Paul Stevens
An electronic digital camera works a lot like film camera in that light comes in through the lens and it is captured to create a picture. The way the image is captured is what makes an electronic digital camera different than a film camera. With a film camera, you press the shutter button which opens the shutter letting in the light. The light entering the lens is exposed to the film and causes chemical reactions within the film to create your photograph. In a dslr camera the picture is captured with an image sensor that converts the light rays into electronic signals which are then kept in a file in the buffer memory.
The light detector or image sensor is known as charged couple device (CCD) and it is comprised of individual light sensitive picture elements typically referred to as pixels. Digital cameras are often measured in megapixels or millions of pixels. A camera with a 3000 x 2000 array of pixels within the image sensor would contain 6,000,000 pixels and is known as a 6 megapixel camera. As soon as the light hits the CCD it breaks it up in to the millions of pixels and measures the amount of light and color to get a number for every pixel. Your digital picture is really a long string of numbers that is stored on a file in memory. The LCD screen on the back of the camera shows you the picture that the CCD is capturing.
Digital photographs have to be compressed or the file size would be enormous and fill up way too much memory. The most frequent compressed format is JPG which stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. The higher the amount of photo information is kept the better the picture quality and the bigger the file. The more compressed the photo is, the lower the quality and the smaller the file size. The smaller file size makes for shorter load time plus you may store more photos in memory. One does sacrifice quality however.
The fact that digital images are stored digitally ensures they are easier to store, share and manipulate. When you open a photo inside an editor such as Photoshop, you’ll be able to change the quality of the photo by simply clicking on a setting. When you do this it changes the numbers which the pixels are storing to generate the effect. For example, if you need to make the picture 10% brighter, the image editor would change the pixel numbers by 10 percent to show increased light or brightness.
Some digital camera models have built-in effects and you can make a photographic effect within the camera immediately after you take the picture. Something you simply can’t do with film cameras.
Find out about the new Hybrid Cameras on the market and check out my lens on Hybrid Cameras too.
Hybrid cameras, also called mirror less cameras, are a new breed of camera that combine the compactness of your compact digital camera with the picture quality of a digital single lens reflex camera. The modern hybrid cameras don’t have a single lens reflex mirror taking away some of the bulk of a DSLR, but have a larger image sensor than your standard compact digital for better photos. A hybrid camera also doesn’t have a standard viewfinder as in a DSLR, but rather uses an LCD screen or an electronic viewfinder that can be purchased separately. The hybrid cameras have interchangeable lenses like a DSLR, which makes them versatile enough for getting various types of shots. Additionally , they take incredible HD video in 780p or 1080p format.
Hybrid cameras are the answer to that middle market of consumers who don’t wish to put money into high end DSLRs, but want to get excellent quality pictures than a compact digital. The hybrids are compact enough to transport around very easily. On many models, you can instantly record HD video without finding your way through a menu. Most models run in the $300 – $1,000 range, which makes them very reasonably priced to many people.
Olympus and Panasonic use what is called a micro four thirds format for interchangeable lenses. It is an attempt to make a standard format for digital camera lenses making it possible to change with advanced DSLR lenses. Micro four thirds refer to the ratio of the image sensor, which is a 4 X 3. This size is smaller than an average 35mm, but about 10 times larger than a standard digital compact. The increased size and quality allow the photographer to shoot in lower light without the graininess connected with smaller image sensors.
Many major camera brands have come out with their own version of the hybrid camera. Panasonic led the way with the Lumix G1, then came Olympus with the PEN series. Sony came out with the NEX 3 and 5. Nikon and Canon have promises to come out with hybrids very soon.
With all of the hype surrounding the new hybrid cameras, it remains to be seen if the market for this kind of camera will take off. Sales have steadily increased since 2008 and it’s predicted to take off by 2012.
Hybrids provide you with the best of all possible worlds. They are compact enough to transport around easily and powerful enough to take great photos.
Before you purchase anything online check out my lens on Hybrid Camerasand my article on purchaseing Digital Cameras