[Editors - if you want a free 100-word boxout on anything from alpha channels to the zone system, just ask]
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AF points: The number of different points in the frame that the camera uses to check focus. More is usually considered better, but can also make manual focus and focus point selection more complicated.
Alkalines: Inexpensive disposable batteries used in some cameras. They don't usually last as long as rechargeable batteries, but they are easy and cheap to replace.
Aperture (lens): An adjustable diaphragm in the lens which can change the amount of light passing through to alter the exposure. A large maximum aperture (smaller number, e.g. f2 or f2.8) is a selling point.
Aperture-priority: An exposure mode where you choose the lens aperture you want to use and the camera then picks the shutter speed needed to give the correct exposure.
APS-C sensor: This is the sensor size used by most digital SLRs. It's about half the size of 35mm film/full-frame sensors, but the latest sensor technology and lens design means the results are nevertheless excellent.
Aspect ratio: How wide the picture is compared to its height. This varies with the sensor size and type, though many cameras can crop the picture to provide alternative ratios anyway. Compact cameras and Micro Four Thirds models have an aspect ratio of 4:3, digital SLRs use a wider aspect ratio of 3:2, and HD movies are shot in an aspect ratio of 16:9.
Aspherical lens: More complex lens design which offers superior results and often used as a selling point, though these days most aspherical lenses are moulded (inexpensive) rather than ground (the old way).
AVI: Standard movie file format on Windows PCs and used by some digital cameras when saving movie files.
B
Back-illuminated sensor: Modified sensor design used in some compact cameras which reverses the layers of silicon and circuitry on the sensor surface to improve efficiency. Nothing to do with backlighting.
Barrel distortion: Where straight lines near the edges of the frame (e.g. horizons, the sides of tall buildings) appear to bow outwards. It's an annoying but universal feature of zoom lenses at their widest focal lengths.
Battery life: An indication from the makers of how many shots you can expect to be able to take before the battery is exhausted. Most use a standard test designed by the CIPA organisation.
Bayer pattern: Digital camera sensors use an array of red, green and blue photosites in a standardised pattern, called the 'bayer pattern'. The data is then processed to produce full-colour pixels. The exception is Sigma, which uses a superior multi-layer 'Foveon' sensor, though this has yet to catch on.
BIONZ (Sony): The name Sony uses for the image processing system in its cameras. All makers have their own proprietary processing systems with impressive-sounding names.
Blink detection: An extension of face-detection technology, where the camera will alert you if it thinks one of your subjects blinked as you took the shot. It may automatically take more.
Bluetooth: Short-range wireless technology used extensively on mobile phones, but only on a handful of digital cameras. Most camera makers choose wi-fi instead.
Bokeh: Japanese term describing the visual quality of out-of-focus areas. Some photographers swear by it, some will think it's a load of hokum.
Body-only: Buying a camera body without a lens. It makes sense if you're upgrading an existing camera or buying a spare body, but if you do need a lens it's much cheaper to buy a body/lens kit. Camera dimensions are sometimes quoted in 'body-only' form since there's no way of knowing what lens the user might fit.
Bracketing: Shooting a series of shots at different exposure settings (or white balance settings and focus settings on some cameras) so that you can choose the best one later.
Buffer: The camera's short-term internal memory, used for storing image data prior to processing and saving the photos on the memory card. The larger the buffer (and the faster the processing), the more shots the camera can take in continuous shooting mode.
C
Camera shake: Blur caused by the camera moving during the exposure. The longer the exposure (shutter speed) the greater the risk of camera shake. Image stabilisation systems can help, though only to a degree.
Cashback schemes: Promotions used by camera makers where you can claim cash back after buying the camera. It's a way of reducing prices without devaluing the camera. Be aware that retailers may quote the 'cashback' price rather than what you'll pay initially.
CCD: A type of camera sensor used extensively in compact digital cameras but now out of favour in more serious models. CMOS sensors use less power and deliver better quality with larger sensor sizes.
Centre-weighted metering: Simpler exposure metering system offered as an alternative to standard multi-pattern metering. It's less able to adapt to difficult lighting conditions, but it's much easier to predict when it might go wrong and how to correct it.
Chromatic aberration: The colour fringing often seen around the outlines of objects near the edges of the picture. It's a very common lens defect, though more expensive lenses suffer less, and some cameras can correct it internally.
