List of abbreviations in photography
Acronyms and initialisms that are not brand-specific

List of abbreviations in photography

Section Title: Acronyms and initialisms that are not brand-specific
Table Section Text: None

A or Av	Aperture priority or Aperture value. Automatic exposure mode where the photographer sets the lens f-stop and the AE firmware sets the shutter speed.

AE	Automatic exposure. Hardware and software ("firmware"), built into the camera, measures luminance of the subject and automatically sets shutter speed, lens aperture or sensitivity, this also allow camera to set the aperture for manual lenses fixed with this AE chip.

AE-L or AEL	Automatic exposure lock. Technology for holding an exposure setting from one scene to another.

AF	Autofocus. The lens is focused automatically by means of the camera's hardware and firmware, to obtain optimum sharpness of an image.

AF-L or AFL	Autofocus lock. Locks a particular focus setting, preventing refocusing if the scene changes.

AoV	Angle of view. Describes the angular extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera.

APEX	Additive system of photographic exposure. A system to aid calculation of correct exposures, developed in the 1960s.

APS-C	A film format defined by the Advanced Photo System as 25.1 × 16.7 mm. Different manufacturers use this term for image sensors measuring between about 20.7 × 13.8 mm to 28.7 × 19.1 mm.

ASA	The American Standards Association (now called the American National Standards Institute, ANSI) defined the ASA system for rating the speed sensitivity of photographic emulsions; now superseded by the ISO system.

AWB	Automatic white balance. A setting that uses the camera's hardware and firmware to estimate the colour temperature of the scene.

CA	Chromatic aberration. Failure of a lens to focus all colours at the same point.

CCD	Charge-coupled device. A semiconductor technology, used to create photosensor arrays for some digital cameras.

CL	Camera left. Similar CR is camera right, slang in photography groups

CIF	Catch in focus. A technique for allowing a camera to be pre-focussed to a defined spot, and the exposure is only made when a subject is in focus at that spot.

CMOS	Complementary metal oxide semiconductor. A semiconductor technology, used to create photosensor arrays for some digital cameras.

CMYK	CMYK color model. A subtractive process for color printing that utilises cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks to create most printable colors.

CP, CPL, or CPoL	Circular polarizing filter.

CSC	Compact system camera. Mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera, smaller than a digital single-lens reflex camera.

DCF	Design rule for Camera File system. A digital camera file system standard; JEITA number CP-3461.

DIN	Deutsches Institut für Normung. A logarithmic system for expressing film speed in common use in Europe since 1934.

DOF or DoF	Depth of field. A measure of the permissible distance within which an object remains in acceptable, though not perfect, focus.

DPI	Dots per inch. A measure of the ability of a printer or scanner to handle fine detail.

DR	Dynamic range. Expresses the luminance range of a scene, a captured image or the maximum range of luminance that a camera can successfully capture at one setting.

DSC	Digital Still Camera. Prefix on image filenames produced by various digital cameras.

DSLR	Digital single-lens reflex camera; also dSLR.

ED	Extra low dispersion glass. Used in composite lenses to reduce chromatic aberration.

EFC, EFCS or EFSC	Electronic first curtain, electronic front curtain, electronic first curtain shutter, electronic first shutter curtain of a focal plane shutter.

EV	Exposure value. A system for indicating correct exposure in which the shutter speed and f-number are related arithmetically.

EVF	Electronic viewfinder. The through-the-lens view is displayed on a miniature solid-state screen, rather than on an optical screen or view.

EVIL	Electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens camera. See also MILC, mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera.

Exif	Exchangeable image file format. A standard format for tag data in digital camera files.

f	f-number, f-stop. The numerical value of a lens aperture.

FF	Full frame, where the image sensor is approximately the same size as a 35 mm film: 36 × 24 mm.

FP	Focal plane. A shutter that opens and closes near to the film or image sensor, usually as a fast-moving slit, as contrasted with a bladed/leaf shutter located near a nodal point of a lens.

FPA	Focal plane array. A matrix of sensors positioned in the focal plane of a lens or other focusing device.

FPS	Frames per second. Used in reference to maximum continuous shooting rate or video.

GIF	Graphics Interchange Format. A computer file format for coloured images, restricted to 256 colours and useful for small file-size.

GN	Guide number. A value indicating the power of an electronic flash apparatus, and used to estimate exposure.

GND	Graduated neutral density. A type of neutral density filter in which brightness is reduced more on one side of the filter than on the other, allowing the photographer to reduce the contrast between, for example, bright sky and dark land.

HDR	High dynamic range. Techniques that allow a digital image to show a wider contrast range than current image sensors can record in one file.

ICM	Intentional camera movement. The camera or the focus or zoom of its lens is adjusted by the photographer during an exposure in order to achieve special or artistic effects.

IQ	Image quality. An informal abbreviation used in discussion forums.

IR	Infrared. The electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than about 700 nm and not visible to the human eye.

