Origins of Digital Photography Caroline Douglas

Glossary ISO speed – rating of a films sensitivity to light, describes the sensitivity of a digital camera’s image sensory. Higher the ISO, poorer the image quality. Cameras usually have a self-adjust system but can be adjusted manually. Megapixel = 1 mill pixels Pixel – building blocks of digital photo – small dot of light that adds up to make image Image Stabilizer - system of three+ accelerometers in a camera which adjusts the cameras lens if you were to shake or move the camera while taking a shot. Prevents blurriness in images. DPI – Dots per inch, used to measure the resolution (pixel height) LCD – Liquid Crystal Display – the display screen on the back of the camera where you view and review your photos Resolution – number of pictures in an image, more pixels = better resolution Noise – the name for the ‘grainy’ appearance in digital photos Aliasing – jagged-edges on curved or diagonal surfaces in images cause because of the face that pixels are squares White Balance – function on camera to compensate for different colors of light being emitted by different light sources Memory Card – Device in digital cameras that stores pictures and video files CMOS – Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, one of the sensors found in cheaper cameras, does the same thing as a CCD only lesser quality

CCD George Smith and William Boyle created the Charge Coupled Device, which is an image sensor found in almost every digital camera. Took them only an hour to sketch out the design. A year later they had already built the CCD into a solid-state video camera CCD video cameras provided sharper images for television broadcasting

CCD Cont CCD is hit by light coming through the camera's lens The hundreds of thousands to millions of pixels that make up the CCD convert the light into electrons The number of electrons is measured, then converted to digital value Then goes to the analog- to-digital converter

Analog-to-Digital converter takes the digital values and converts it into binary Next the image goes through a series of electronic filters that adjust the white balance, color, and aliasing of the image. Then the information goes through a compression cycle where it makes the image as small as possibly by dumping unnecessary pixels for more efficient storage The pixels are stored as a version of your picture in your memory and can be viewed in on your LCD Basically that is how you get a picture on a digital camera

Sony Mavica 1981-First Digital Camera prototype, the Mavica, was introduced by Sony. It was more of a video camera that took freeze- frames than a true ‘digital camera’. It stored the images on two-inch floppy disk that held 25 pictures. 720,000-pixel image

Kodak’s Role 1986 – created the first megapixel sensor that was capable of recording 1.4 mill pixels 1991 – Released the first professional digital camera system for photojournalists, the Nikon F-3 equipped with the Kodak 1.3 megapixel censor

Evolution Cannon introduced the XapShot, which had a built in flash, self-timer, and rechargeable lead acid battery. Stored images on floppy disk Came with basic software to transfer images to Mac – Logitech created the Dycam Model 1 black-and-white digital camera. First completely digital consumer camera. Similar to XapShot, except it had a 1MB RAM that it used to compress and digitize images internally. Had to connect to PC to transfer images – Apple created the first camera (Apple QuickTake 100) which used a serial cable to connect the camera to PC. **Bulky design***

Cameras of Today Point-and-Shoot Cameras – Relatively small and inexpensive, fixed lens, built in flash, normally have a LCD. Very simple and easy to use. Users have limited control over it, positive and negative. Some have automatic focus, etc. Many varieties and colors produced by almost every electronic company. What an average person would most likely own.

Cameras of Today DSLR – Digital single-lens reflex camera – had optical view finders, removable lenses, external flashes, ability to focus and adjust setting manually. More expensive and complicated then point-and- shoot models. Used to be obnoxiously bulky, but are now lighter and less expensive as more come out.

Cannon PowerShot G7 Released Sept megapixel resolution Optical Image Stabilizer

Other Features Face Detection Technology 2.5 LCD Monitor ISO 1600 ISO and Mode dials for customizable shooting Print/Share button- used for direct printing and downloading Including a DIGIC III Image Processor – responsible for fast performance, better quality, longer batter life, higer def for LCD monitor, etc. Also responsible for Face Detection. High-Resolution Movie Mode Compatible with numerous shooting accessories: external flashes, waterproof case, etc. Shooting Modes: Auto, Shutter- Priority, Manual, Custom, Stitch Assistant, Movie, Aperture-priority Special Shooting Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, ISO 3200, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap

Digital vs Film Digital: -Produces the same quality as scanned film photos - Immediate feedback - Ability to keep or delete photos whenever - ISO - Ability to edit photography - Hundreds of modes for whatever situation built in camera, so you can get a better shot regardless of conditions Film: - Better resolution, depending on film used - More problematic i.e. film missing, exposure, extra cost, -What a ‘true photographer’ should prefer and would use - Need to be an experience photographer to get higher quality shots - Need a high quality scanner to digitalize photos well - Don’t know the quality of your shots till you get them developed

Image Editing

Washington D.C. Pictures

When we followed the serious photographer guy