How a digital camera works

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How a digital camera works by Jakob Jelling


By Jakob Jelling
http://www.snapjunky.com

The digital camera is not something of a magic box that came out of the blue and made wonders! The digital camera is very much like the conventional analog camera, but the technology has been altered. It also contains most of the associated components that the conventional camera contains, like lens and a shutter for letting in light, however instead of reaching a photosensitive film, the light is made to fall upon array of image sensors or photosensitive cells. Much of the differences are like this, yet most of it still remains in oblivion for the ordinary people. And it order that the digital camera gets its true respect, it is necessary to explore these areas of truth and reveal them in light.

Looking a bit more in details about the working of the fantastic device, the digital camera. As a continuation of the above lines, it can be further investigated that the sensor array is basically a microchip about 10 mm across. Every image sensor is a charged-couple device (CCD) converting light into electric charges, and is essentially a silicon chip used to measure light. These charges are stored as analog data that are then converted to digital via a device called an analog to digital converter (ADC). Over the chip are present a collection of very small light-sensitive diodes, named photosites, or pixels that convert light (or more scientifically, photons) into electrical charges called electrons. The pixels are very much light sensitive, therefore with brighter light striking them, produces greater build up of electrical charges. Each 1000 array receptor creates 1 pixel, and every pixel corresponds to some information stored. The light enters the digital camera via the lens, which is the same mechanism as the conventional analog camera. And this light hits the CCD when the photographer presses the shutter button. The shutter opens and thereby illuminates every pixel, however with various intensities.

Taking a look apart, it can be observed that quite a few digital cameras use CMOS (meaning complementary metal oxide semiconductor, a technology of manufacturing these microchips) technology based microchips as image sensors. The basic advantage is that the CMOS sensors are appreciably cheaper and simpler to fabricate than CCDs. Another great advantage from CMOS sensors is that these take very less power compared to other technology, which adds up to the fact as to their extensive use, and can thus even support the implementation of additional circuitry on the same chip like ADC, some control units etc. Thus it can be stated that CMOS technology based cameras are small, light, cheap and also energy efficient, yet at the cost of some amount of image quality.

However the common trend remains that all cameras of the mega pixel range and higher up use CCD chips instead of CMOS. This is because of the fact of picture quality only, leaving aside the price differences.

This is basically the fact about how digital cameras work! Having known this much difference would not come in the photographing expertise of the users, but it always feels a kind of satisfaction on understanding the inner depths of a device that is so close to the eyes!



About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com . Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

Digital cameras & resolution by Jakob Jelling


By Jakob Jelling
http://www.snapjunky.com

While analyzing any camera, one of the most important qualities of a photograph that a person seeks, is resolution. This word itself needs a brief discussion before progressing onto its implication upon a digital camera. This is a word that seems to almost every new photographer as a nightmare. With all the myths and irrelevant information circulating all around, this is quite common. This however is an effort to clear those misty myths and provide good information for everyone. Without any complexity, generally a photograph, either viewed on the screen or printed, is composed of infinitesimal dots (called pixels). The greater amount of these dots that can fit per inch of space, the smaller the dots and the sharper the image. This is the basis of understanding ... resolution!

Considering an image at 100 dots per inch that is one square inch in size. It is comprised of 100 X 100 pixels. Now changing this image four-times to four square inches. This image is quite clear. Now the same 100 X 100 dots exist, but with only 25 dots per inch. The appearance becomes grainy. This is the factor know as resolution that determines this quality of image. Hence it can now be interpreted by any person what the importance of resolution is and where it is required in the filed of photography. While purchasing a digital camera, resolution is a very important factor to take into account when settling upon buying a particular one.

Digital camera resolution comes in as Mega pixels. A Mega pixel is composed of one million pixels. The greater the number of Mega pixels, the greater becomes the standard of quality of the photograph or picture. As a standard, one mega pixel is the minimum bottom line below which a digital camera must not be usually purchased. This is a general decided value for any amateur photographers also, and the exact value of higher mega pixels is not a concern for people who do not intend to print the photographs. In an effort to scrutinize the pixels in an image out of sheer anxiety, a person can magnify the display in a photo editor, like a little magnifying glass, and they become very much visible!

The resolution decides the ultimate the future of the hard copy of a photograph being taken, whether a digital camera or a conventional camera. A print from a high-resolution photograph challenges anything produced from a chemical film camera. However a low-resolution image print of a photograph is quite appalling with fine details and restrained color transitions absent resulting from too few pixels. Thus the resolution can spoil an entire effort to freeze a memorable moment. Thus it is so vital. As a general rule a minimum of 200 pixels are required for each linear inch of a print. However, some printers get better results with 300 pixels per-inch of resolution.

The above discussion has brought into light a lot of relevant information regarding resolution and its application in the digital camera and photography. Also in the concluding lines it can only be stated for digital camera ... resolution is the real soul!



About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com . Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.


