History of Digital Cameras
November 5, 2007
Origin of Digital Technolgy The first ever digital camera was developed by Steven Sasson of Eastman Kodak in 1975. Prior to this attempt, Eugene Lally who was working with Jet Propulsion Laboratory discovered that a mosaic photosensor can produce still photographs in digital format. Lally and his associates were involved in a project to invent a new system that can provide navigation information to astronauts when they are onboard during their space travel. This system included a camera which captured still images of celestial objects like stars and planets to detect their locations thus aimed to provide assistance to the astronauts while the spacecraft was orbiting and landing. Sasson was an engineer and before he conceptualized the digital camera, an analog camera which does not need a film to capture an image was built by Texas Instruments in 1972. Sasson saw that image sensor chips made up of CCD can be used in his camera. This camera was heavy as it weighed more than three kgs and was very slow in capturing images as more than 20 seconds were needed to take photos using this camera. A cassette tape was used to store the photos which were black and white images with resolution of just 10,000 pixels. Beginning of handheld analog cameras In 1981, Sony gave a demo of its product Sony Mavica, a video camera which recorded the images on a magnetic tape or a floppy. This analog electronic camera could store fifty images as separate frames in its floppy disk when field mode was chosen and 25 images in a single disk in frame mode. However, Sony did not roll out this camera in market. It was Canon who launched the first ever analog camera for commercial use. Canon RC-701 which was used to provide pictures of the events of 1984 Olympics to the newspapers, however, failed to attract the customers as it was expensive in addition to their lack of picture quality. High-end printers and other accessories which were very expensive then were also needed to print images captured by this camera. All these factors made many customers to shun away from these cameras. Later, in 1988, Canon rolled out its RC -250 Xapshot which did make much stir in the market. However, Nikon came with its analog electronic camera, Nikon QV-1000C which had some advanced features and produced images in greyscale and were stored on floppies. Digital cameras Fugi DS-IP was the first camera to record images in files that can be stored in a PC. Launched in 1988, it had an internal memory card with 16 MB capacity which was used to store the images in memory with the help of batteries. However, this camera did not hit the commercial market. 
Dycam Model (Logitech) In 1990, Dycam Model 1 which had the basic features of a modern digital camera was rolled out for sale under the name Logitech Fotoman. It had functions like using CCD light sensor, recorded the images in digital format and used a PC for transferring the images as storage. The new jpeg and mpeg formats (that became standard for image files) also had a great role in making the gradual, growing popularity of digital cameras as they enabled the digital cameras to store their images in compressed data that can be easily transferred to the PCs. Kodak came with Kodak DCS-100, a professional digital camera (SLR) which could produce outstanding picture quality with its 1.3 mega pixel image sensor although its price was a bit expensive (13,000 US dollars). The first ever digital camera that had a LCD screen on its rear side was Casio QV-1 which hit the market in 1995. Followed by it, in 1996, Kodak introduced flash light (CompactFlash) with its new model - Kodak DC-25. 
Kodak DC-25 Digital camera Until 1997, the pictures captured by digital cameras lacked sharpness of details as the cameras used low resolution image sensors. It was only in 1997, digital cameras with more than a mega pixel image sensor started showing up. Two years later, Minolta’s RD – 3000, a digital SLR with image sensors that can produce a resolution of 2.7 mega pixels hit the camera market. Minolta provided 5 lenses and zoom lenses with this model. This SLR camera soon become popular with professional photographers until Minolta added new features like Alpha 7D to its Dynax digital camera which was introduced in 2004. 
Minota RD-3000 digital SLR Other notable digital cameras that hit the market during the last four years include Canon 300D, the first digital SLR which has an amazing 6 megapixel image sensor and a price tag below $1,000.
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.
Latest enhancements in Digital Camera Technology
July 4, 2007
Digital camera has offered numerous unbelievable improvements within the past decade. In case of video camera, basic tube technology has been replaced by digital motor running. Gradually it moved to CCD technology. After the arrival of CCD digital technology, digital photography has entered to new heights. The main advantage of this CCD technology is sensitivity and resolution. The quality of photographs is highly satisfactory with the support of this CCD technology.
Shutter speed
Shutter speed is another enhancement in digital technology. The term “shutter speed� means the speed of opening and closing a mechanical shutter of a digital camera which is needed to expose standard film for getting adequate amount of light while you capture an image with a digital camera. It is controlled electronically in the form of light. This automatic control reduces the manual interventions.
Digital Zoom
This is a remarkable development in the digital technology. The main need of the introduction of this feature is to replace lens. Digital zooming is nothing but taking an image and exploding a certain part or potion of the image. There is no guarantee for getting the original quality of the real image. But the image can be zoomed as much as possible to fill the screen. You will get loss of quality in resolutions while you have a downside digital zooming.
Video Motion Detention
It is another useful improvement made in this digital technology. You can easily get this advantage in recently manufactured digital cameras. This feature has the ability to point and detect motion within the range of view. If required you can activate this feature or you may deactivate it with the support of controlling system of your digital camera. This feature is very useful not only for detection motion in an image but also high lighting them within certain area of an image.
Menu Driven Programmability
This is an admirable improvement in digital enhancement. With this feature, you can bring whole menu or complete list of options on your screen by the single touch of a button. You can use this option just to turn on or off even the automatic light control. Some of the examples of options are:
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- indoor mode
- outdoor mode
- fluorescent lighting setup
These are all the useful enhancements made by the well known digital camera manufacturers. If you want to get these options in your device, ask the shop keeper to show the high end model which offers these recent improvements in the digital technology.