CIPA: Organisation which has developed a standardised set of test conditions for measuring digital camera battery life. This makes it possible to compare cameras properly.
Clipping: Where the camera fails to capture detail in dark shadows or, more often, very bright areas. For example, a reviewer might say that "camera x repeatedly clipped the highlights in outdoor shots".
CMOS: Sensor type used in almost all 'serious' cameras. Power consumption is lower than CCDs, allowing longer battery life and continuous live view modes. Image quality and sensitivity appear improved, too.
Colour temperature: The technical way of measuring what we now call white balance. Professional cameras will often let you set the white balance either as named presets (e.g. 'Daylight', 'Cloudy') or as a colour temperature value ('5500K', '7500K').
Compact flash: Memory card format used by most professional cameras, though the smaller SD card format is gaining ground.
Continuous AF: Where the camera focusses constantly rather than just once. It can reduce shutter lag, and it's used for predictive autofocus modes and for shooting movies.
Continuous shooting: A mode where the camera keeps taking pictures for as long as the shutter button is held down. It's used a lot in sports and press photography.
Continuous Shutter (CS): A high-speed shooting technology developed by Casio which allows very high continuous shooting speeds (up to 60fps in some models) and high-speed/slow-motion movies.
Contrast-detection AF: The AF system used by compact cameras, hybrids and D-SLRs in live view mode. It uses the image formed on the sensor itself, and it's simple and versatile, but not very fast.
D
DIGIC: The proprietary processing system used in Canon cameras. This is what turns the data captured by the sensor into an image file which can be saved on the memory card.
Digital Zoom: Digital magnification of the centre part of the image to make it look like it was shot with a telephoto lens, though the quality drops considerably, so most photographers ignore this feature.
Distortion: Bowing of straight lines near the edge of the frame. You get barrel distortion with zooms at their wideangle setting and (often) pincushion distortion at the telephoto end of the range.
D-Lighting: Feature in Nikon cameras which lightens dark shadows without affecting the rest of the picture. Active D-Lighting is a more advanced version which adjusts the exposure too.
DNG: A generic RAW format developed by Adobe and designed as an alternative to the current system, where each camera uses its own specific RAW format. It is used by some makers, but hasn't really caught on to any great degree.
Dust removal: Any camera with interchangeable lenses risks dust spots on the sensor, so most now come with some kind of dust-removal system which shakes the low-pass filter in front of the sensor at a high frequency to dislodge any dust.
E
Effective pixels: The pixels on the sensor which actually go towards making the image. There are always a few around the outside which are used for calibration and other purposes.Element (lens): Modern lenses consist of many different glass elements, sometimes as much as 15 or more. Some elements may be cemented together into 'groups'.
Equivalent focal length: The sensors in digital cameras are usually smaller than the 35mm film format, so lens makers quote 'equivalent' focal lengths in 35mm terms so that photographers can relate them to what they know. For example, the 18-55mm kit lens supplied with many APS-C format digital SLRs is actually 'equivalent' to 28-85mm.
EV compensation: EV stands for Exposure Value, and EV compensation means manually adjusting the Exposure Value worked out by the camera.
EVF: This stands for Electronic Viewfinder, and it's basically a small LCD display viewed through an optical eyepiece. It's used as an alternative to optical viewfinders.
EXIF data: This is shooting information embedded in all photos by digital cameras and includes the camera make and model, ISO setting, shutter speed, lens aperture and more.
Expeed: The proprietary image processing system built into Nikon cameras. This converts the sensor data into image files. Like other makers, Nikon regards its processing system as a selling point.
F
Face detection: Autofocus mode which can detect the characteristic shapes that make up a human face, and then set the focus and exposure to give it priority.
Filters (lens): There are still some lens filters which do things that Photoshop can't, notably graduated filters and polarisers. Interchangeable lenses have filter threads for attaching them.
Firmware: Programmable hardware inside the camera that takes care of many of its functions. Manufacturers periodically release firmware updates which you can download and install.
Fisheye: Extreme wideangle lens that doesn't attempt to record straight lines as straight and hence produces a characteristic circular distortion.
Flare: Bright patches sometimes seen on images taken when shooting into the light and caused by internal reflections within the lens. Some lenses are more prone to flare than others.
