Digital Imaging Explained

Digital Imaging is a process where an electronic photograph, scanned document, or image is converted into a series of electronic dots called pixels. Pixels is an acronym for "picture elements".

After the image is converted, or digitized, it is stored on a memory storage device which may be a hard drive or some sort of electronic storage device such as a memory stick. The pixels are stored in a compressed format to save storage space.

As each pixel is being created it is assigned a color value, called a tonal value, of black, white, shades of grey, or an actual color. These pixels must be processed by a piece of software in order for them to be called up and viewed as an actual image later.

Traditional cameras capture images onto film while digital cameras use an electronic chip known as a Charged Coupling Device (CCD). The CCD is actually a grid of miniature light-sensitive diodes. These diodes convert photons (light) that strikes them into electrons (electrical impulses). The technical name for these diodes is 'photosite'. The brighter the light is that hits the photosite the stronger the electrical charge is that's produced.

After converting the photons into electrons, a mini-computer, located inside of the camera, reads the stored electrical value in each photograph. Then a built-in analog-to-digital converter turns the stored electrical value into a digital value. These digital values are then stored on the cameras memory storage device. When these digital values are recalled by software, and displayed on a screen, they reproduce the image that was originally captured by the camera or digital input device.

The digital image that is created by the CCD is huge. It's far too big to be easily stored in the relatively little amount of storage space that's available to a digital camera. Accordingly, the camera's computer compresses the image to make it smaller.

There are two basic methods for achieving this compression. The first method takes advantage of repetitive patterns in the image. For example, if you are taking a picture of an airplane that is flying in the sky, a lot of the picture will be a chunk of blue sky. The camera recognizes that there are multiple parts of the image containing the same digital information, so it only records a small piece of the sky. Then it simply creates a map to tell it where the rest of the sky belongs. When the picture is ultimately displayed the sky appears exactly the same as it did in the original image when it was first captured. The only difference is that the overall storage requirements were reduced thanks to the camera's clever mapping techniques.

The other method uses a procedure called irrelevancy. This methodology automatically removes digital information that is not visible to the human eye such an infra red light.

Digital imaging is amazing yet we have only started witnessing the revolutionary changes that are yet to come.

About The Author

Warren Lynch has been shooting commercial photography since 1979. Clients include Several Regional and National accounts. Sign up for"The Digital Dose" and receive his tips every other week for FREE! http://www.photopheed.com.

contact@photopheed.com

RELATED ARTICLES

---

Photographing Kids
Kids grow up so quickly and while we are often left with countless memories, most parents have only a drawer packed with school photos, blurry holiday snaps and the forced grin of the inevitable yearly birthday picture to account for the years gone by. It's time to stop bemoaning the latest photograph of your thumb obscuring your adorable baby and get on with improving your skills as a photographer.

---

Memories That Get Lost
How many people have pictures in a shoe box? In a drawer? Inside a book? Sitting in the garage?

---

Digital Film Processing is Really the Only Option for Truly Quality Prints
Digital photography has taken off like wildfire these days, primarily due to its ease and quality in its digital film processing. With a good digital camera, it's as though you're using the very best Kodak film for every single one of your digital photos. Moreover, digital film processing can be done from the comfort of your own home with the right digital film processing software or with digital photo developing online.

---

A Guide to Underwater Cameras
There are two types of underwater camera systems: an ""amphibious"" camera, which is a self-contained waterproof system, and an SLR land camera with waterproof housing. Amphibious systems are small, compact, and easy to travel with, while SLRs offer more advanced features, such as auto-focus, advanced exposure control, and through-the-lens viewing.

---

Proper Handling and Storage of Paper Photos
Youv'e taken that perfect photo in the perfect light at the perfect angle and it has turned out beautifully.

---

How Can I Preserve My Lifetime of Memories in Photographs?
Like most folks you have probably have organized and sorted your photos atleast once. The problem is they never seem to stay organized no matter how hard you try, and even if they do they seem to lack that original impact that they had shortly after you took them or if they do, you never drag them out until sadly, someone passes on.

