Explore the world through the lens of your digital SLR

For all you photography enthusiasts who always wished for a professional equipment to unleash your visual skills but unable to afford one, here's the good news - the prices of digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras have dropped considerably - Olympus-E-450, Nikon D60 and Canon-EOS 1000D.

So what is a digital SLR?

A digital (Single Lens Reflex) is a type of camera whose lens, shutter and mirror are positioned in such a way that the image finds its way to the viewfinder and then onto the focusing screen. The advantage that DSLRs have over other 'Point & Shoot' cameras is its compatibility with a very wide range of focal lenses, thereby an increase in flexibility & quality.

While it's often suggested that you first excel at a conventional camera and then familiarize with the basics of an SLR before purchasing one. However in today's generation has found a better alternative - explore & learn.

Here are DSLR basics you need to know while exploring-

• Shutter speed is the exposure time of the camera lens. The duration of light captured by the image sensor depends on the shutter. For instance, to capture rain droplets you would need a higher shutter speed, around 1/500. On the other hand, action images like the F1 race cars in motion a lower shutter speed, say 1/2 a second would be apt.

• Aperture is the amount of light allowed to the camera lens. Wider the aperture (low aperture value), more light goes through. A high aperture of f/2.8 will use natural light; while lower aperture images are brighter. Aperture also affects the depth of the field, for example a picture where once a section of the image is in focus while rest is blurred.

• ISO sets the sensitivity of the sensors to absorb light. By setting the ISO you can improve the quality of images shot at dimly lit places or during the nights.

Additionally, do try seeing your target form different perspectives, shooting pictures from different angles. And during photo-production you can also experiment with the contrast, temperature & exposure and play with different file formats (JPEG, RAW).