Flash compensation: The strength of the built-in flash is controlled automatically by the camera, but this is a way of adjusting the strength up or down if the effect isn't quite how you want it.
Flash sync (x-sync) socket: Found on some professional cameras and used for connecting them to separate studio flash units. These days, wireless flash control and wireless 'slave' units are more common.
Focal factor: The difference between the actual focal length and the 'equivalent' focal length with cameras that don't have full-frame sensors. For example, the focal factor of a Nikon D3100 is 1.5x. You multiply the real focal length of any of its lenses by the focal factor to get their 'equivalent' focal length.
Focal length: This is the distance from the optical centre of the lens to the sensor, though it's also an indication of the lens's angle of view, and this is how it's used.
Focal plane shutter: A shutter the same size as the sensor and positioned directly in front it. Focal plane shutters are used on cameras which take interchangeable lenses. Compact cameras with fixed lenses use smaller 'leaf' shutters within the lens.
Four Thirds: Sensor and lens format developed by Olympus and Panasonic and designed for digital SLRs, though it's now made way for the newer Micro Four Thirds format for hybrid cameras.
Foveon X3: Unique sensor design used by Sigma which has three layers capturing red, green and blue light separately. The advantage is that each pixel has full-colour information from the start. The disadvantage to date is that the resolution is limited.
FPS (frames per second/frame rate): The number of photos a camera can take, per second, in continuous shooting mode. It may also be used to indicate the number of frames shot per second in the movie mode.
F-stop: The old-fashioned term for lens aperture setting.
Full-frame sensor: A sensor the same size as 35mm film, i.e. 36mm x 24mm. This is the size used by most professional SLRs, and it's around twice the size of the APS-C sensors used by the majority of digital SLRs.
G
Geotagging: Embedded location information directly within digital image files. Geotags can be applied directly by cameras equipped with GPS receivers, or later on in software by adding photos to locations on a map.
Graduated filter: A filter which is darker at the top than the bottom, with a graduated section in the middle. Used in landscape photography to tone down excessively bright skies.
Group (lens): Modern lenses are composed of many separate glass elements, some of which are cemented together to form 'groups'.
H
HD (high definition): High-resolution movie mode which has an aspect ratio of 16:9 (the same as widescreen TV) and comes in two types: standard HD (1280 x 720 pixels) and full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels).
HDMI: Standard high-definition digital interface used for connecting HD cameras/camcorders to domestic TV appliances. HDMI connectors do come in different sizes, though.
HDR (High Dynamic Range): Branch of photography which combines separate exposures of the same scene to capture a much larger brightness range than would normally be possible.
Highlights: Areas of the photo at or near the maximum brightness that the camera's sensor can record. They come up a lot in digital photography because sensors are prone to cutting highlight detail off, or 'clipping' it.
Histogram: Graphical representation of the distribution of tones in the picture. It's basically a bar chart, with the darkest values on the left and the brightest on the right.
Hybrid camera: It's a bit of a loose definition, but it's taken to mean any camera with a large sensor but without a digital SLR's reflex mirror and optical viewing system. Instead, the viewing image is generated by the sensor, just like a compact.
I
i-Contrast (Canon): Image enhancement option on some Canon cameras which brightens dark shadows without affecting the rest of the picture. Most makers offer something like this, and it's similar to Nikon's D-Lighting, for example.
Image stabiliser: A mechanical system for reducing camera shake with long telephoto lenses or slow shutter speeds. Lens-based systems move a small element within the lens to compensate for camera movement, while sensor-shift systems move the camera sensor instead.
Intelligent resolution (Panasonic): Advanced in-camera processing which splits the scene up into areas with sharp edges, fine textures and smooth gradations and applies different processing to each.
ISO (sensitivity): You can adjust the camera's sensitivity to light for shooting in poor conditions by increasing the ISO setting, but the picture quality does deteriorate, especially with the small sensors used in compact cameras.
J
JPEG: The most common file format for digital photos, using sophisticated compression to produce small and manageable file sizes, though some photographers prefer shooting RAW files for maximum quality.
K
Kit lens: A general-purpose lens (usually a zoom) supplied with a camera body as part of a package. It's generally a good deal cheaper than buying the body and lens separately, though kit lenses are not generally of the highest quality.
