Photographers’ gobbledygook can be confusing! This photography dictionary will help you find the real significance behind that jargon.
T Setting
A 'Time' setting mark found on some shutter controls. This setting is used for shutter speeds that are longer than the specified timed settings. The first press on the shutter leaves the shutter open, and it stays open until the photographer presses the shutter for a second time.
(see Shutter)
Tanks
Container for holding chemical solutions for processing films. Some tanks are for darkroom use only; others must be loaded in the dark, but can be used in daylight.
(see Daylight tank)
Technical camera
Not unlike a Field Camera but is made of metal (Large or Medium format with movements on front and rear standards, but less than a Monorail!). Used in the field and the Studio, a good all rounder.
(see Field camera, Large format, Monorail camera, Movements & Standard)
Tele (telephoto)
A telephoto lens has a longer focal length and narrower field of view than a normal lens and enlarges distant subjects. Depth of field decreases as focal length increases. (Telephoto lens construction: this allows a long focal length with short back focus, making for relative compactness).
(see Depth of field, Long lens , Standard lens & Wide)
Test strip
Method of calculating exposure in photographic printing. A range of exposures are given to a strip of paper, from part of the image, this helps judge the correct exposure for the final print.
(see Exposure)
Thin
A negative that is underexposed or underdeveloped and therefore appears less dense than a normal negative. A thin neg will need a harder paper to print correctly.
(see Contrast, & Paper grade)
35mm
The most popular film size; 35mm wide with punched sprocket holes and made for both still and motion picture cameras. In 1913, Oscar Barnack, of 'Leitz ' first used it in a still camera when he created the 'Leica' prototype using movie film stock. The format is 24 x 36mm, unchanged from Barnack's prototype. In relation to other formats, 35mm gives the best compromise between image quality and versatility. Nowadays also the size of the sensor on a full frame DSLR camera.
(see Format, Digital SLR)
TIFF
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is a common file format used in Digital Photography. This high quality file (which is lossless compared with a JPEG) can also contain colour management profiles and be colour separated.
(see JPEG & Lossy)
Tilt
A Large Format camera movement. The photographer tilts the lens or film standard to increase or decrease the depth of field.
(see Depth of field, Movements & Standard)
TLR
Twin Lens Reflex camera. A fixed mirror replaces the SLR's flip-up mirror, so making this design very quiet. (Medium Format) 6cmx6cm. Rollei is the best known. Parallax error can cause the photographer problems at closer distances.
(see Medium format, Parallax error & SLR )
Tone
Cold tones (bluish) and warm tones (reddish) refer to the colour of the image in both black-and-white and colour photographs.
(see Colour Cast)
Toning
Solutions called toners are used to change the colour of a black and white photographic image. Various toners are available which add there own Cold or Warm tones to the print (Sepia is the most well known).
(see Tone)
Trannie
A positive photographic image on film, usually colour but can be B&W, viewed or projected by light shining through the film.
Through The Lens: A metering system in which a light meter within the camera body measures exposure from the image-forming light that has passed through the lens.
(see Meter)
Colour film balanced for non-daylight sources (usually studio-type tungsten lamps) of 3200 or 3400K.
(see Colour Balance)
Tungsten light
Artificial light from either tungsten filament or tungsten halogen lamps.
(see Blonde, Redhead & Tungsten film)
Peter Ashby-Hayter, Bristol, U.K. Bristol Photographer
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