Calibration refers to adjusting the colors so they display correctly on a PC monitor. It sets the color temperature and gamma values while taking into consideration the ambient light, light reflected inside the lens, the colors of rooms, etc. Special calibration software is generally used to make these settings.

The levels of color, from pure white to pure black. Gradation is said to be attractive if many levels are used and the transition from one level to the next is smooth and even. The word "tone" is used with the same meaning.

Includes man-made lighting used in offices and homes, such as fluorescent or incandescent, in addition to flash.

Image has a tint of a single colour. For example if a picture is taken in fluorescent lighting without the camera's white balance being set for that type of light, the resulting image is said to have a "blue-green cast."

This refers to the focus deviation that results when the AF is used to focus the image, and then the camera is moved to change the composition.

Slightly less than the total number of pixels normally stated for an image sensor (CCD, CMOS, etc.), this term represents the actual number of pixels used to record an image.

One type of degradation found in digital images. Often described as zig-zag lines in hairlines or in the edges of highlights.

Introduced by Kodak, Patrone, or 35mm film as it is now commonly known, is wound tightly in a completely light-proof metal container, called a cartridge. On the surface of the cartridge is printed its sensitivity setting, known as the DX code.

One of the camera's most important mechanisms, the shutter controls the light exposure by opening for a precisely determined time and then closing. With film cameras, it can be a piece of black cloth or articulating steel in the center of the film chamber. It is designed to prevent light from striking the film surface while the shutter button [..]

A contact used to synchronize a flash connected to a camera. "X" is an abbreviation of Xenon, which is the gas used in the flash element.