Camera Features That Are Actually Useful
Whenever you look at a feature set of any camera, the headlines will usually consist of the sensor size, resolution, AI Autofocus, IBIS or some ‘smart’ mode. However I personally think there are 5 camera features that are invaluable and if your camera has them, it will really improve your experience.
Silent shutter
Most cameras should have this by now. A silent shutter just means an electronic shutter. This is where your camera effectively take a photo like your phone without using the shutter mechanism thus remaining totally silent. This is great for when shooting in quiet areas, indoors or anywhere where you don’t want to disturb. If you have an old or particularly aggressive shutter, this could be a good way to reduce some shutter shake when the shutter speed is low. Also you can achieve faster shutter speeds compared to mechanical. There are some negative side effects however. Colour casts, flickering and rolling shutter can creep in.
Multiple auto ISO settings
Every camera has Auto ISO settings. This is where you can set the minimum and maximum ISO values as well as the minimum shutter speed. When shooting in Aperture priority, this gives you more control over what the camera does. However some cameras have multiple presets for Auto ISO. This means you can set ISO 1 for daytime, ISO 2 for low light and ISO 3 to high shutter speed priority for example. Great feature.
AEL / AFL
Almost every camera will have AEL but some also have AFL and a combination of the two. AEL stands for auto exposure lock. When shooting in any auto or semi auto mode, you can lock the exposure and recompose. So if you like the exposure of one scene but when you recompose the exposure changes, locking it will prevent this from happening. AFL stands for auto focus lock. Same principle as AEL but for the focusing. This is an easy way to focus and recompose especially if shooting in a continuous (always tracking) mode. Finally some cameras allow you to program both of these to one button therefore effectively freezing the camera and giving you full freedom to recompose.
Highlight metering
Most cameras have a selection of different metering modes. A metering mode allows you to tell the camera how you want it to expose. For example a multi metering mode takes into account the overall exposure of the entire scene. A centre weighted metering mode only looks at what is in the middle of the frame and exposes for that. Some cameras will have a highlight metering mode. This will allow the camera to expose for the highlights in the scene. An easy way to get contrasty photos with ease.
Dedicated aperture dial
At the time of writing, more and more brands are adding aperture dials to their lenses. The moment you use a system with this feature, it would be almost impossible to go back. Most of us shoot in aperture priority most of the time. Aside from shutter drag, this is the easiest way to influence how the image looks. By having a physical dial on the lens, we can set the desired aperture very quickly even if the camera is off. This saves time and means less missed shots. Also a quick way to quickly let more light in and vice versa.
