This list includes 21 Photography words that start with Q, from “Q-switch” to “Quincunx Sampling”. The entries cover gear features, capture techniques, and image-processing terms. You’ll find words used in camera manuals, lighting setups, and post-processing.
Photography words that start with Q are concise terms describing equipment features, capture methods, and digital sampling. Many trace back to early imaging technologies, like “Q-switch” originating in laser engineering but now relevant to high-speed flash systems.
Below you’ll find the table with the ‘Term’ and ‘Definition’ columns.
Term: Shows the Q word itself so you can scan for familiar or new vocabulary quickly.
Definition: Provides a concise one- or two-sentence meaning and a quick note on typical use or context.
Photography words that start with Q
| Term | Type | Alternate/Abbrev | Related concept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Release | accessory | QR | tripod mounting |
| Quick Release Plate | accessory plate | QR plate | tripod mounting |
| Quick Mask | editing mode | Q mask | selection tool |
| Quick Menu | camera feature | Q menu | camera controls |
| Quick Control | camera feature | quick control dial | user interface |
| Quadtone | printing technique | quad-tone | black-and-white printing |
| Quadruple Exposure | technique | quad exposure | multiple exposure |
| Quad Bayer | sensor architecture | Quad-Bayer | image sensor |
| Quantum Efficiency | sensor metric | QE | sensor sensitivity |
| Quantization | process | quant. | digitization/compression |
| Quantization Table | data structure | Q-table | JPEG compression |
| Quantization Noise | artifact | quant noise | image artifacts |
| Quantize | verb | quantizing | color reduction |
| Quarter-plate | film format | quarter plate | film format |
| Q-switch | laser device | Q switch | pulsed laser |
| Quality | setting/noun | image quality | camera setting |
| Quality Factor | parameter | Q factor | JPEG compression |
| Quincunx Sampling | sampling pattern | quincunx | sampling/anti-aliasing |
| QVGA | abbreviation/resolution | Quarter VGA | image resolution |
| Quadtree | data structure | quad tree | image processing |
| Quantitative Imaging | discipline | quantitative imaging | measurement imaging |
Descriptions
Quick Release
A clamp-and-plate system that lets you attach or remove a camera from a tripod quickly; common standard for fast swaps.
Quick Release Plate
A small plate screwed to a camera’s base that mates with a quick release clamp for secure and rapid mounting.
Quick Mask
A photo-editing mode that shows selections as a translucent paintable overlay, making it easy to refine complex selections.
Quick Menu
A dedicated menu (often labeled “Q”) giving fast access to commonly used shooting settings without diving into full menus.
Quick Control
A camera interface or mode for rapid adjustment of exposure and other settings via dials or a quick-access screen.
Quadtone
A printing process using four inks instead of two to widen tonal range and richness in monochrome prints.
Quadruple Exposure
Combining four separate exposures in-camera or in post to create layered, creative images or composite effects.
Quad Bayer
A pixel layout that groups four subpixels under one color filter to enable pixel binning and improved low-light sensitivity.
Quantum Efficiency
The percentage of incoming photons a sensor converts into electrons; higher QE means better light sensitivity and low-light performance.
Quantization
The process of mapping continuous analog or high-precision digital values to discrete levels during ADC or compression, which can remove subtle detail.
Quantization Table
A matrix used by JPEG encoders to control how much each frequency coefficient is compressed, influencing image quality and file size.
Quantization Noise
Artifacts and banding that occur when tonal or frequency data are reduced to fewer levels during quantization or compression.
Quantize
To reduce continuous tonal or color values to a limited set of levels, often used when converting to indexed color or saving compressed formats.
Quarter-plate
A historical sheet-film size, roughly 3.25 × 4.25 inches, used in contact printing and early large-format photography.
Q-switch
A mechanism in lasers that produces short, powerful pulses by temporarily storing and releasing energy; used in some imaging and high-speed illumination.
Quality
A general term for how much detail and fidelity an image retains; in cameras it often refers to compression level and file type choices.
Quality Factor
A numerical parameter expressing JPEG compression strength; higher values preserve more detail while producing larger files.
Quincunx Sampling
A five-point sampling arrangement used in halftoning or some resampling methods to reduce aliasing and improve perceived sharpness.
QVGA
A low-resolution format of 320 × 240 pixels once common in early mobile cameras and video, now largely superseded by higher resolutions.
Quadtree
A hierarchical image division structure used in compression, segmentation and spatial indexing to adaptively represent image areas at different resolutions.
Quantitative Imaging
An imaging approach focused on extracting measurable, numeric information from images for analysis rather than just visual interpretation.