---

The Beauty of Nature Photography
Nature is all around us, and its beauties are unlimited. In this fast-paced world of mocha-lattes and traffic jams at rush hour, too many of us take the beauty of nature for granted. Luckily, there are still people in the world who see this beauty and choose to share it with those of us that are too busy to normally take notice. Poets and photographers are great at this. They take what seems like the ordinary and present it to us in a way that shows us the elegance, the magnificence and the amazing that is on this rock we call Earth.

---

Using a Camcorder to Record Family Events Quickly and Easily
Let's start there (but not spend too much time on it because you are probably already checked out on their use):

---

Photography Jobs: Do You Have a Future in Photography?
There is a wide world of photography. It touches each of us in our lives on a daily basis in some form or another. Photography is so much a part of our culture now that we hardly even notice all the places that it exists. When you watch television, look at a magazine or even view a billboard on the highway, this is all because of photography. There are so many ways that photography crosses our lives each day. There are a lot of opportunities for someone looking for photography jobs.

---

The Well-Dressed Photographer - Summer
Outdoor photographers shoot year round. That includes the hot summer. You may be surprised to learn that the best way to tolerate the heat is not to strip down to your skivvies. Instead, using the right products and wearing clothing designed to face the challenges of summer will help you keep your cool.

---

A New Way to Use Old Snapshots
If you're like me, you have hundreds of photographs sitting in envelopes. Pictures from birthday parties, weddings, family gatherings, anniversaries, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. You have already put the best snapshots into albums and these are leftovers. You don't want to throw them away, but you also don't know what to do with them.

---

Digital Cameras vs. Film Cameras- the debate goes on
One of the biggest debates in the photography world is whether digital cameras are better or film cameras better? The answer to this question cannot be answered in a simple yes or no. There are several issues which need to be considered while answering this question.

---

Digital SLR Camera versus a Compact Digital Camera
Digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras are excellent cameras that produce clearer, sharper and more colourful images than most point and shoot digital cameras available. With prices falling rapidly, they are now more affordable then ever. With the price gap between an entry model digital SLR camera and the most expensive compact digital camera narrowing; the question is? do I spend the extra money and get a Digital SLR camera? or save a few hundred dollars and purchase the best digital compact camera.

---

The Truth About Pixels - Part I: Digital Cameras
Most digital cameras today boast of greater resolution and picture quality. What does that mean to the amateur or occasional photographer? You hear of cameras with 3 megapixals up to 6 or 7 megapixals. What is that? The book that comes with the camera explains all the buttons, bells and whistles, but does not explain megapixels. Most people do not like to work with numbers much, but it is necessary to understand pixels. So here's my attempt to explain pixels. I'll try not to involve too many numbers.

---

Buying Your Child A Digital Camera - What You Need To Know
Purchasing any gift item for your child is a mind-numbing task. You can never be sure whether they will like what you buy for them or not. So, when you want to buy a digital camera for your little kids, then there are lots of things, which you must know, which will help you (hopefully!) to get the right camera for your child.

---

Things You Should Know Before Buying A Digital Camera
In a traditional camera, the lens was king. If the lens delivered a decent image, exactly that image would be recorded on the film. As the original image size was limited by the film size (35mm having become the standard), you would then have to enlarge it to get any size of print. If the original was at all blurred this would be exaggerated by the enlarging process.

---

Removing Spot Scratches in Your Treasured Photos ? 5 Minute Digital Fix
Probably one of the most common problems you will be faced with in doing any type of digital photo restoration work will be to do with spot scratches on your old photos.

---

Studio Photography and Digital Backgrounds
The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS, and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 and 3.

---

Sepia Toned Prints from Your Colour or Black and White Photos ? 5 Minute Digital Fix
Quite often I will have clients bring in old photographs of their "elder" relatives that were taken before colour photography was around.

---

Keep a Digital Photos Diary
Digital Photo Diary - memories that last a life time

---

Photography site map      Photography Information New Homes Photos Ridgefield Washington Photos - Phuket Thailand