L
LCD: LCD displays are rated according to their size, measures across the diagonal in inches, and the number of 'dots', which is their resolution. The LCDs used on top D-SLRs and hybrids are 3-inch displays with 921,000 dots.
Leaf shutter: Small shutter built into the lens, and used for compact cameras with fixed lenses. Some high-end studio camera and medium-format lenses may also have leaf shutters.
Lens mount: The physical connection between the lens and the camera, consisting of a twist-and-lock 'bayonet' mount and the electrical connections for data transfer and lens control. Each camera maker uses their own proprietary lens mount.
Lithium-ion: Rechargeable batteries with high capacity, low drain and good recharging speed. Usually supplied in proprietary sizes by camera makers specifically for their own cameras.
Lithium disposables: AA-sized disposable lithium cells with many times the capacity of conventional AA alkaline batteries.
Live view: A viewing mode now offered by most digital SLRs where the mirror is flipped up and the shutter opened so that you can compose shots on the LCD display, just as you can with a compact digital camera.
Low pass filter: A glass filter mounted in front of the sensor to reduce moire (interference) effects in the photo. This is what you see when you expose the sensor in the camera, not the sensor surface itself.
M
Macro: Close-up mode found on many cameras and lenses, though often misused because true 'macro' photography is when the subject is reproduced at its actual size on the sensor.
Manual mode: In this mode, you control both the shutter speed and the lens aperture. The camera can suggest exposure settings, but you're free to accept, modify or ignore them when you take the picture.
Medium format: Professional digital cameras with sensors larger than full-frame. These are expensive, specialised tools, so they're not covered in any great depth on this site (if you're ready for one of these, you don't need us!).
Mega O.I.S. (Panasonic): Panasonic's brand name for its image stabilisation technology. Every manufacturer likes to come up with a name for its own version. Sony's, for example, is 'SteadyShot'.
Megapixels: The number of pixels, in millions, on the camera's sensor. More megapixels do in theory mean better definition, but the numbers have now reached the point where this really only makes a difference with large-sensor cameras like digital SLRs and hybrids.
Memory Stick: Proprietary memory card format developed by Sony, now usually used in a smaller 'Duo' version, though Sony appears to be moving towards the SD format with its hybrid and D-SLR models.
Metering pattern: Cameras can measure the light in a variety of ways, using 'multi-segment' metering, 'centre-weighted' or 'spot' metering. These are all examples of different metering 'patterns'.
Micro Four Thirds: Development of the Four Thirds format which uses the same size sensor but a much smaller distance between the lens and the sensor. It's designed for smaller hybrid cameras.
Micro SD: Miniature version of the SD card format which is used widely in mobile phones and in a handful of compact digital cameras too. You can use them in normal SD card slots with an adaptor.
MPEG: A family of video file formats: MPEG2 is used for broadcast-quality TV, while MPEG4 is used by many digital cameras for recording movies.
Multi-segment/multi-pattern metering: The camera measures the light values at many different places in the scene and calculated the optimum exposure based on the results.
N
Neutral density: A type of filter which reduces the amount of light and which is sometimes useful for creating motion blur effects, though some compact cameras also use a neutral density filter to control exposure rather than providing adjustable lens apertures.
NiMH batteries: The most common type of rechargeable AA batteries. The last longer than disposable alkaline batteries, but can drain in storage, though newer varieties (like Sanyo's Eneloop cells) now last longer.
Noise: The 'speckling' effect seen in images shot at higher ISO (sensitivity) settings. It looks a bit like film grain, and it's caused by the amplification of random background variations in pixel brightness.
Noise reduction: Camera makers use sophisticated noise reduction systems to control the appearance of noise, though these have side-effects (smoothing of textures, blotchy colours) that can sometimes be just as bad.
NTSC: Video format used for broadcast TV in the US and some other parts of the world. When you connect a camera or camcorder to a TV you need to use the right output (NTSC or PAL) for your region and the equipment.
O
Optical zoom: Where the zooming effect is produced by the lens itself ('real' zooming) rather than by digitally enlarging the centre part of the picture (digital zoom).
P
PAL: Video format used for broadcast TV in the UK and some other parts of the world. When you connect a camera or camcorder to a TV you need to use the right output (NTSC or PAL) for your region and the equipment.
Pancake lens: Very short, slim lens with a fixed focal length designed to make hybrid or D-SLR cameras more portable.
