Please feel free to copy and distribute the text below to your friends.
Updated 18Feb2011
AA - anti aliasing
ACR – Adobe Converter RAW, the RAW converter included with Photoshop (PS)
ADC - analog to digital converter
A/D - analog to digital converter
AF - auto focus
AFA - as far as
AFAIC – as far as I’m concerned
AFAIK – as far as I know
AKA – also known as
ARS – anal aperture
AS – aspheric or aspherical, often describing a lens comprised of one or more aspherical elements.
ASAP - as soon as possible
ATM - at the moment
B&G – bride and groom
BF - back focus
BG - background
B/F – boy friend
BIF – Bird in Flight
Bio - biography
Blocked – shadow information is clipped
Blown - data highlights are clipped
BS – bullsh!t
BTW - by the way
C - Canon
CB – color balance (AKA white balance)
CC - credit card
CCD – charge coupled device
CD - contrast detect or contrast detection
CF – custom function (Canon cameras), compact flash, or crop factor.
CFA - color filter array
ch – channel, as in red, green, and blue channels
CMOS - complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor
CoC – circle of confusion
CP – circular polarizer
cPOL - circular polarizer
CRT – cathode ray tube
CW – Chuck Westfall, Canon’s technical sounding board
Digicam – digital camera
DIY - do it yourself or don't involve yourself
DO - diffractive Optics
DOF - depth of field at the object plane
DOF - depth of focus at the image plane
DPP – Digital Photo Professional (Canon’s RAW converter program)
DR - dynamic range
DSLR - digital SLR
EC - exposure correction
EXIF - exchangeable image format
EV - exposure value
EVF - electronic viewfinder
EVIL - Electronic Viewfinder with Interchangeable Lenses
FAIK – for all I know
FF - full frame, also used for "front focus."
FL - focal length
F-stop – a Stop
FOV - field of view
fps - frames per second
FS - for sale (also f/s)
FWIW - for what it's worth
GB – gigabyte
G/F - girlfriend
GND – graduated neutral density (e.g. GND filters)
GUI – graphical user interface or graphic user interface
GWC – Guy With a Camera
HDR – high dynamic range
HSL – Hue, Saturation, and Lightness adjustments
HFD - hyperfocal distance
HTP – Highlight Tone Priority (Canon cameras)
IDIOT - somebody that compiles acronym lists (like this one).
ILC - interchangeable lens compact (small camera implied)
IMHO - in my humble opinion
IMO - in my opinion
IOW - in other words
IS - image stabilization
ISO - the "International Organization for Standardization"
IQ – image quality
IYO - in your opinion
KISS – the “keep it simple, stupid” principle
LCD – liquid crystal display
LD – low dispersion, a type of glass used for a lens element
LF - large format
LMAO - laughing my "you know what" off
LOL - laughing out loud
LR – Lightroom, Adobe’s RAW converter program
LUT - Look Up Table (the LUT in your video card is where a monitor's profile is loaded)
LV – Live view
MA – micro adjustment (e.g. on the 1DmkIII camera)
MB - megabyte
MF – medium format
MFD – minimum focusing distance
MFDB – medium format digital back
MFT - micro four thirds
MILC - mirrorless interchangeable lens camera
mk - mark
MLC - mirrorless system camera
MLU – mirror lock-up
MoB – mother of the bride
MP - mega pixel
MUA – make-up artist
N - Nikon
NDA – non-disclosure agreement
NSFW – not safe for work
NI – Neat Image (noise reduction program)
NIB – New in Box
ND – Neutral Density (e.g. ND filter)
NN – Noise Ninja (noise reduction program)
Noob – a Newbie (new to the forum and/or photography)
NP – national park
NR – noise removal
NSFW - not safe for work
NW - noiseware
OBTW - oh by the way
OLAF - Orientation Linked AF
Oly – Olympus
OMG – oh my God
OOB - out of business
OOF - out of focus
OP – the original poster of a thread
OT – off topic
OTT – over the top
P&S – point and shoot (e.g. P&S camera)
Pano – a panorama created by stitching individual picture frames
PC - personal computer
PD - phase detect or phase detection
Pics - short for pictures
PITA - pain in the "you know what, try @ss for starters"
PLS - please
PM - private message
POL – polarizer (linear POL “may” be assumed)
POS - a piece of "you know what, try sh!t for starters"
POS – point of sale
POV – point of view
PP - post processing (performed after the initial rendering).
PR – public relations
PS – Photoshop (image editor program)
PS – power supply
PSP – Paint Shop Pro (image editor program)
PTGui – program for stitching individual picture frames into a panorama
QE - quantum efficiency
RAW - a 16-bit format file, minimum of in-camera processing.
ROF – ring of fire (AF point selection choice)
ROOTB – right out of the box
ROOTC – right out of the camera
ROTFLAMO - rolling on the floor and LMAO
RSE – Raw Shooter Essentials (RAW converter program)
RSP – Raw Shooter Premium (RAW converter program)
RTFM – read the “you know what” manual
S/H - sample and hold
SLD – super low dispersion, a type of glass used for a lens element
SLD – super-luminescent diode
SLR - single lens reflex (usually applies to a film SLR camera)
SSS – Super Steady Shot, Sony’s image stabilization
Stop - a factor of two in illumination or light intensity
TB - terabyte
TBH - to be honest
TBQH - to be quite honest
TC - teleconverter (usually 1.4X and 2X)
tele – telephoto lens (typical meaning)
TIA – thanks in advance
TLC – tender loving care
UI – user interface
ULD – ultra low dispersion, a type of glass used for a lens element
UOS - unless otherwise stated
USM - unsharp masking
USM – ultra sonic motor
UWA – ultra wide angle (e.g. lens or perspective)
VR – Nikon’s equivalent of Canon’s “IS”
WA - wide angle (e.g. lens or perspective)
WAF – “wife approval factor” or “wife acceptance factor”
WAG – wild ass guess
WB – white balance
W/O – without
WRT - with respect to
WTB – want to buy
WTF – what the “another word for fornication”
WYSIWYG – what you see is what you get
YMMV - your mileage may vary
ZB – Zoombrowser, a canon program used for browsing
100% crop - a crop of the original TIFF, JPEG, or RAW file, no resizing allowed.
