Friday, November 19, 2010

The Evolution of Digital Cameras

By Jack Parsons


Back in the 90s, electronic stores were primarily filled with film cameras while communities had many photo developing studios and other places selling camera film. Finding these types of studios isn't very common these days because of the advent of digital cameras. It did not happen right away until the cheaper entry-level designs were introduced that were very inexpensive and actually provided savings because there is no more film to buy and photos to develop. Investing on a photo printer and buying photograph paper is already good enough. But it is easy to wonder exactly how these digital cameras work.

Digital cameras are just like computers and cellphones in the sense that they have some kind of processor inside. The processor has many roles and it depends on the manufacturer and model of the camera. Basic functions involve the recording of an image the moment the shutter is pressed. This works the same way as film cameras since it makes use of a camera lens and focuses light on the subject. The only difference is that the computer replaces the semiconductor's role as it must translate the image information into digital data so it can then be transferred to the internal memory or optionally the external memory.

The sensor plays an important role in getting this done and it comes in two different types with the common being the CCD or charge coupled device. Other digital cameras use CMOS or complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology instead. Images created using CCD sensors have the advantage over CMOS sensors in terms of image quality while CMOS is friendlier in power consumption.

Another key difference lies on the digital camera's primary specification which is the megapixel count. Pixels are elements of digital images that build up the picture so generally the more pixels, the finer the image and the better it comes out when printing then image on larger media. Advertisers often hype this specification because more is generally better but most consumers should be satisfied with a 10-megapixel camera. The real specifications to concentrate on are the technologies being used to capture the image such as face recognition along with the interface. The algorithm that the camera uses to produce the right colors also varies.

The way digital SLR cameras work is similar but the main difference is the extra step in attaching the desired lens to get a certain effect when each picture is taken. These types of cameras have much larger image sensors and more sophisticated electronics to contribute to their higher image quality and improved color accuracy, contrast, and brightness.

Digital cameras provide far more features that ordinary film cameras and they keep evolving in functions every iteration with some manufacturers incorporating projector functionality while others are using 3D technologies. Film cameras still exist today but digital cameras continue to overshadow them and the photo quality is exceptional even in the budget category.




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