Panoramic modes: Where the camera shoots a series of overlapping frames for stitching together later (the old method) or assembles them automatically in-camera to produce a finished picture (e.g. Sony's Sweep Panorama).
PASM: Short for Program AE, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority and Manual exposure modes. Serious photographers will expect these in any camera, and they can be one of the differeneces between 'proper' cameras and point-and-shoot snapshot models.
Pentaprism: The bulge on the top of a digital SLR that houses the five-way prism (pentaprism) the reverses and rotates the image for viewing in the camera eyepiece. Some cameras use a simpler 'pentamirror' instead.
Phase-detection AF: An autofocus system used in digital SLRs which overlaps two images to work out the focus distance and lens focus travel needed. It's fast, but relies on a separate AF sensor.
Photosite: The technical term for the individual 'pixels' on the camera sensor.
PictBridge: A way of connecting cameras directly to photo printers.
Pincushion distortion: Often seen with longer zoom settings, and where straight lines near the edge of the picture apear to bow inwards.
Pixel: The individual building block of digital photos. Each pixel is a tiny square of a single colour.
Polarising filter: Used to darken blue skies, reduce glare of shiny surfaces and increase colour saturation. There's no equivalent technique in Photoshop - it's an effect that can only be created optically.
Predictive autofocus: Ingenious autofocus mode where the camera can track the movement of a subject across different focus points and predict where it's going to be when the shutter is released.
Prime lens: Another name for lenses with a fixed focal length, i.e. non-zooms.
Program AE: This is where the camera decides what shutter speed and aperture to use to get the correct exposure. This is the only exposure mode on most compact cameras. It's quick to use and requires no technical know-how, but offers little creative control.
Program shift: An option which lets you shift the shutter speed and aperture values used in the camera's program AE mode. You might want to use a slower shutter speed, for example, or a wider lens aperture.
Q
Quick AF Live View: A system developed by Sony where a second, smaller sensor is used in the camera's pentaprism to provide a live view image. This means the mirror doesn't have to flip up, unlike conventional live view systems. Sony has since released an alternative 'Translucent Mirror' system which achieves a similar result without the need for a second sensor.
QuickTime: Standard movie file format for Apple Macs but also used widely for movie modes in digital cameras.
R
Rangefinder: Special kind of focussing system which uses movable mirrors at opposite ends of the camera body to superimpose two images in the viewfinder. When the images line up, the lens is focussed. Used in many classic cameras of the 20th century and still used by Leica.
RAW: All digital SLRs and hybrid cameras offer RAW files as well as conventional JPEG images. RAW files are not processed by the camera and are converted instead on the computer later on. This offers more versatility and higher quality images.
Red-eye removal: Tools for reducing the red-eye effect seen in some portraits taken with flash. It may include pop-up flashes, pre-flashes, in-camera image processing or computer-based editing.
S
Scene mode: A camera mode designed to make the most of specific subjects, like portraits, landscapes or night scenes, were the colours, focus, sharpness and other settings may be altered to suit.
SD/SDHC/SDXC: Most popular memory card format. SD is the basic type, SDHC is a newer, high-capacity, high-speed replacement while SDXC cards are faster still and designed for HD movies. Older cameras may not be compatible with all three types, though.
Second-curtain flash: A useful feature on some cameras for firing the flash at the end of the exposure rather than the start. It produces more realistic light-trail or blur effects with longer exposures.
Sensor cleaning: Most cameras with interchangeable lenses have sensor-cleaning (dust-removal) systems for shaking any dust spots from the sensor surface. It's also possible to clean sensors manually, but only with care and the use of proper cleaning materials.
Shutter-priority: An exposure mode where you choose the shutter speed and the camera then selects the lens aperture needed to give the correct exposure.
Shutter speed: How long the camera's shutter stays open to make the exposure. A slow (long) shutter speed can give movement blur or camera shake while a high (short) shutter speed can freeze fast-moving subjects.
SLR/Single lens reflex: Camera design where a mirror in the camera body reflects the image up into an optical viewfinder for viewing, then flips up out of the way when the shot is take. 'Single lens' is because you view and shoot the picture through a single lens, and 'reflex' because of the mirror.
