Technology: Basic Photography & How to shoot Leica on a Micro 4/3 camera

Talking about being happy and doing things that I like in the earlier entry, I mentioned photography, so I'm thinking I should start by sharing with you what I have learnt recently.

First, instead of going into complicated lessons of photography, let's what a video from DigitalRev as a listening practice, the words you should hear are just below the video. And you are advised to watch it at least 3 times, once now, once after you have read the words listed below, and once after you have learnt the photographic terms.

Words you should hear:
manual focus,    lifeview,    precise,   blindingly quick,   colour fringing,   Leica SummiLux,
illegal immigrants,   resolution,   scroll wheel,   raped by mosquitoes,   aperture,   shutter speed,
equivalent of 100mm,   focusing tap,   works a treat,   ideal,   itching all over,   fend them off,
shoot Leica on a budget,   Leica optics

So, do you like it? Well, SummiLux is not what I will get for my Olympus PEN EPL-1, since the Leica 50mm Summilux-M f/1.4 costs an extortionate $39,900.00 and the 21mm Summilux-M f/1.4 costs $57,200.00 on DigitalRev.com, but I did invest a very small amount of a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II lens after reading many reviews.

Image from flickr.com

But what do all these "f/1.8" mean? The following video from Canon will explain that through the "Depth of View", or I like to call it, "How far the picture will be clear".

Image from photo luminary

Image from Hub's Photography Tips & Picks

So in simple words, the bigger the hole in the lens (aperture), the more blurred in the background, or in another word -- BOKEH!!!! Let's take a look at the video that compares my new Canon lens with the Nikkor.

Words you should hear:

enthusiast,   moron,   cheapo cheeses,   mouldy cheese,   regurgitated,   bokehlicious,   

Netherlands will win,   cast a vote

What about the meaning of "50mm"? That is the focal length, the distance from the lens to the camera sensor. The longer it is, the further the image can reach.

Image from DP review

Image from Wikipedia

Here's a video that will help you to understand a little more.

So, that brings back all those knowledge you might have learnt in your physics classes. I wonder why the teachers never mentioned how to use that knowledge in the past? Well, now you know, in photography.

More BOKEH next time! Happy learning!

Vocabulary:
blindingly -- (adv) extremely
work a treat (UK)-- to operate very well
fend sb off -- phrasal verb [M] to push or send away an attacker or other unwanted person
optics -- (n)[U] the study of light and of instruments using light, here it refers to the equipments
extortionate -- (adj) extremely expensive

enthusiast -- (n) [C] a person who is very interested in and involved with a particular subject or activity
moron -- (n) [C] informal a very stupid person
cheapo  -- (adj)  [before noun] informal low in price and often low in quality
mouldy  (US moldy) -- (adj) covered with mould, a soft green or grey growth which develops on old food or on objects that have been left for too long in warm wet air
regurgitate -- (vb) [I or T] to bring back swallowed food into the mouth
bokehlicious -- (adj) a blended word made up by DigitalRev presenter Kai W, from bokeh + delicious, meaning very nice bokeh.

Resources:
Message: Being Happy and Love to Japan @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/04/message-being-happy-and-love-to-japan.html

How to shoot Leica on a Micro 4/3 camera @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXahQo-L5m0

Focal Length @ DP Review
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=focal_length

Aperture, Distance, and Focal Length @ Photo Matters
http://www.photomatters.org/aperture-focal-length-distance

Canon EOS - Getting Started: Depth of Field Photography @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3zdybilbCY

Battle of the Bokeh: Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D vs Canon 50mm f/1.8 II @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6aF27ldYqA

Focal Length @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_length#In_photography

Aperture and focal length @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u01Pg7JyC4s

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/blindingly
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/work-a-treat#work-a-treat__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fend-sb-off#fend-sb-off__2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/optics
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/extortionate
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/enthusiast
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/moron
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/cheapo
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mouldy_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/regurgitate#regurgitate__3