Digital Camera tips and advice

Information On How Your Digital Camera Works

Basically, a digital camera records electronic images by focusing light through a series of lenses onto a sensor. The images are stored as binary digital data on fixed or removable devices, which can later be read by a computer. This is an extremely simplified explanation; the process is a bit more complicated, but a lot more interesting!

Most digital cameras have an image sensor called a charge coupled device (CCD). A few digital cameras have a complimentary sensor metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) instead. Both of these devices convert light into electrical charges and both facilitate storage.

The sensors are also used to filter light into the three basic primary colors and then recombine them to get a full spectrum. The more expensive the digital camera, the more sophisticated the process and the better the color quality. Three sensors will each filter a different color.

The shutter speed and aperture control the amount of light that reaches the sensor. The shutter speed is set automatically on most digital cameras, while the aperture can be either automatic or manually controllable. Most of us are grateful for the automatic settings, but photographers and serious hobbyists appreciate the aperture flexibility.

There are different types of lenses that digital cameras use: fixed-focus, fixed-zoom, digital-zoom, optical zoom lenses and replaceable lens systems. You will usually find fixed-focus and fixed- zoom lenses in inexpensive digital cameras. Optical-zoom lenses, with both wide and telephoto lenses, are usually found in more sophisticated, expensive cameras. A digital zoom is a process whereby pixels are actually "chosen" from the central part of the frame and enlarged. This feature can cut out unnecessary background, but it can also result in a less-focused, fuzzier image.

You can see your pictures on an LCD viewing screen on the back of your digital camera. This is only suitable for a quick check of picture quality (was everyone smiling?), not for really appreciating the photo. The number of megapixels (MP) in your digital camera determines the resolution -- the higher the number, the better the photo clarity!

Knowing your megapixels gives you an excellent idea of the quality of printed pictures at a given size. A 1MP digital camera will give you pictures that are perfectly suitable for web viewing or emailing. These pictures are easy to download and are of decent clarity and resolution online. The photos taken with a 2MP digital camera will generate quality, high resolution, 4x5 inch prints. Larger prints require an even larger MP number.

A great digital camera advancement is the way data is stored. Early digital cameras held all images on internal memory devices. These digital cameras were not capable of much storage and transferring to a computer was a cumbersome process. Today’s digital cameras use reusable and removable storage. Memory sticks, CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards add lots of extra storage space and make downloading a snap. Other devices such as writeable CDs and DVDs, hard disks, floppy disks and microdrives have given consumers lots of options for storing images, with lots of room available!