C FORMAT

Definition: A 4x6 print. The Classic print format, best for close-ups of people.

C-41

Definition: Processing system for colour negative film.

Definition: Kodak's standard chemical process for developing color negative film.

C-MOUNT

Definition: A threaded means of mounting a lens to a camera.

C-PRINT

Definition: any enlargement from a color negative.

CABLE RELEASE

Definition: Its a flexible cable used for firing a camera shutter. Particularly useful for slow shutter speed and time exposures, when touching the camera may cause camera vibration and blurring of the image.

Definition: A thin cable encased in a flexible rubber or metal tube, used to release the shutter when the camera is not being hand held. Newer cameras may not have a mechanical cable release socket; instead they have a pair of electrical contacts which trigger the shutter when connected. For these cameras, the cable release comprises a length of electrical flex with a push button at one end and a connector that fits into a socket on the camera at the other. Pressing the plunger releases the shutter without touching (and possibly moving) the camera.

CACHE

Definition: A temporary storage area for information which locates itself between the hard disk and the RAM by employing intuitive logic. It also speeds up access time of the data.

CADMIUM SULFIDE CELL (CDS)

Definition: photo-sensitive cell used in exposure meters. Fed by an electric current from a battery, its electrical resistance varies according to the amount of light it receives.

CALIBRATION

Definition: The act of adjusting the colour of one device relative to another, such as a monitor to a printer, or a scanner to a film recorder. Or, it may be the process of adjusting the colour of one device to some established standard.

Definition: A process of setting digital imaging components to standardized settings that will produce accurate and predictable results in the output.

CALIBRATION BARS

Definition: An 11-step grayscale in 10% increments from 0% to 100% that prints along the edge of a page. When outputting colour separations a progressive colour bar is also printed. Calibration bars can be read with a densitometer to insure accurate output and printing.

CALLIER EFFECT

Definition: contrast effect in photographic printing caused by the scattering of directional light from an enlarger condenser system. The negative highlights are of high density and scatter more light with little or no scattering from negative shadow areas, which are of low density. This gives a print higher contrast than a contact print.

CALOTYPE

Definition: The first successful negative/positive photographic process; it produced an image on paper. Invented by Talbot; also called Talbotype.

CALOTYPE PROCESS

Definition: first negative/positive process, invented by W. H. Fox Talbot in 1839. Paper was coated with silver iodide and a solution of silver nitrate and gallic acid. After exposure the paper was developed in a silver nitrate solution.

CAMCORDER

Definition: Video camera and video recorder in one unit. Very portable, compact and convenient.

CAMERA

Definition: A picture-taking device usually consisting of a light-tight box, a film holder, a shutter to admit a measured quantity of light, and a lens to focus the image.

CAMERA ANGLES

Definition: Various positions of the camera (high, medium, or low; and left, right, or straight on) with respect to the subject, each giving a different viewpoint or effect.

Definition: Various positions of the camera with respect to the subject being photographed, each giving a different viewpoint and perspective.

CAMERA LUCIDA

Definition: lens and prism system through which a virtual image was seen, apparently appearing on the surface of the drawing paper.

CAMERA MOVEMENTS

Definition: Are mechanical system most common on large format camera which provide the facility for lens and film plane movement from a normal standard position.

CAMERA OBSCURA

Definition: origin of the present day camera. In its simplest form it consisted of a darkened room with a small hole in one wall. Light rays could pass through the hole to transmit on to a screen, and inverted image of the scene outside. It was first mentioned by Aristotle in the 4th Century B. C. and developed through the centuries as an aid to drawing.

Definition: Latin for “dark chamber”: a darkened room with a small opening through which rays of light could enter and form an image of the scene outside. Eventually a lens was added at the opening to improve the image, and the room shrank to a small, portable box.

CAMERA SHAKE

Definition: Movement of camera caused by unsteady hold or support, vibration, etc. , leading, particularly at slower shutter speeds, to a blurred image on the film. It is a major cause of un-sharp pictures, especially with long focus lenses.

Definition: movement of the camera caused by an unsteady hold or support. It is a major cause of un-sharp pictures, especially with long focus lenses.

CANADA BALSAM

Definition: liquid resin with a refractive index similar to glass. It is used for bonding elements in compound lenses.