GX10 Dslr System

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR DIGITAL SLR

Your Digital SLR (DSLR) has a host of controls and functions that will enable you to take complete control of almost every aspect of your picture taking. We will start by looking at some of the key controls you will ﬁnd on your DSLR and what they do

THE FRONT

Control Wheel

Adjusts the shooting modes and/or settings. Some DSLRs have a control wheel on the front, some on the back; some have both. Their functions can often be customised via the menu, allowing you to tailor con- trol of the camera to your way of working.

RC Receiver

A receiver for the remote control for remotely triggering the camera from several metres away. It also doubles as a self-timer lamp, and ﬂ ashes to indicate that the timer is on.

Pop-up Flash/

Hot Shoe

All but the top pro DSLRs feature a pop-up ﬂ ash which, depending on the camera, offer varying degrees of control. Accessory ﬂ ashguns lock onto the hotshoe and provide greater ﬂ ash power and extra features.

Lens

Each make of camera has its own type of lens mount, for which there are a vast number of lenses available. These can go from very wideangle to super telephoto.There is also a wide choice of lenses from third-party companies that can be used as well as the camera manufacturer’s own.

See the back page

WORDS:DOUG HARMAN DESIGN:MICHAEL O’CONNELL

Optical Viewﬁ nder

Allows you to compose your images accurately by seeing, via a series of mirrors and a pentaprism (or pentamirror), directly through the lens. Some viewﬁ nders provide a 100% ﬁ eld of view; others slightly less, typically around 95%.

Menu Button

Activate the camera’s menu system to control the camera’s core options (may include some accessed by external buttons on the body as well), such as setting the date and time. (Also, overleaf for more detail.)

THE TOP

Mode Dial

A dial that turns to switch between the main shooting modes on your camera. These can include a full-auto mode, scene modes such as portrait or landscape, and manual control options such as shutter and aperture priority. Some DSLRs have two such dials (see control wheel, above).

Metering Mode

Allows you to alter the metering mode (eg, from Matrix/Evaluative to Centre- Weighted or Spot modes). This is almost always an external control but can sometimes be found in the menu, too.

THE BACK

Four-way Controller

This button pivots on its centre allowing it to be pressed upwards, downwards, left and right. It’s used for changing ﬂ ash and other settings, and for scrolling through images or menus (often in conjunction with a control wheel).

LCD Display

Provides information on the camera’s settings and allows reviewing of images. It may also host other useful information, such as histogram displays, overexposure warnings, etc.

Flash Activation Button

Pressing this button activates the camera’s built-in ﬂ ash. On some cameras, it is also used to change the ﬂ ash mode in use, such as ﬁ ll-in ﬂ ash, for example

– often in conjunction with a control dial.

Mono Data LCD

Used to keep you abreast of camera settings such as the focus points, mode selected, number of images left on the card and remaining battery power. Some DSLRs have abandoned this display in favour of presenting this information on the large colour screen.