Digital camera auto exposure and auto focus by Jakob Jelling


The digital camera being a fantastic and technologically advanced device contains many different applications of its own. Many users of this fabulous device are unaware of quite a few of these functions which can actually do wonders. And it is the duty and right of every person possessing the digital camera to intervene into the depths of knowledge to understand their prized possession and their varying qualities in order to foster the true respect that this device deserves. This article deals with providing information regarding one those qualities - Auto focus and auto exposure!

Exploring the information in slight more details it can be stated that auto exposure cameras are provided with a fixed focus lens or manual focus lens. These cameras are the simplest to set exposure. To obtain the correct exposure for a particular subject of photography, the only thing that needs to be done is to simply lock the exposure by pressing the shutter down halfway on the digital cameras upon a reference object that is about one fifth gray and also illuminated by the aid of the same source of light as subject of photography. After locking the exposure, the photographer has to recompose the frame and shoot the picture. Auto exposure and auto focus cameras are to some degree harder for setting the exposure, because they contain the exposure lock that is generally tied to focus-lock. However, the users or photographers using these auto exposure and auto focus cameras can still make adjustments for the correct exposure and correct focus using the digital cameras and make the photographs perfect! Again, the exposure can be adjusted by locking on an 18% reference that is illuminated by the aid of the same source of light as subject of photography. The users have to only ensure that the distance to this so-called reference is the same as the distance to the subject of photography that actually sets the focus.

Now discussing the auto focus and auto exposure lock (AE/AF) a bit more in detail. The shutter release button on a digital camera has more function than just snap a cool picture. The users have to grab a technique where he or she has to depress this shutter release button half way down thereby locking both the auto exposure and auto focus. This enables the users or photographers to have more control on exposure in difficult lighting situations while using the digital camera. Moreover, this entire process also helps him or her to determine where the camera focuses. Like if the photographer intends to set the exposure before composing the final shot of the photograph then he or she can move the digital camera slightly so that only the subject to be photographed is visible prominently in the auto focus frame in the viewfinder. As a next step he or she can depress the shutter-release button down half way to set focus and exposure and then recompose the picture and finally completely depress the button in order to capture and freeze the moment of time! It is to be noted here that the auto focus and auto exposure lock (AE/AF) is available in all photography modes of the digital cameras that are nowadays available for the general people.

Not much remains to be discussed about this particular topic of auto focus/auto exposure and a brief discussion as above is enough to reveal a bounty of information regarding this fantastic feature of the digital cameras. At the end of this discussion it can be expected that both the novice and expert photographers and user of the digital camera would benefit from whatever has been revealed and the effort to bring out the human mind from the dark oblivion about auto focus and auto exposure lock would be a success in the magic light of the digital camera!



About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com . Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

Better Photos with your Digital Camera by Kelly Paal


Everyone has a digital camera today and we all take a lot of photos. But if your photos still have trees coming out of your father’s head, mom has red eye, and your beloved pet is never facing the camera then here are some tips to help you take better photos.

1. Always be aware of the background. I know this is the hard one but it is critical. If you’re setting up a shot take a quick look at what is behind the people in your shot. So many perfectly good photos are ruined by a tree seeming to grow out of a person’s head. It can be as simple as the person taking one full step to the right or left to move the obstacle that would ruin your photo.
2. Use available light. If your digital camera has an option to turn the flash off and it’s light enough outside to read a book then use the available light and turn the flash off. In general camera flashes are too harsh for human skin and make all of us look pale. (Even better if your camera has a fill flash use that indoors where there isn’t enough daylight, and place the person by a window as well.)
3. Use ambient soft light. The reason that so many of use pose people under trees, and end up with the ruined photo with a tree coming out of dad’s head, is that we all instinctively know that soft light is best. Sunlight filtered through a trees’ leave is beautiful and warm. It warms up the skin and puts a soft light to the features. Indoors near a window with drapes has a similar effect.
4. Aim your camera slightly down at the person’s face. Now I don’t mean climb a ladder but just don’t ever, and I mean ever, point your camera looking up to a person. We all look fat and bloated at that angle. Also don’t shoot just face on to the person, try a little to the side, a three quarter view, so that you see more of their face. Remember camera higher looking down and a three quarter view, it will slim your subject.
5. Remember your focus, are you taking a photo of mom and the tree, then take mom with the whole tree. But if you’re taking a photo of mom next to a tree do we really need to see the entire tree? Get closer to your subject. We can see some of the tree bark with mom leaning against it, but showing the whole tree is a waste. Remember this tip with children, many people take a shot of their dear child for an expression on the child’s face, but in the printed shot the child is lost next to another kid, the swing set, and the dog. Remember get closer.
6. Never put your subject dead center. All family photographers do this and it’s as hard of a habit to break as remembering to look at the background. But if you’ve moved closer to your subject remember to put them just sightly off center. Not a lot just a bit. When you’re shooting even groups of people this is especially easy but odd numbered groups is a little more difficult. Just find your imaginary center line of your group and put that line just a bit off center in your view through your lens or screen.

With these tips you can be on your way to taking better photos today.



