Too many TLAs!!! (A Compilation of Photographic Acronyms)

[Phil Light]

Three Letter Acronyms (Accompanied by abbreviations, initials and common terms associated with photography)

I've seen questions posted asking what certain acronyms mean and I'm not aware of a good answer on this forum... So I thought I would offer my own. Some include a brief explanation and most can be further defined on Wikipedia. There may be many more so if you know of any let me know and I'll add them. Also please point out any errors.

Several people have requested that I add general Internet acronyms. Instead of cluttering up this post, I've created a new thread for those.

And a huge thanks again to all who have contributed! This list has at least quadrupled since it was originally posted.

ACR
Adobe Camera RAW - the RAW image editor that's bundled with Adobe Photoshop
AD
Tamron's Anomalous Dispersion technology
AE
Automatic Exposure
AEB
Auto-Exposure Bracketing
A-DEP
Automatic DEPth of field exposure mode (Canon)
AF
Auto Focus
AFD
Arc-Form Drive – Canon's slow, inexpensive, and noisy focusing system
AEL
Auto-Exposure Lock – allows a user to lock exposure settings and reorient the camera without changing exposure settings
AI (Nikon)
Automatic Index
AI (Canon)
Artificial Intelligence
APO
Apochromatic (APO) telephoto lenses greatly minimize color aberration, a phenomenon created by different wave lengths of light refracting at different angles. This causes each color to have a slightly different imaging point, resulting in poor image quality.
APS
Advanced Photo System
APS-C
Advance Photo System C, a type of digital sensor smaller than FF (Full Frame) 22.2 x 14.8 mm (Wikipedia)
APS-H
Advance Photo System H, a type of digital sensor smaller than FF (Full Frame) 28.7 x 19 mm (Wikipedia)
ASA
American Standards Association - now ISO
Av
Aperture Value (Aperture priority)
AWB
Auto White Balance
BBF
Back Button Focusing
BG
Background - what's behind the foreground subject in a picture
BIF
Bird In Flight
BTL
Behind the Lens, a reference to putting the photosensor of the meter inside the camera body (ca. 1960)
B&W
Black and White
CA
Chromatic Aberration
CCD
Charged Coupled Device - refers to the image sensor at the heart of many digital cameras
C&C
Comments and critiques
CdS
Cadmium Sulfide, a reference to the first battery-powered photosensor which could read lower light levels than were possible with Selenium cell meters. (Also CDS -CyberDyneSystems - POTN forum moderator)
CF
Compact Flash memory card (can also stand for Custom function, depending on the context - see C.Fn)
C.Fn
Custom function - Allows custom settings to be applied to Canon cameras
CMOS
Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor. The heart (image sensor) of most Canon DSLR's
CMS
Color Management System
CMYK
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black - Color space used for printing
CONUS
Continental United States
CP also CPL
Circular Polarizer (filter)
CS4 or PSCS4
Most current version of Adobe Photoshop (CS - Creative Suite)
CTB
Color Temperature Blue (color correction gels - more info... even more info)
CTO
Color Temperature Orange (color correction gels - more info... even more info)
CWB
Custom White Balance
DAM
Digital Asset Management – A term describing the tools, methods, and techniques used to keep track of digital files
DG
A Sigma lens corp labeling of crop-factor lenses
DIN
Deutsche Industrie Norm (German Industry Standard) - European equivalent of ISO/ASA
DIY
Do It Yourself (Sometimes, Destroy It Yourself ) Photographers, probably more than any other group are known for ingenious modifications, hacks and inventions created as inexpensive methods to get a better photograph
DNG
Digital Negative - Adobe's royalty-free raw image format (Also see Raw)
DO
Diffractive Optical
DOF
Depth Of Field - range of sharp focus in a picture (Also referred to as Bokeh)
DPOF
Digital Print Order Format
DPI
Dots per inch
DPP
Digital Photo Professional (Software included with Canon SLR Cameras)
DSLR
Digital Single Lens Reflex camera
EE
Electronic Exposure, the first cameras with Auto mode refered to 'EE' on the controls
E-TTL
Evaluative Through The Lens (Also see TTL)
EC
Exposure Compensation
ECF
Eye Control Focus
EF
Electro-Focus. Refers to the focus motor built into the lens that is common to all EOS-mount lenses
EFS
Electro-Focus Short Back Focus. Canon's new lines of lenses made specifically for small-sensor EOS digital cameras
EOS (Canon)
Electronic Optical System (also the goddess of the Dawn - Thanks Pete )
EULA
End User License Agreement
EV
Exposure Value
EVF
Electronic Viewfinder
Exif
Exchangeable Image File Format (official abbreviation Exif, not EXIF - Wikipedia)
FD
Canon's SLR Lens mounting system prior to the introduction of EOS cameras. There is no definitive meaning agreed upon for 'FD', and Canon has never said what it stands for. (Source - Wikipedia)
