subject: Digital Cameras Explained [print this page] Digital Cameras Explained Digital Cameras Explained
A lot of digital cameras can be found on the market today. There are tens of brands with hundreds of models. It becomes a problem usually if one has to choose out of such a wide variety.
A digital camera like an analog camera has a lens in front with a photosensitive sensor behind it, which in case of an analog camera is the photosensitive film. The sensor is an analog circuitry with electronics converting the light falling on it into digital signals, which are then processed and stored onto the cameras memory. Smaller or compact cameras have small sensors while SLRs tend to have bigger sensors. They make the camera bigger but their quality is better. The sensor as stated is an analog device. As a general rule, the smaller an electronic device is, the more noise it tends to produce. In case of compact cameras, the sensors are smaller, so as to save space inside the camera's already small body and that is why compact cameras tend to have lower quality images. On the other hand, images from an SLR are of better quality because of its sensor size(others reasons also, but sensor is one of the main).
With an analog camera, the film has speed, printed as ISO 100, 200, 400, 800... The film speed is basically the level of sensitivity of the film. An ISO 200 film is twice as sensitive as an ISO 100 film. This means that it requires half as light to produce a picture of the same brightness as an ISO 100 film. In digital cameras, one can also set the speed of the sensor, it's also marked in ISO 100, 200 and so on. As the sensor in digital cameras is an electronic device, an amplifier is used to amplify the signal from the sensor. The problem with such a system is, that by amplifying the signal, the noise from the sensor is also amplified and therefore is more visible in images as a result. This can be clearly seen in digital images from cameras where higher ISO settings has been used. But this on the other hand gives an advantage, as stated earlier of higher speed or lesser requirement for light.
With digital cameras, images are stored on memory cards. This makes it easy to make copies and with software available readily on the market, editing can also be done.
Different cameras have different functionalities. Chosing a camera can be a daunting task but if one has his/her requirements and usage in mind it's just a matter of little research until one finds what he or she wants.
