Digital Cameras - An Introduction
November 3, 2007
What is a digital camera? A digital camera is quite different from a traditional camera which is used to photograph and store the pictures in analog format. Digital camera is rather like a video camera as it also uses magnetic tape as a medium to store the recorded images in digital form. Although the digital camera was just used to capture still images in its formative period, the latest cameras are capable of taking still photographs as well as recording sound with video clips so it brings a quality of reality to their pictures and videos. Types of digital cameras Based on their design and capabilities, digital cameras can be categorized into many types: 1. Cameras to capture moving pictures. Video cameras, Camrecorders and webcams can record moving images with sound and are used on different occasions by different users. Video cameras are of two types – amateur and professional. While the former is handy and convenient to use, the later is a bit heavy but produces better result and is mostly used in production of television or movie scenes. They come with a separate image sensor for each colour so they are able to produce better image quality in terms of resolution and colour. However, you cannot find a mircrophone or a VCR with it. 
Samsung VP-D 363i Camcorder Camcorders or handycams are video cameras especially designed for amateurs who will find them easy to use and operate due to their lightness and simple features. Such cameras come with a LCD screen and microphone so that you can watch and hear while you are capturing videos. They also have playback feature so you can watch the recorded videos. Webcams are miniature digital cameras that are connected to PCs using USB cable and are generally used for video chatting. Depending on the models and the capabilities, webcams produce the image quality although any webcam is capable of capturing any typical movie scens. Some latest webcams are capable of producing pictures of high resolution and come with zoom features and microphone. 2. Digital Still Cameras (DSC) 
Samsung Digimax S800 Digital Still camera A digital still camera is more suitable for taking still pictures than videos as its capabilities differ from a video camera. However, it takes still images of excellent picture quality than a video camera. DSCs have an electronic screen on its rear side and the screen provides pictures details so that the photographer can use it as preview and adjust the picture frame. These cameras use image sensors like CMOS or CCD to distinguish the different light intensities of the picture. Generally, theses cameras come with a LCD screen which is apt for previewing the images and reviewing them later. Once you finish capturing pictures, you can connect the camera’s storage medium to a PC using a Firewire or PTP protocol to transfer the images and store in the hard disk of your PC. Based on the design, features and the ease with which you can operate, DSCs are of two types – Digicams and Bridge Digital cameras. Digicameras are the most preferred digital cameras as they are easy to operate and focus or adjust the frame although they are not so good at taking motion picture with their less advanced features. Compared with bridge cameras or DSLR cameras, they use smaller zoom features that their lenses provide. However, they are able to produce good results when you take pictures where the objects are on the picture frame at different depths. This is due to their enhanced depth of field that these cameras usually come with. So, you get superb results when you capture a landscape even if you are not a professional photographer. Digicameras come with flash light which helps to take night photography or when light conditions are poor. Images recorded in Digi cameras can be stored only in jpg files. 
Kodak Easyshare C513 Digicam Bridge digital cameras provide preview just like digicameras but have more advanced features like superzoom for which special lenses are used. They can be easily mistaken for digital SLR cameras in appearance, however, bridge cameras are a bit inferior to DSLRs as far as certain features like mirror and reflex system are concerned. Bridge cameras come with a fixed lens which cannot be removed although you can fix special lenses like wide angle or telephoto lenses over the fixed lens. Bridge cameras are quite good for capturing motion pictures with audio and you can use its LCD screen for previewing while you are recording the images. Compared with digicams, bridge cameras produce better picture quality though it can not match with the superior picture quality of pictures taken by DSLRs. In a bridge camera, flash light unit is just set over the lens and can be flipped up or down. You can save the images from a bridge camera in jpeg and raw files. 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 3. DSLR or Digital Single Lens Reflex camera What distinguished a DSLR camera from other digital cameras is the presence of mirror and reflex system in it. When you capture an image using this type of camera, the light from the image gets reflected with the help of a prism/mirror which is sandwiched between the lens and the digital sensor inside the camera. Only after getting reflected a couple of times by mirror system that the light from image source reaches the view finder. This camera is more suitable for a professional photographer who can do all operations efficiently – focusing, adjusting the frame etc. You can work well with these cameras when you often have to change the lenses to capture objects with varying depth of field. 
Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR 4. Other types of digital cameras A few digital cameras come with rangefinder. Basically, a rangefinder is a common feature that helps the photographer to find the proper focus distance so that picture will be sharper. Before rangefinder cameras became digital, the photographer used to adjust the focus distance in the rangefinder as well as in the camera lens. However, these cameras do not provide preview when you capture images as you get from DSLRs. 
Panasonic AJ-HPX2000 camcorder (for professional use) Professional video cameras with main parts that can be attached or detached are used in studios to take videos of commercial value and are very expensive and they come with lenses and grips – the parts which can be interchange to suit different purposes. They are used to capture videos of more than 35 mm, hence more suitable for taking movies or videos of professional quality. 
Toshiba CSL8000CL LineScan Camera To capture fast moving objects and to produce extremely high resolution, a special type of camera which uses line scan technology. This camera comes with a chip functioning like a line scan image sensor and an automatic focusing mechanism. Instead of using different combinations of pixel sensor, this type of camera uses just one line of them and scanning is repeatedly done. A computer is generally used to produce the picture using its image processing software. This type of camera is mostly used in industries which have to process images like barcodes.
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