FEB
Flash Exposure Bracketing
FEC
Flash Exposure Compensation
FEL
Flash Exposure Lock
FF
Full Frame - referring to a digital sensor that is aproximately equal to the size of a frame of 35mm film, 36 x 24 mm (Wikipedia)
FG
Foreground
FLM
Focal Length Multiplier (such as 1.6 for APS-C). This is usually considered to be an erroneous use of the term. Most photographers consider APS-C sensors to crop the image rather than multiply the focal length.
FM
fredmiranda.com - Another popular photography website & forum (Second only to P.O.T.N)
FOV
Field of View
FOVCF
Field of View Crop Factor - Reference to Canon's 3 sensor sizes:
1.0 = 36mm X 24mm - 5D, 1Ds Mark II, 1Ds Mark III
1.3 = 28.7mm X 19.1mm - 1D Mark II, 1D Mark II N, 1D Mark III
1.6 = 22.5mm X 15mm - 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 300D (Digital Rebel), 350D (Digital Rebel XT), 400D (Digital Rebel XTi)
FP
1.) Focal Plane
2.) Focal Plane bulb, a reference to special type of long-duration flashbulb made for use with focal plane shutter cameras (vs. leaf shutter lenses)
FPS
Frames Per Second
FTM
Full Time Manual focus. (A feature of higher quality lenses, such as "L" Series lenses) You can let the camera autofocus, then manually adjust focus yourself prior to the shot without lifting your finger from the shutter button.
GB
Gigabyte - 1 gigabyte = 1,000 megabytes or 1,073,741,824 bytes
GIF
Graphics Interchange Format - image file format that is more appropriate for flat color graphic. JPEG, TIFF, and PSD are more popular file formats for photographic images
GN
Guide number - a measure of the maximum distance range of a flash
G&N
The Glamour & Nude section on POTN
GND
Graduated Neutral Density (Filter - Also see ND)
GWC
Derogative term for a Guy With Camera that shoots female models (preferably with little or no clothes) with no intention of doing anything with the photos more then attracting more female models to let him take pictures. There is no model equivilant standardized, although there are models who are just after the attention.
HDR
High Dynamic Range
HSM
HyperSonic Moter (Sigma lenses)
HSS
High-Speed Sync
HSV
A color space where Hue is the color, Saturation is the intensity, and Value is the brightness
ICC
International Color Consortium - ICC Profiles are numeric representations of the color reproduction abilities of devices, often used to calibrate monitors and printers
IF
Internal focusing (the lens does not change shape when focusing)
IQ
Image Quality
IR
InfraRed
IS (Canon lenses)
Image Stabilization
ISO
International Standards Organization - As in: ISO speed - The "speed" of a digital camera's sensor (or film's) light-sensitivity
JPEG or JPG
Joint Photographic Experts Group - compressed (lossy) image file format
KB
Kilobyte - 1 kilobyte = 1,024 bytes
L
"Luxury" - Canon's L, or top of the line lenses. These lenses are distinguished by a red ring around them.
LAB
L for lightness and a and b for the color-opponent dimensions - A powerful color space which allows for manipulation that would be otherwise impossible in other color spaces. (Wikipedia)
LCD
Liquid Crystal Display
LED
Light Emitting Diode
LD
Low Dispersion glass. Canon optical technology typically found in their "L" series lenses. (Also see UD)
Li-ion
Lithium ion - A type of rechargeable battery with very high energy density, compact size, finite number of recharge cycles, finite lifespan, no memory effect, slow loss of charge when not in use, and an expensive cost
LF
Large format - Normally referring to large format, bellows box-like film camera such as the ones where the photographer would stand behind with a black cloth draped over him (More Info)
LR
Light Room - Adobe's new product designed for digital photography work flow
LTE
Long Time Exposure
M
Manual setting on cameras where the user is responsible for setting the ISO, aperture and shutter speed
MB
Megabyte - 1 megabyte = 1,000 Kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes
MF
1.) Manual Focus
2.) Medium Format (Normally referring to medium format film cameras)
MFD
Minimum Focus Distance
MLU
Mirror Lock Up
MM
Model Mayhem (popular modeling forum)
MMC
Multi Media Card - Memory card
MP
MegaPixel - (Also Model Place - another good sized modeling forum)
MR
Macro Ring flash (Also see MT)
MRC
Multi resistant coating - Special coating used on lens filters to help reduce flare
MS
Memory Stick - Sony brand memory card
MT
MT macro twin flash (Also see MR)
MUA
Makeup Artist
ND
Neutral Density (Filter - Also see GND)
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
OIS
Optical Image Stabilization built into Sigma lenses
OMM
On My Monitor
OMP
One Model Place (a large internet modeling forum - possibly the largest in terms of member base)
OOB
A post process of making a photo look "Out Of Bounds"
OOC
Out Of Camera, before any post processing
OOF
Out Of Focus
OP
Original Poster - referring to the first post or poster in a thread