About the Author
Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography
www.kellypaalphotography.com . She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design.



Digital camera interpolation explained
by Jakob Jelling


In a device such as a digital camera it is very important to understand the very basic aspects of the device so as to properly operate it and give it the due respect it deserves. Such a topic is interpolation! These are accessories that help the digital camera to perform the technologically advanced features that it is capable of. In extreme explanatory and simple terms it can be summed up as that interpolation refers to software programs that can effectively enlarge image resolution beyond the actual resolution by adding extra pixels using complex mathematic calculations. Now, this is a feature that can be absolutely useful in providing a good success to a user.

Looking into the technical aspects it can be stated that interpolation is a technique where the spatial resolution of an image is increased from its original size to a higher or larger resolution. The spatial resolution of an image is simply its horizontal x vertical pixel count. For example 1600 x 1200. Again getting into further intricate details it can be stated that there are two techniques of interpolation commonly used, they are software and hardware. Again software interpolation can be performed on a digital image using a one of a number of image editing programs such as PhotoShop. This is often termed as resizing and is done with a computer, performed on an image file from a digital camera that already exists in a file format such as JPG. Hardware interpolation involves the resizing of an image, but it differs from software interpolation in that the image is resized algorithmically inside the camera during the image processing sequence and before the image has been saved as a JPG image file.

Also, it can be noted here that JPG is a compressed image file format. Whenever a file is saved as a JPG file, image data is lost in the compression process. Image data is thrown away in exchange for file-size efficiency. Software interpolation is a process performed after the JPG losses have been applied. Hardware interpolation occurs inside the camera prior to JPG compression and before JPG losses have been applied. The resulting hardware interpolated images are of superior quality to a comparable image interpolated in software.

These are basically the important points as discussed in the above lines regarding the digital camera interpolation. The explanation is worth for every user who can be a novice as well as an expert and thus uncovers another great feature of a digital camera, the process of interpolation.



About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.


NEW WAYS TO USE YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA FOR FUN AND PROFIT
by Valerie Goettsch


If you’re only using your digital camera for vacation and family photos, you’ve just scratched the surface of your camera’s uses. Digital photography has opened a new world of possibilities. Here are some fun, practical, and maybe even profitable, ways to use your digital camera.

Enhance your photo before uploading to an online dating service
As online dating services become more and more popular, you may be considering this option to meet Mr. or Ms. Right. You’ll want to look your best to capture the attention of your potential mate, so how about brighter eyes and whiter teeth? It’s pretty easy to enhance your digital photo using inexpensive photo editing software such as Foto Finish or Jasc Paint Shop Pro. You can adjust the overall brightness and contrast to generally brighten the image. Zoom in on your eyes and using the software’s polygon or magic wand tool, select just the whites of your eyes. Then use the ‘adjust color’ or ‘adjust exposure’ tool to make your eyes brighter and less red. Similarly, you can zoom in and select your teeth, then adjust the color and exposure. And voila! A fresher, more alert and attractive-looking you.

Selling goods on eBay
Research shows that merchandise with attractive photos sell at better prices. People are naturally drawn to appealing images. To show your items at best advantage, you can rig an inexpensive tabletop “studio” using a sheet of non-glare white plastic and a PVC pipe for support. The important points to remember are having a uniform background behind and below the object and even lighting, either with shop lights or natural sunlight (through a window—it’s best to shoot indoors). You may need to adjust the white balance on your digital camera, which is easy to do on most new cameras. Then you can watch the auction bids rise on that antique clock you’re trying to sell.

Archive photos of your personal possessions in case of fire or theft
Using your digital camera, you can quickly and easily take photos of your personal possessions such as TVs, DVD players, stereo equipment, furniture, computers and other expensive items so you have a record of them for insurance purposes. Be sure to log serial numbers and keep a record of purchase prices too. For safekeeping, transfer the images to a CD and keep it in a safe deposit box, or upload the images to an online photo storage service that offers unlimited storage, such as Pixagogo.

Digital Scrapbook
Digital scrap booking, or computer scrap booking, is the newest way to preserve your family memories. Using inexpensive, easy-to-use scrapbook software, you can create entire scrapbook layouts and add fun fonts and graphics to take your scrapbook project to a new creative level. Computer scrap booking has really taken off in the last year because people are finding it is less expensive, fast and takes up less space (no more taking over the family dining table) to make a computer generated scrapbook versus traditional scrap booking techniques. Most people already have a computer and digital camera, and once you have a scrap booking graphics software package and perhaps invested in a scanner for older photos, you're ready to go. You can easily color correct images, lighten dark photos, crop out old boyfriends, and even erase scratches from old photos. Most software programs come with special effects so you can enhance your photos and pages with antique sepia tones, torn or burnt edges, crinkles, soften or fade the edges, add digital picture frames, and much more.

Have fun with your camera and let your imagination explore the boundaries.




About the Author
Valerie Goettsch publishes the digital photography website http://www.digitalphotos101.com featuring reviews of photo editing and album software and digital photo printing services.