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The week's signal, what the makers shipped and what the reviewers found, and the editor's note. No tracking, no ads, nothing else.

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THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S LIBRARY

Library

Everything that does not go out of date: the masters, the cameras, the styles, the light, film, digital, and a glossary of every word we use.

6 PICTURESPUBLIC DOMAIN, WITH THE RECORDMasters14 KINDSWHAT EACH KIND IS FORStyles3,589 STILL CAMERASCameras of the world134 MAKERSCamera atlas8 INSTRUMENTS · 5 SHAPERSLighting instruments

CATALOGUES

Every model, searchable

4 CATALOGUES

Cinema cameras624 ENTRIESLenses2,252 ENTRIESGear1,285 ENTRIESEditing apps246 ENTRIES

NEW SHELF

History and the industry

8 PAGES

The first camerasPHOTO, CINEMA, TV SIDE BY SIDECinema cameras1888 TO THE ALEXA 65Television camerasTUBES, TAPE, CAMCORDERSWho shoots with whatSIX WORKING KITSThe top endTHE MOST EXPENSIVE CAMERASLens makers20 MAKERS, SITES, NEWS COUNTTrendsRISING AND FADING, COUNTEDWhat to buyBY GOAL AND BY BUDGET

Glossary

ABCDEFHIJKLMNRSW
Aperture
The opening inside the lens that lets light in.
Bokeh
The look of the parts of a picture that are out of focus.
Crop factor
How much smaller a sensor is than full frame; APS-C is about 1.5–1.6.
Depth of field
How much of the scene, front to back, looks sharp.
Developer
The chemical that turns the hidden image on film into silver.
Dynamic range
The span from the darkest to the brightest tone a camera can hold.
Exposure
How much light reaches the film or sensor for one picture.
f-number
Focal length divided by the width of the opening.
Fixer
The chemical that makes developed film safe in daylight.
Focal length
How long the lens is; it sets how wide or close the view is.
Frame rate
Pictures per second in video: 24, 25, 30, 50, 60.
Histogram
A graph of how many pixels sit at each brightness.
Hot shoe
The bracket on top of a camera for a flash, a mic or a monitor.
ISO
How strongly the signal is amplified, and the grain that comes with it.
JPEG
A finished, compressed picture file.
Kelvin
The scale for the colour of light: 3200 K warm, 5600 K daylight.
Log
A flat video profile that keeps more tones for grading later.
Mirrorless
A system camera with no mirror; you see the sensor's own image.
Negative
Film where light and dark are reversed, printed or scanned later.
Rangefinder
A camera focused by lining up two images in its window.
RAW
The data the sensor recorded, before the camera finishes it.
Sensor
The grid of light-sensitive sites inside a digital camera.
Shutter speed
How long the shutter stays open.
SLR
A camera with a mirror that shows you the view through the lens.
Stop
One step of light: double or half.
Stop bath
An acid bath that halts film development.
White balance
Telling the camera what white looks like in this light.