How does a camera work?

Hello again, I will start off by telling you guys how a camera records pictures on to it's sensor. Once you understand this process, it will become very easy for you to understand how to change the settings to get the results you want.

Here is a diagram to show you what is going on inside a camera when you are looking through the view finder. (diagrams acquired from lnkr.net)

The red line represents light. Light travels through your lens, between the aperture blades (more on that later). The first mirror catches the light and bounces it to the second mirror on top, which reflects it on to the view finder. The shutter and the sensor are not exposed to any light at this stage.

The second diagram represents what happens when you click the shutter button. As you can see, the first mirror and the shutter snap out of the way letting the light through. The sensor captures the light and records the picture which is then saved on to a memory card. During this time, you will not be able to see anything through the view finder because the light goes straight to the sensor instead of traveling up to the view finder.

That's it! That is how a camera works.

My next post will be about aperture, so check back soon. And do not forget to ask any questions that you may have.