IS	Image stabilization. Technology to minimize image blurring by camera movement during exposure.

ISO	A system for quantifying the sensitivity ("speed") of a photographic emulsion, or a solid-state digital-camera's image sensor, to visible light. Normally followed by a numerical value, e.g.: ISO 100 or ISO 64/19°.

JPEG	A format designed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group, that allows files of coloured images to be compressed to a smaller digital file than if the full range of colours were to be saved.

LBA	Lens buying addiction. Usually used in a jocular sense on camera forums, about a wish to add to an already extensive collection of interchangeable lenses.

LCA	An ambiguous abbreviation that should be avoided. Some writers use it to mean lateral (transverse) chromatic aberration, TCA, while others use it to mean longitudial (axial) chromatic aberration, LoCA.

LCD	Liquid crystal display. A technology often used in the monitor screens of digital cameras, etc.

LED	Light-emitting diode. Semiconductor technology to convert electrical energy into light efficiently.

LoCA	Longitudinal (axial) chromatic aberration.

LR	Lightroom, a popular software application for processing images from digital cameras. Developed by Adobe.

MC	Multi-coating or multi-coated. Anti-reflection coating of lenses to reduce transmission losses.

MF	Manual focus. The photographer adjusts the lens to obtain the image sharpness required, as opposed to AF.

MILC	Mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera. Similar to a digital single-lens reflex camera, but having an electronic or rangefinder type of viewfinder in place of the mirror and pentaprism, to allow a more compact design.

MTF	Modulation transfer function. A technical measure of the ability of a lens to create a finely detailed image.

ND	Neutral density. A neutral-grey pre-lens filter to reduce overall brightness without altering colour balance.

NR	Noise reduction. Digital noise reduction through firmware processing or editing the digitized image.

OCF	Off-camera flash.

OOF or OoF	Out of focus, Out of Frame.

OVF	Optical viewfinder. The picture is framed on the focusing screen of a through-the-lens optical viewfinder, as found on [D]SLR cameras, or in a look-through-viewfinder, as found on rangefinder cameras.

PC	Prontor-Compur. A 3.5 mm coaxial camera jack named PC terminal, to synchronize external non-dedicated flashes (f.e.

PF	Purple fringing. A form of chromatic aberration in which a purple-violet haze degrades high contrast edges or over-saturated highlights.

PNG	Portable Network Graphics. A computer file format for compressed coloured images useful for small file-size.

P&S	Point-and-shoot camera. Photographers' slang for a small or compact camera that is easy to use because the essential functions are automated.

PPI	PixelsPerInch. The number of pixels or picture elements contained in one linear inch in a digitally stored image.

PS, PSE	Photoshop, Photoshop Elements. Commercial computer applications developed by Adobe for editing digital images.

RGB	RGB color space. An additive colour space that uses the primary colours of red, green and blue to create any colour.

RP	Resolving power. Usual meaning is the reciprocal of the distance between two just-distinguishable subject details.

S or TV	Shutter priority or time value. Automatic exposure mode where the photographer sets a shutter speed, and the AE firmware automatically sets the appropriate lens aperture.

SC	Soft Capture. Capture of light emitting objects as the primary subject with light quality that is not primary but equally soft or washed as the background.

SLR	Single-lens reflex camera. A camera where the same lens is used to view the scene and to focus its image onto a film emulsion or solid-state photosensor.

SOOC	Straight out of camera. Images as shot out of camera; implied is no post processing, slang in photography groups

STU	Shoot through umbrella. White translucent photographic umbrella; a flash is shot inside the umbrella and the light is diffused onto the intended target; provides a soft, large light source.

Sv	Sensitivity value. Sensitivity priority automatic exposure mode, where the photographer sets the ISO sensitivity and the AE firmware sets the aperture or shutter speed.

TC	Teleconverter. A lens accessory that fits between the lens and camera body and extends the focal length of the lens, often by 1.4x or 2x, at the cost of reduced light, decreased image quality, and slower autofocus.

TCA	Transverse (lateral) chromatic aberration or lateral colour. Colour fringes that worsen the further the image point is from the optical axis.

TIFF	Tagged Image File Format. A high fidelity computer file format for handling digital images that does not sacrifice colour and form detail in the way that 'lossy' compression formats such as GIF, JPEG and PNG do.

TLR	Twin-lens reflex. A camera with two lenses, one for taking pictures and one for viewing the scene.

TTL	Through the lens. Through the lens metering measures the luminance after it has passed through the camera lens, thus providing readings or settings that allow for aperture and focus changes, filters, etc.

UV	Ultraviolet. The electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than about 400 nm and not visible to the human eye.

WB	White balance.

Sentence(s)

Shutter priority (abbreviated as S, or Tv for time value) mode gives manual shutter control with automatic aperture.

final_sentence: Shutter priority (abbreviated as S, or Tv for time value) mode gives manual shutter control with automatic aperture.