Components: Internal

Cameras have a wide variety of components that each have a different role.

Camera Body

The camera body is the main part of the camera. It contains many small components such as transistors and resistors attached to the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) which make up the hardware of the camera. The software of the camera is loaded on micro-controllers attached to the PCB to manipulate the hardware such as the mirror.

Lens

The lens is what is used to limit the amount of light that the mirror is exposed to. Lenses are used to adjust focus and zoom as well as different advanced lenses such as macro and telephoto.

Flash Mount

The flash mount is used for attaching external accessories such as microphones and flashguns.

LCD Display

The LCD (Liquid-Crystal Display) is used to manage camera settings through the dials or a touchscreen on more advanced cameras. It is also used for live view mode.

Shutter Button

The shutter button is used to take photos or activate the timer setting. If on continuous shooting holding down the shutter button will take multiple photos.

Function Controls

The function controls change the mode the camera is on. There is a wide variety of modes to choose from:

1. Manual
2. Aperture Priority
3. Shutter Priority
4. Program
5. Auto
6. Creative Auto
7. Portrait
8. Landscape
9. Close-Up
10. Sports
11. Food
12. Night Portrait
13. Video

Memory Card Slot

The memory card slot is used for SD (Secure Digital) cards as there is no onboard storage on cameras. Advanced cameras have more than one memory card slot due to the increased size of RAW files as camera quality improves.

Lens Release

The lens release is used to change the lens attached to the camera body, this is used to keep the lens securely attached until it has to be changed for a different lens.

Flash Release

The flash release enables the use of the camera flash. On more budget oriented cameras the flash release is replaced with a lift up flash element.

Zoom Ring

The zoom ring is used to change the focal length of the lens. This is only available on zoom lenses, prime lenses do not have this function.

Focusing Ring

The focusing ring is used to change how deep the point of focus is. This is manually adjusted until the picture is sharp. An alternative for this feature is auto focus.

Filter Holder

The filter holder is a screw thread on the inside of the end of the lens. This is used to attach filters such as UV (Ultra Violet), ND (Neutral Density) and colour filters.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder is used to view what is shown through the lens. This can be inaccurate sometimes because it will not show the effect of having a low shutter speed for long exposure photos.

Mirror

The mirror within the camera is what is moved to take the photo. Light is allowed to hit this mirror for the length of the shutter speed and is closed after to finish taking the photo.