Digital Cameras

1
Digital Cameras

• With a digital camera you can get instant results
  and e-mail pictures to your friends.
• A digital camera is a type of camera that stores
  photographed images digitally (electronically)
  instead of on traditional film, and uses a small
  reusable disk or internal memory to store the
  digital photographs.

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Types of Digital Cameras

• Point Shoot
• fully automatic
• fits in your pocket
• easy to use
• ideal for average consumer use

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Types of Digital Cameras

• SLR Single Lens reflex
• Allows you to make manual adjustments before
  shooting
• Can use a variety of lenses

4
Image Resolution

• The image resolution is measured in pixels (short
  for picture element).
• The image quality increases with the number of
  pixels.
• The image resolution is usually measured in
  megapixels (million pixels), abbreviated MP.

5
Digital Cameras

• Most digital cameras have an LCD screen, so you
  can view your picture right away. This is one of
  the great advantages of a digital camera -- you
  get immediate feedback on what you capture.
• Of course, viewing the image on your camera would
  lose its charm if that's all you could do. You
  want to be able to load the picture into your
  computer or send it directly to a printer. There
  are several ways to do this.

6
Storage

• Early generations of digital cameras had fixed
  storage inside the camera.
• You needed to connect the camera directly to a
  computer with cables to transfer the images.

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Storage

• Although most of today's cameras are capable of
  connecting through serial, parallel, SCSI, USB or
  FireWire connections, they usually also use some
  sort of removable storage device.

8
Storage

• Digital cameras use a number of storage systems.
• These are like reusable digital film, and they
  use a caddy or card reader to transfer the data
  to a computer. Many involve fixed or removable
  flash memory.

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• Digital camera manufacturers often develop their
  own proprietary flash memory devices, including
  SmartMedia cards, CompactFlash cards and Memory
  Sticks.

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• Some other removable storage devices include
• Floppy disks
• Hard disks, or microdrives
• Writeable CDs and DVDs

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Storage

• No matter what type of storage they use, all
  digital cameras need lots of room for pictures.
• They usually store images in one of two formats
• TIFF, which is uncompressed, and
• JPEG, which is compressed.
• Most cameras use the JPEG file format for storing
  pictures, and they sometimes offer quality
  settings (such as medium or high).

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• To make the most of their storage space, almost
  all digital cameras use some sort of data
  compression to make the files smaller.

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It takes several steps for a digital camera to
take a picture. Here's a review of what happens
in a CCD camera, from beginning to end

• You aim the camera at the subject and adjust the
  optical zoom to get closer or farther away.
• You press lightly on the shutter release.
• The camera automatically focuses on the subject
  and takes a reading of the available light.
• The camera sets the aperture and shutter speed
  for optimal exposure.
• You press the shutter release all the way.
• The camera resets the CCD and exposes it to the
  light, building up an electrical charge, until
  the shutter closes.

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Take a Picture

• The ADC measures the charge and creates a digital
  signal that represents the values of the charge
  at each pixel.
• A processor interpolates the data from the
  different pixels to create natural color. On many
  cameras, it is possible to see the output on the
  LCD at this stage.
• A processor may perform a preset level of
  compression on the data.
• The information is stored in some form of memory
  device (probably a Flash memory card).

15
Transfer and Manage Image Files

• The method of transferring images from the camera
  to the personal computer differs depending on the
  capabilities of both.
• If the camera uses a flash memory card, you can
  remove the media and place it in a slot on the
  personal computer or in a device such as a card
  reader, connected to the PC
• Your camera or card reader may also connect to
  the PC using a USB port.

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Transfer and Manage Image Files

• When you insert the memory card or connect the
  camera, software on the PC will guide you through
  the process of transferring the images to the
  hard disk.
• Some operating systems and software recognize a
  memory card or camera as though it is another
  hard disk on the computer.
• This feature allows you to access the files,
  navigate them and then copy, delete or rename the
  files while the media still is in the camera.

17
Edit Images

• Image Editing Software allows you to edit digital
  images.
• Examples of software
• Microsoft Picture It!
• Adobe Photoshop 7
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0
• Paint Shop Pro

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Edit Images

• Common Image Enhancements or Alterations
• Adjust the contrast and
• brightness
• Correct lighting problems
• Remove red-eye
• Crop an image to remove unnecessary elements and
  resize it
• Rotate the image to change its orientation
• Add elements to the image such as descriptive
  text, a date, a logo, or decorative items
• Create collages
• Replace individual colors with a new color
• Add special effects such as texture or blurring
  to enhance the image

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Print Images

• After an image is digitally altered, it is ready
  to be printed.
• You can print images on a personal color printer,
  use a digital kiosk or send them to a
  professional service that specializes in digital
  photo printing.

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Online Photo Developers

• send them to a professional service that
  specializes in digital photo printing.

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Print Images

• When printing the images yourself, make sure that
  the resolution used to create the image is high
  enough for the size print you want to create.
• For example if the camera used a resolution of
  640x480 pixels, the ideal print is wallet size.
• If you print such an image at a size of 8x10
  inches the image will appear pixelated, or blurry
• Use high quality photo paper for the best results

22
Distribute Images Electronically

• Rather than printing photos you often need to use
  the images electronically.
• Depending on the electronic use of the image, the
  image may require additional processing.
• If you use the images on a web site or want to
  e-mail a photo, you probably want to use a lower
  resolution image which will be a smaller file
  size.
• You should use standard file formats when
  distributing an electronic photo. The JPEG (JPG)
  format is viewable using most PCs or web browsers.

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Distribute Images Electronically

• You can store very high resolution photos on a
  DVD or a CD.
• DVD and CD mastering software allows you to
  create slide show presentations on a recordable
  DVD or CD that can play in many home DVD players
  or PC DVD drives.

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Back Up!

• You should back up and store images that you
  distribute electronically with the same care as
  you store your traditional film negatives.