Aperture
The adjustable hole behind the lens that controls the amount of light getting through the film or CCD.

CCD
A light-sensitive chip that can turn light into a digital signal, which your camera processes into an image.

Compression
Compression algorithms reduce and image's file size without cutting down on its resolution.

Cropping
Cutting out a subsection of an image, discarding the rest, to improve the picture.

Depth of field
The range of focus within a scene. A large depth of field means that objects both near and far from the camera will all be in focus.

Exposure
The degree to which the film or CCD is exposed to the light when you take a picture. This depends on the aperture and the time the shutter is open.

Flash
A very bright light that can illuminate a scene when you take a picture in conditions where there wouldn't normally be enough light.

Focus
By adjusting the distance between the various lenses within a camera, you can make objects sharp (in focus) or blurry (out of focus)

Histogram
A graph that show the amount of red, green, and blue color within an image.

Infrared
Light that is outside of the visible spectrum, used by some digital devices to communicate with each other without the need for cables running between them.

Lens
A piece of shaped glass that focused light onto the film or CCD inside your camera.

LCD
Liquid Crystal Display, a small, low power display on some digital cameras, used to preview or review the images you take.

Macro Mode
Allows a camera to focus on an object that is only a few centimeters away from the lens.

Memory Card
A removable Ram Chip on which digital cameras can store pictured.

Panorama
A wide-angle picture either taken using a special lens or built up by joining several images together in an image editing program.

RAM
Random Access Memory - allows digital devices to store information temporarily.

Red-Eye
The optical effect in which eyes glow bright red in a image, caused by light from the camera's flash reflecting off the retina at the back of the eye.

Resolution
The size of an image measured in pixels.

Serial Link
A basic means of connecting devices to your computer. Well supported, but now increasingly superceded by USB.

Shutter
The part of a camera that opens briefly t allow light to reach the film or CCD.

Shutter speed
T the length of the time for which the camera's shutter stays open when taking a picture.

USB
Universal Serial Bus. A recent, and very fast, option for linking digital cameras, scanners, and a wide range of other devices to your computer, allowing the rapid transfer of information between them.

Viewfinder
Eyepiece that allows you to frame your picture by showing you what the camera's lens will see when you press the shutter release button.

Zoom
The effect of moving closer to your subject achieved by adjusting the distance between lenses inside e your camera.