Reading these forums have brought to me the knowledge of a lot of words and jargon talking about optics and general things about cameras. I don't fully understand what each one means and i'm sure a lot of other people don't so lets start here. i guess we can call this our "dictionary"
The words that come to mind at the moment are "vignetting" "barrel distortion" "Aberations" etc etc
can anyone explain in lamens terms what all these mean and if anyone has any queries put them in here because they wont only help you but will help a lot of other people out there such as my self.

Justin
Thanks guys

Here's pretty much a full list if terms about DV faults:

http://www.ferrario.com/ruether/vid_pict_characts.htm

thanks for that one frank.

I have seen that one before but forgot where it was. great help!!! I just thought it was about time to clear some of these things up because i was sure that i wasn't the only one out there

Justin

I don't take a lot of interest with this kind of stuff for video cams, but I do for still lenses. I find it's easier to work with the limitations of a cam while trying to do the best you can. With stills it's another matter. People viewing your video probably won't even notice a bit of barrel effect or the white balance being a bit off. There's a bunch of good links here:

http://www.dvfreak.com/links.htm

When I come across a good link I add it to my list.

Justin, here is an article (http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/optics/lensdefects.php) from our own DV Info Network that has what you're looking for. Also, if you do a search for those terms, using the forums search feature, you can find discussions of the terms and how they apply in the real world.