Digital Cameras: An Introduction

This week we take a look at digital cameras and how they are revolutionising the way we take photographs.

First of all, lets look at the differences between a 35mm camera and a digital camera. The first difference is a big one. Digital cameras do not use film meaning there is no processing costs or waiting for your photos to come back from the lab. Instead, a light-sensitive device called a Charged Coupled Device or CCD is used. The lens in the digital camera focuses the light and image on the CCD the same way a 35mm camera would focus the light and image onto film. The CCD converts the image into digital information.

The lenses used by digital cameras are different from a 35mm as well. The normal lens used by a 35mm camera is a 50mm lens. Because the CCD chip in a digital camera is so sensitive to light and very small, the lens size can be as low as 7 – 21mm, which is equal to a 35 – 105mm zoom lens on a regular 35mm camera.

Digital cameras come in a wide range of resolutions. Resolution (RES) is a measure of how much information the camera can record, usually expressed in Pixels or Mega-Pixels. Pixels are the smallest part of a digital cameras image. Photo processing is a thing of the past with digital cameras. 35mm cameras require the film to be sent out to a processing lab to be developed and printed. Because digital cameras do not use film, there is no photo processing needed. Instead, the captured images are stored onto memory cards that are inside the camera. Used in conjunction with a separate card reader which is connected to the computer, the digital information is transferred from the card reader to the computer. Most digital cameras have a cable that can be connected from the camera directly to the computer, therefore, eliminating the need for a card reader, however, card readers significantly speed up the downloading time.

Once your images are on the computer you can email them to family and friends or edit them using computer software made for this purpose, the most popular being – Adobe Photoshop. After editing your images they are ready for printing. New papers and printers are giving the consumer photographic quality prints that can last, without fading, for approximately 24 years.

Digital cameras fit well into today’s society where we want everything done instantly. The technology is beginning to surpass that of 35mm cameras and prices are beginning to drop. So, isn’t it time to give digital photography a try?

By Georgiana Marshen

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