Spot metering: Exposure metering mode where the light is measured over a small area (usually) in the centre of the frame. It can help in difficult lighting, but it needs skill and practice because mistakes can produce large exposure errors.
sRGB: The standard colour mode for digital photos. Technically, it doesn't produce the widest range of colours, but it's the closest match for the colour capabilities of computer monitors and printers, and few people would notice any difference compared to Adobe RGB, the 'professional' alternative.
SSWF/Supersonic Wave Filter: Olympus's dust-removal system for its digital SLRs and hybrid cameras, and also used by Panasonic.
SteadyShot: Sony's proprietary anti-shake system. Variants used in different cameras include 'Super SteadyShot', 'SteadyShot Inside' and so on.
Stop: Old-fashioned term for a single unit of exposure. These days, the more correct term would be 1EV, or 'exposure value', but many photographers still talk in terms of 'stops'. 2EV would be 'two stops', 3EV would be 'three stops' and so on.
SuperCCD: Sensor design developed by Fujifilm which uses a unique hexagonal pixel array for improved image quality, while the new SuperCCD EXR sensors combine pixels for low-light and high dynamic range modes.
Superzoom: A camera or a lens with an optical zoom range of 10x or more. A couple of compact superzoom cameras have a 30x zoom range, but digital SLR lenses seldom go beyond 10x.
Sweep Panorama: Panoramic mode in Sony cameras which shoots overlapping frames continually as you pan the camera, then stitches them into a finished panoramic photo inside the camera. There's a 3D version which produces images that can be viewed on 3D Sony Bravia TVs.
T
Teleconverter: Adaptor which fits between the lens and the camera body to increase the effective focal length, and often used to extend the range of telephotos.
Telephoto: Any lens with a longer than average focal length. You can get 'short telephotos' for portraits of around 80-100mm equivalent, 'medium telephotos' of 100-200mm equivalent and 'long telephotos' of 300mm equivalent or more.
TIFF format: Once commonly offered as a high-quality file format on professional D-SLRs because it doesn't compress image data like JPEGs, but these days photographers just shoot JPEGs or RAW files.
Tint: A kind of secondary white balance adjustment used alongside 'colour temperature', the main one. For example, a camera's 'daylight' setting might have a colour temperature of 5200K and a tint of +5. Tint adjusts the red/green component of the photo.
Touch-screen control: Popular on many phones and compact cameras, touch-screen interfaces are now appearing on some more sophisticated cameras, like Panasonic's G-series hybrids.
Translucent Mirror (Sony): New camera design from Sony which is like an SLR but the mirror is fixed in place. The translucent coating means it can form an image on the sensor and work with a conventional SLR autofocus sensor at the same time.
U
USM (Ultrasonic Motor): Used by Canon in many of its digital SLR lenses to provide smoother, faster and quieter autofocus.
V
VGA: A movie resolution of 640 x 480 pixels offered by some digital cameras, though this counts as pretty low these days, since most makers have moved up to HD movies (1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 pixels).
Viewing angle: The range of angles you can view an LCD display from before it darkens or becomes hard to see. Modern LCD designs, e.g. Samsung's AMOLED displays, are much better than older types.
Vignetting: Darkening in the corners of the frame (also called 'corner shading') caused when the lens can't produce even levels of illumination right to the edge of the picture. Found generally on cheaper lenses at or near their maximum apertures.
VR (Vibration Reduction): Nikon's proprietary anti-shake system, usually built into the lens.
W
White balance: Adjustment made by the camera to cope with different colours of lighting, e.g. the warm glow of tungsten lighting, or the cold light of overcast days.
Wideangle lens: Any lens with a wider than normal field of view. A 28mm equivalent lens is a moderate wideangle, while a 16-20mm equivalent lens would be an extreme wideangle.
Wi-fi: Wireless technology sometimes used to connect cameras to networks for picture transfer or uploading to websites. It needs an open or 'friendly' network since camera interfaces aren't suited to complex authentication processes.
Widescreen: An image or video with an aspect ratio of 16:9, like widescreen TVs. Many cameras let you shoot widescreen still images, and may come with widescreen displays.
X
xD Picture card: Small memory card format developed by Olympus and used by Fujifilm too for a while. No longer used in new cameras.
Z
Zoom lens: One which changes the angle of view/magnification your subject by shifting the elements within the lens, either using motors or with a mechanical ring on the lens.
