Camera Simulator

Change the settings and see what each one does to the photo
Click the photo to focus there
MODEM
SHUTTER1/500
APERTUREf/8
ISO100
−3−2−10+1+2+3
WBAWB
LENS50 mm

Histogram

Depth of field

What's happening?

    Snapshots Space = take

    Take photos with different settings and compare them here.

    How this simulator works

    The scene is built from layers at real distances (flowers 1.2 m, chart 3 m, lantern 7 m, car 14 m, lights 25 m, city 120 m, mountains ∞). Light is simulated in linear (physical) units, then sent through a virtual lens and sensor, much like a real camera.

    The exposure triangle

    Full-stop sequences: shutter 1/1000 · 1/500 · 1/250 · 1/125 · 1/60 · 1/30 … aperture f/1.4 · 2 · 2.8 · 4 · 5.6 · 8 · 11 · 16 · 22 … ISO 100 · 200 · 400 · 800 · 1600 …

    White balance

    Light has a colour, measured in kelvin (K): candle/tungsten ≈ 2700–3200 K (orange), sunlight ≈ 5500 K, shade/blue sky ≈ 7000–10000 K (blue). The camera's WB setting tells it what light to neutralise. Set it lower than the real light and the photo turns blue; set it higher and it turns orange. Watch the grey patches on the colour chart: they are neutral only when WB matches the light.

    Try these exercises

    1. Freeze vs. blur: in "Sunny day", use S mode. Compare the car at 1/2000 and at 1/30. Then put the camera on a tripod and try 1/4.
    2. Portrait background: focus on the chart (click it), set f/1.8 at 85 mm, then f/16. Watch the depth-of-field map.
    3. Bokeh: choose "Night", tripod, focus on the chart, 85 mm at f/1.4 then f/8. Look at the shape of the light discs (the 7 aperture blades).
    4. Light trails: "Night", tripod, ISO 100, f/8 and a 4–15 s exposure.
    5. Noise: "Night", handheld, 1/125 s, f/2.8. Raise the ISO until it looks bright enough. How noisy is it?
    6. Equivalent exposures: click the "same brightness" buttons under the triangle. Brightness stays the same, but the look changes.
    7. White balance: in "Golden hour", try Daylight, then Tungsten, then Shade. In "Blue hour", no single WB fixes both the sky and the lamps.
    8. Crop sensor: keep 50 mm and change the sensor size. The view narrows and camera shake gets worse.

    Reading the tools