OTF
Off The Film, a reference to metering TTL flash from the surface of the film at the film plane, a technique rendered impractical by the shiny surface of the digital sensor
Pano
Panorama - An image with a wide (or sometimes tall) aspect ratio, usually created by stitching multiple images together using Photoshop or a program dedicated to that purpose
PC
1.) Prontor-Compur - A type of flash-sync connector - (the two shutter manufacturers that set the standard)
2.) Perspective Control, a reference to a lens which permits rise/fall and left/right shift of the lens, resulting in a different portion of the image circle to be capture on film/sensor; similar to some large format camera movements
3.) Personal Computer
PJ
Photojournalism or Photojournalist
PM
Personal Message
PNG
Portable Network Graphics, a bitmap image format that employs lossless data compression (typically uses the "png" file-extension)
POTN
Photography on the Net (Duh!)
PP
Post Processing, usually meaning Photoshop, Digital Photo Professional, etc.
PPA
Professional Photographers of America
PPI
Pixels Per Inch
PS
Adobe Photoshop
PSD
Photoshop Document. Adobe's native uncompressed file format which allows layers, selections & many other attributes to be saved with the file.
PSE
Adobe Photoshop Elements
PW
Pocket Wizard - a device designed to trigger your flash(es) wirelessly with your camera from up to 1600 feet away
QR
Quick Release - A system featuring both a clamp and a plate that allows for quick attachment and removal of cameras and lenses to tripods and other other accessories
Raw (Not an acronym, but some assume it is, so I thought I'd add an explanation here)
An image file containing the "raw" data that has not been processed by the camera. (Also see DNG)
RF
Rear Focus- Sigma lens equipped with a system that moves the rear lens group for high speed, silent focusing
RGB
Red, Green, Blue (Also see sRGB)
RoF
Ring of Fire - Enable all AF points on a 1D Mark III or 1Ds Mark III and shoot in AI Servo mode. More info here.
SBC
Silicon Blue Cell, a reference to the successor to CdS photo sensors, which had less residual light aftereffects which could bias your next exposure.
SD
Secure Digital - Memory Card
SDHC
Secure Digital High Capacity - A new standard allowing SD cards > 2 GB
SLR
Single Lens Reflex - type of camera that allows through-the-lens (TTL) viewing
SM
Smart Media - Memory card (Smart Media cards max out at 128Mb. No cameras have been introduced that use SM cards since 2003.)
SOOC
Straight Out Of Camera
sRGB
Standard RGB - (Also see RGB)
SS
Shutter Speed
SSM
Super Sonic Motor (Sony, Minolta)
SWM
Silent Wave Motor (Nikon)
TC
Teleconverter - A lens accessory that fits between the lens and camera body and extends the focal length of the lens, often by 1.4x or 2x, at the cost of reduced light, decreased image quality, and slower autofocus
TFP
Time (or trade) For Prints
TFCD
Time For CD (or DVD) Both of the above indicate model's time in return for photographer providing prints or CD (internet version of a test shoot) with the expectation both sides will only use for portfolio updates.
TIFF or TIF
Tagged Image File Format - Lossless image file format
T&L
Travel & Landscapes section on POTN
TLR
Twin Lens Reflex. An older style camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One was used for imaging the other for the waist-level viewfinder.
T-mount
A threaded lens mount system often used to mount cameras to telescopes for astrophotography
TTIWWOP
This Thread Is Worthless WithOut Pictures
TTL
Through The Lens
Tv
Time Value (Shutter speed priority)
UD
Ultra-Low Dispersion glass. Canon optical technology typically found in their "L" series lenses. (Also see LD)
USB
Universal Serial Bus - A file transfer technology commonly used between cameras & computers. This technology was developed to succeed Serial & Parallel technology. (Also, when discussing transfer speed, referred to as USB 1.1 & USB 2.0. - USB 2.0 is significantly faster)
USM
Unsharp Mask (A Photoshop tool)
*Also UltraSonic Motor - Canon's fastest, quietest autofocus lens mechanism
UWA
Ultra-Wide Angle
VF
Viewfinder
VR (Nikon lenses)
Vibration Reduction
WA
Wide-Angle lens - A lens with a shorter focal length and wider field of view than a 50mm lens
WB
White Balance
W-S
Watt-Second, a measurement of studio strobe power. A unit of energy, commonly used in advertising for AC-powered studio flash units. It is not, however, a unit of actual light output, so comparing the watt-second ratings of different flash units is not usually useful.
WTD
What The Duck Comics - The best (only?) comic strip staring a duck as a photographer
xD
eXtreme Digital, or xD-Picture card - Memory card jointly developed by Olympus & Fujifilm
XR
Tamron's Extra Refractive index glass
X-sync
The flash sync speed indicating the fastest shutter speed that can be used with a flash


