A manual self-timerA manual self-timer mounted on a film cameraA self-timer button on a Canon digital camera
A self timer is a device on a camera that gives a delay between pressing the shutter release and the shutter's firing. It is most commonly used to let the photographer to take a photo of themselves (often with a group of other people), hence the name.
The self-timer is also used to reduce camera shake when taking photographs in low light or with long (telephoto) lenses. The timer's delay gives the photographer time to steady the camera before the shutter fires, and allows vibrations from the mirror flipping up (on SLRs) to die out. It also eliminates any photographer-induced camera motion when the shutter button is pressed.
Most modern cameras with a self-timer flash a light during the countdown, emit a beeping sound, or both. These warnings generally increase in speed or intensity during the last few seconds, to warn that the shutter is about to fire.
The most common delay is ten seconds. Some cameras also have a two-second and five-second settings. A few cameras provide continuously variable delay.
Single-lens reflex cameras have to flip up the viewing mirror before the picture is taken, which can also shake the camera. It is not uncommon for a camera to combine mirror lockup with the two-second self-timer mode, which reduces camera shake still further.
Alternatives to the self-timer include a cable release, and infrared or radio remote control.
On some leaf-shutter cameras, the self-timer mode is selected with the flash-sync lever, and is marked V, for the German word Vorlaufwerk.
Faries Manufacturing Company: Autopoze - An Early Self-timer
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A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens", while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level.
A flash is a device used in photography that produces a brief burst of light at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene. A major purpose of a flash is to illuminate a dark scene. Other uses are capturing quickly moving objects or changing the quality of light. Flash refers either to the flash of light itself or to the electronic flash unit discharging the light. Most current flash units are electronic, having evolved from single-use flashbulbs and flammable powders. Modern cameras often activate flash units automatically.
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The Minolta XG-M was a 35mm single-lens reflex camera introduced in 1981 by Minolta of Japan. It was also known as the X-70 on the Japanese market, in which it was not available until 1982. When released, it was the top model in Minolta's XG series of consumer-grade manual focus SLRs, replacing the XG-9. Changes from that model included a metered manual mode, and a revised body style with rearranged controls. This was also the first camera to use Minolta's new logo, which was used until the 2003 merger into Konica Minolta.
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