Parts of a Camera

• Camera  Body – Light tight housing for the film and all of the components of a camera, the actual  camera without a lens.
• Lens – The mechanism that focuses the image via glass inside a hollow tube.
• Shutter Release – The button on top of the camera used to activate the camera’s shutter.
• Shutter Speed Dial – Dial on top of the camera used to set the shutter speed.
• Shutter – curtain (of metal blades) that opens and closes to expose the film when the shutter release button is activated. IMPORTANT! Do not EVER touch this!
• Film Advance Lever – Allows the user to advance the film by one frame every time the shutter is  released.
• Film Take-up Spool – The spool attached to the film advance lever that reels up the film while shooting and advancing to the next frame.
• Film Compartment – The place where you insert the film roll.
• Film Frame Counter – Window on top of the camera indicating how many frames are either left  on the roll or how many frames have been shot.
• ISO Indicator – Window on top of the shutter speed indicator that identifies the ISO or speed of  the film inside of the camera. Pull up and turn the ring around the shutter speed dial to change the ISO setting.
• Film Rewind Lever – The film rewind lever allows the user to roll  the film back into the canister after all frames are shot to protect the film. Pulling up on the Rewind Lever allows you to open up the back of the camera.
• Film Rewind Release Button – Button on the bottom of the camera that when pressed, allows the tension to be released from the film so that the user can rewind the film when done.
• Hot Shoe – Flash mount on the top of the camera used for an external flash mount.
• Viewfinder – Optical device on the camera that helps the user frame the subject and compose the image.
• Light Meter – The light meter helps indicate if there is the right amount of light for the correct exposure. Adjust the exposure settings to increase or decrease exposure until the indicator displays positive (usually a green LED or a needle).
• Pentaprism – The pentaprism allows the photographer to see through the lens. It sits in front of the viewfinder and inverts the light that passes  through the camera’s lens, allowing the scene to be viewed right-side up.
• Rotating Mirror – A hinged mirror inside the body allows the image to be reflected up into the  pentaprism. This mirror swings up when the shutter release is pressed allowing the image to be projected onto the film.
• Focusing Screen – The Focusing Screen sits just below the pentaprism and overlays an image (pictured below) to assist in focusing. The view through the circle is split when out of focus, aligned when focused.
• Focus Ring – The ring at the front of the lens that clarifies the image when rotated.
• Zoom Ring – The ring in the middle of the zoom lens that controls the focal length (only on a zoom lens, of course).
• Aperture Ring – The ring at the back of the lens that controls the size of the aperture.
• Lens Diaphragm – An adjustable aperture (opening) in the lens to adjust the amount of light entering through the lens. Light passes through the lens’s adjustable diaphragm (like an iris) and is calibrated in f/stops.
• Depth of Field Previewer – Lever on the front of the camera body that when pulled allows the user to view  various levels of depth within the camera frame.
• Tripod Mount – Screw hole on the bottom of the camera that allows the body to be mounted to a  tripod.
• Battery Compartment – Compartment on the bottom of the camera body that houses the battery needed to provide power to the camera, especially the light meter.

Worksheet