HTH (Hope This Helps)

[S Taylor]

Good stuff. I've also often seen USM used in post-processing talk, meaning unsharp mask.

WT

[Phil Light]

Originally Posted by William Taylor

Good stuff. I've also often seen USM used in post-processing talk, meaning unsharp mask.

WT

Excellent! That is exactly what I'm looking for!

[Mark_Cohran]

Let's not forget:

CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor. The heart of most Canon DSLR's.

also - acronyms used in forums:

IIRC - If I Recall Correctly
AFAIK - As Far As I Know
IMO, IMHO - In My Opinion, In My Humble Opinion

I'm sure there's lots more.

Mark

[Phil Light]

Originally Posted by Mark_Cohran

Let's not forget:

CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor. The heart of most Canon DSLR's...

Wow, how could I have forgotten that one?! Thank you.

Originally Posted by Mark_Cohran

also - acronyms used in forums:

IIRC - If I Recall Correctly
AFAIK - As Far As I Know
IMO, IMHO - In My Opinion, In My Humble Opinion

I'm sure there's lots more.

Mark

When I started this, I couldn't decide whether I should stick to just photography related acronyms or all forum related acronyms. I decided to keep it simple and make it photography only for now but I'll be happy to add a section if people think that's a good idea. What do you think Mark?

[Pete]

You've left of the single, most important acronym

L - Luxury...!

[Biko]

HDR - High Dynamic Range

[Phil Light]

Originally Posted by Biko

HDR - High Dynamic Range

Great! Thanks! Keep 'em coming!

[TeeJay]

Originally Posted by Mark_Cohran

Let's not forget:

CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor. The heart of most Canon DSLR's.

TNA TLA!


(Thats not a Three Letter Acronim)

[cdifoto]

EC = Exposure Compensation
FEC = Flash Exposure Compensation

[Phil Light]

Originally Posted by cdi-ink.com

EC = Exposure Compensation
FEC = Flash Exposure Compensation

I read your post and thought "What do you mean? Those are already there?!?" - No they weren't. I can't believe I overlooked those. Got 'em now, thanks.

[Mark_Cohran]

Originally Posted by Jeff Solenberg

When I started this, I couldn't decide whether I should stick to just photography related acronyms or all forum related acronyms. I decided to keep it simple and make it photography only for now but I'll be happy to add a section if people think that's a good idea. What do you think Mark?

A separate section would be good for people new to online forums, I think.

Mark

[Pete]

DO = Diffractive Optical
EOS = Electro-Optical System (also the goddess of the Dawn)
E-TTL = Evaluative Through The Lens

[Phil Light]

Originally Posted by Mark_Cohran

A separate section would be good for people new to online forums, I think.

Mark

I agree. You've swung me back over to that side of the fence. I'll try to get a bunch of those up this evening. I'll probably add a separate section to the bottom of what is already there.

[Phil Light]

Originally Posted by Pete

You've left of the single, most important acronym

L - Luxury...!

As much as I agree, I'm not completely sure this qualifies.

Originally Posted by TeeJay

TNA TLA!


(Thats not a Three Letter Acronim)