, the palette may be only a subset of all the colors that can be physically displayed. For example, many computer systems can display 16 million unique colors, but a given program would use only 256 of them at a time if the display were in 256-color mode. The computer system's palette, therefore, would consist of the 16 million colors, but the program's palette would only contain the 256-color subset.

The correct size monitor is dependent on its use e.g. the number of images to be displayed at any given time, the viewing distance and the available space.

A simplex machine is best suited to applications where recording only is the priority. Simplex machines cannot display multi screen images (i.e. quad, 9 way and 16 way split) while in the record mode.

I struggled with reacting quickly to a variation of movements on the floor. In order to overcome this, I practiced a camera sequence which tested my reaction time.

Image resolution as expressed in horizontal and vertical pixel count (e.g., 1600 x 1200 pixels is the absolute resolution, and is also expressed as 2.1 megapixels (MP), having more than 2,000,000 pixels on its sensor).

During my last position I was employed as a waiter in a pub, which faced me with challenges such as keeping up with demand when encountered with a busy lunchtime rush whilst being able to balance this with customer satisfaction, which of course is the most important thing for myself and the business. This experience has allowed me to develop my organisation skills and ability to individually and as a team work on a task.

A general rule of thumb is only to use a MI lens in an internal application. This is because you are reliant on the electronic circuitry of the camera compensating for light changes in the scene and this is not able to compensate to the same degree as that of an Auto Iris lens.

A widely accepted color space that encompasses a wider range of color than the more commonly used sRGB color space. Adobe RGB is the preferred color space for images intended for prepress applications.

APS-H format imaging sensors (1.3x) are smaller than full-frame (24 x 36mm) imaging sensors but larger than APS-C (1.5x) imaging sensors. Although currently only available in Canon’s high-speed 1D series (not 1Ds) cameras, APS-H format sensors were also used in Leica’s first digital rangefinder, the M8, as well as Leica’s short-lived add-on digital back for the now-discontinued Leica R reflex camera system.

These three secondary colors can be combined to recreate all other colors. Like CMYK, CMY is used in printing to create the colors seen in a print, although with less density in the blacks than CMYK color. CMY color is used in some of the least expensive desktop printers.

The A-D Converter converts the analog signal that is emitted from the image sensor into a digital signal.

2K is a 17:9 format, defined by the Digital Cinema Initiatives, is a resolution of 2048 x 1080. It is most commonly found on professional cinema cameras and gear.

The process by which smooth curves and lines that run diagonally across the screen of a low-resolution digital file take on a jagged look as opposed to a smooth, natural rendition. Aliasing is an artifact that results from a sample resolution that is not more than twice the frequency of what is being captured, or the Nyquist Rate. A common form of aliasing is moiré. Smoothing and anti-aliasing techniques can reduce the effects of aliasing.

The ability of the camera and lens to keep the subject in focus during an exposure. Autofocus can be Continuous, meaning focus is maintained regardless of where it moves within the frame, or Single, meaning the point of focus is locked regardless of where the subject may move. For more on this subject

A bit-mapped file format used by Microsoft Windows. The BMP format supports RGB, indexed-color, grayscale, and Bitmap color modes.

Artifacts refer to distortions within an image as a result of image compression or interpolation. Artifacts can be seen as light halos around dark areas of an image or as a “blocky” quality in an image’s highlight areas. Forms of artifacts include blooming, chromatic aberrations, jaggies, moiré, noise, and halation. There are a number of available software applications that have been designed to diminish or eliminate artifacts from a photograph, post capture.

A buffer memory is a temporary “holding area” for image data waiting to be processed in a camera. Buffers enable a camera to continue capturing new image files without having to shut down while previous image files are processed. Printers also make use of buffers, which allow you to queue up several pictures at a time while the printer outputs previously queued-up image files.

Shorthand term used to describe an HD signal format that has a 16:9 aspect ratio, 1280 x 720 resolution, and progressive frame rates. The major HDTV broadcasting standard is 60 (59.94) frames per second (or 50 frames per second, depending on the region). Non-broadcast standard frame rates are also common in cameras, including lower frame rates of 30 fps and higher frame rates of 120 fps, 240 fps, etc.