Digital Camera
Digital cameras are remarkable little gadgets. The evolution of cameras over the past hundred years or so has been pretty interesting to watch, but the transformation of the industry just in the past decade or so has been positively astounding. The technology of the digital camera has revolutionized photography, as consumers now can turn every minute of life into a lasting memory for time immemorial. A digital camera can enable a user to take dozens, even hundreds, of quality photos, edit those photos, and send them to friends and family in a matter of minutes. Digital photography has become photography's benchmark, and it's not going away any time soon. So how does a digital camera work? Is it that much different from regular cameras? If you're looking to purchase a digital camera, and you'd like to know more about this great little device, here's some basic information on the development of digital cameras and how they work.
History
A camera is an optical tool to record images. In past years, many camera types were developed which used film as the means to record those images. A major difference between film cameras and digital cameras is that digital cameras have the capability of immediately displaying those recorded images on a screen so that the user can see their pictures directly after shooting them. They can also immediately store, delete, and sometimes even edit them, as some digital cameras allow users to crop and perform other forms of image editing. Images recorded on a digital camera can even be uploaded to a computer, enabling the user to send photos over the internet or print them out. During the mid-20th-century space wars between the U.S. and Russia, in response to Russia's development of Sputnik (the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth), America developed a camera that would be placed into a satellite in order to beam a signal back to Earth for decoding. Following this in 1975, Kodak engineer Steve Sasson developed the first digital camera that worked in much the same manner as the satellite camera. This camera recorded an image on a chip rather than on film. It was the first electronic camera that used a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor. It worked by capturing images and storing them on a magnetic cassette tape. Users could then transfer those images from the tape onto other media and print them or even store them onto storage media. Though its earlier uses were mostly for military and scientific purposes, soon professional photographers were able to buy digital cameras, although they were out of price range for most average consumers. By 2004, however, Canon had released the first mainstream digital camera for use by nonprofessionals. Today, just a few years later, digital cameras have been integrated into other everyday devices such as cell phones.
How a digital camera works
Traditional cameras use eye-and-shutter technology. When the picture is snapped, the shutter opens and passes light through the image by way of a lens to the eye of the camera and then immediately closes. The image is then chemically processed in order to imprint it from the lens to the film inside the camera. A digital camera works in somewhat the same manner, as it also uses this eye-and-shutter process in order to capture light from the image. The digital camera, however, does not use a chemical process to imprint the image on a film negative, but instead it digitally captures an image and records it as data. The data representing the image is then stored inside the camera, which enables users to have it interpreted by their computers or other digital media. Digital cameras store images on USB sticks, flash memory cards, or laptop disk drives.
In order to capture the light from an image, a digital camera uses a sensor called a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS). These sensors are made out of silicon and are typically no bigger than a fingernail. Its surface contains millions of tiny diodes, which are electronic components that allow electric current to flow in one direction while blocking current in the other. The diodes capture a single pixel of an image by the eye when the shutter opens and closes. The more diodes a device has, the higher the quality of the picture. A 'megapixel' refers to the number of sensors on the surface of the charge-coupled device or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. The higher the megapixel rating, the clearer the picture a digital camera is able to take. Digital cameras use tiny on-board computers much like a desktop or laptop computer. The digital camera's computer has a processor, storage capability, and memory. It differs, however, in that it resides on a single chip.
The technology employed by digital cameras is one of the most remarkable of the electronic age. Digital cameras have enabled just about everyone to own a much higher resolution camera than otherwise would be affordable. The convenience and portability brought about by digital technology have transformed not just photography, but other industries as well, including film and telephone production.
History
A camera is an optical tool to record images. In past years, many camera types were developed which used film as the means to record those images. A major difference between film cameras and digital cameras is that digital cameras have the capability of immediately displaying those recorded images on a screen so that the user can see their pictures directly after shooting them. They can also immediately store, delete, and sometimes even edit them, as some digital cameras allow users to crop and perform other forms of image editing. Images recorded on a digital camera can even be uploaded to a computer, enabling the user to send photos over the internet or print them out. During the mid-20th-century space wars between the U.S. and Russia, in response to Russia's development of Sputnik (the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth), America developed a camera that would be placed into a satellite in order to beam a signal back to Earth for decoding. Following this in 1975, Kodak engineer Steve Sasson developed the first digital camera that worked in much the same manner as the satellite camera. This camera recorded an image on a chip rather than on film. It was the first electronic camera that used a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor. It worked by capturing images and storing them on a magnetic cassette tape. Users could then transfer those images from the tape onto other media and print them or even store them onto storage media. Though its earlier uses were mostly for military and scientific purposes, soon professional photographers were able to buy digital cameras, although they were out of price range for most average consumers. By 2004, however, Canon had released the first mainstream digital camera for use by nonprofessionals. Today, just a few years later, digital cameras have been integrated into other everyday devices such as cell phones.
How a digital camera works
Traditional cameras use eye-and-shutter technology. When the picture is snapped, the shutter opens and passes light through the image by way of a lens to the eye of the camera and then immediately closes. The image is then chemically processed in order to imprint it from the lens to the film inside the camera. A digital camera works in somewhat the same manner, as it also uses this eye-and-shutter process in order to capture light from the image. The digital camera, however, does not use a chemical process to imprint the image on a film negative, but instead it digitally captures an image and records it as data. The data representing the image is then stored inside the camera, which enables users to have it interpreted by their computers or other digital media. Digital cameras store images on USB sticks, flash memory cards, or laptop disk drives.
In order to capture the light from an image, a digital camera uses a sensor called a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS). These sensors are made out of silicon and are typically no bigger than a fingernail. Its surface contains millions of tiny diodes, which are electronic components that allow electric current to flow in one direction while blocking current in the other. The diodes capture a single pixel of an image by the eye when the shutter opens and closes. The more diodes a device has, the higher the quality of the picture. A 'megapixel' refers to the number of sensors on the surface of the charge-coupled device or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor. The higher the megapixel rating, the clearer the picture a digital camera is able to take. Digital cameras use tiny on-board computers much like a desktop or laptop computer. The digital camera's computer has a processor, storage capability, and memory. It differs, however, in that it resides on a single chip.
The technology employed by digital cameras is one of the most remarkable of the electronic age. Digital cameras have enabled just about everyone to own a much higher resolution camera than otherwise would be affordable. The convenience and portability brought about by digital technology have transformed not just photography, but other industries as well, including film and telephone production.