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Digitalphotography
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Digitalphotographyisaformofphotographythatusescameras
containingarraysofelectronicphotodetectorstocaptureimages
focusedbyalens,asopposedtoanexposureonphotographic
film.Thecapturedimagesaredigitizedandstoredasacomputer
filereadyforfurtherdigitalprocessing,viewing,digital
publishingorprinting.
Untiltheadventofsuchtechnology,photographsweremadeby
exposinglightsensitivephotographicfilm,andusedchemical
photographicprocessingtodevelopandstabilizetheimage.By
contrast,digitalphotographscanbedisplayed,printed,stored,
manipulated,transmitted,andarchivedusingdigitaland
computertechniques,withoutchemicalprocessing.
Digitalphotographyisoneofseveralformsofdigitalimaging.
Digitalimagesarealsocreatedbynonphotographicequipment
suchascomputertomographyscannersandradiotelescopes.
Digitalimagescanalsobemadebyscanningotherphotographic
images.

NikonD700a12.1megapixel
fullframeDSLR

Sincethe2000sdigitalphotographyhaslargelysupersededall
otherformsofphotography.

Contents

TheCanonPowerShotA95

1Thedigitalcamera
1.1History
1.2Sensors
1.3Multifunctionalityandconnectivity
1.4Performancemetrics
1.4.1Pixelcounts
1.4.2Dynamicrange
1.5Storage
2Marketimpact
2.1Socialimpact
3Recentresearchandinnovation
4Comparisonwithfilmphotography
4.1Consumercameras
4.2Advantagesofprofessionaldigitalcameras
4.3Disadvantagesofdigitalcameras
4.4Equivalentfeatures
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4.5Frameaspectratios
5Seealso
6References
7Externallinks

Thedigitalcamera
History
ThefirstflybyspacecraftimageofMarswastakenfromMariner4onJuly15,1965withacamera
systemdesignedbyNASA/JPL.Itusedavideocameratubefollowedbyadigitizer,ratherthanamosaic
ofsolidstatesensorelements,soitwasnotwhatweusuallydefineasadigitalcamera,butitproduceda
digitalimagethatwasstoredontapeforlaterslowtransmissionbacktoearth.[1][2]
Thefirstrecordedattemptatbuildingadigitalcamerawasin1975byStevenSasson,anengineerat
EastmanKodak.[3][4]ItusedthethennewsolidstateCCDimagesensorchipsdevelopedbyFairchild
Semiconductorin1973.[5]Thecameraweighed8pounds(3.6kg),recordedblackandwhiteimagestoa
cassettetape,hadaresolutionof0.01megapixels(10,000pixels),andtook23secondstocaptureitsfirst
imageinDecember1975.Theprototypecamerawasatechnicalexercise,notintendedforproduction.
ThefirsttruedigitalcamerathatrecordedimagesasacomputerizedfilewaslikelytheFujiDS1Pof
1988,whichrecordedtoa16MBinternalmemorycardthatusedabatterytokeepthedatainmemory.
Thiscamerawasnevermarketedinternationally,andhasnotbeenconfirmedtohaveshippedevenin
Japan.
Thefirstcommerciallyavailabledigitalcamerawasthe1990DycamModel1italsosoldasthe
LogitechFotoman.ItusedaCCDimagesensor,storedpicturesdigitally,andconnecteddirectlytoa
computerfordownloadingimages.[6][7][8]

Sensors
Imagesensorsreadtheintensityoflight,anddigitalmemorydevicesstorethedigitalimageinformation
asRGBcolorspaceorasrawdata.
Thetwomaintypesofsensorsarechargecoupleddevices(CCD),inwhichthephotochargeisshiftedto
acentralchargetovoltageconverter,andCMOSoractivepixelsensors.

Multifunctionalityandconnectivity
Exceptforsomelineararraytypeofcamerasatthehighestendandsimplewebcamsatthelowestend,
adigitalmemorydevice(usuallyamemorycardfloppydisksandCDRWsarelesscommon)isused
forstoringimages,whichmaybetransferredtoacomputerlater.
Digitalcamerascantakepictures,andmayalsorecordsoundandvideo.Somecanbeusedaswebcams,
somecanusethePictBridgestandardtoconnecttoaprinterwithoutusingacomputer,andsomecan
displaypicturesdirectlyonatelevisionset.Similarly,manycamcorderscantakestillphotographs,and
storethemonvideotapeoronflashmemorycardswiththesamefunctionalityasdigitalcameras.
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Performancemetrics
Thequalityofadigitalimageisacompositeofvariousfactors,manyofwhicharesimilartothoseof
filmcameras.Pixelcount(typicallylistedinmegapixels,millionsofpixels)isonlyoneofthemajor
factors,thoughitisthemostheavilymarketedfigureofmerit.Digitalcameramanufacturersadvertise
thisfigurebecauseconsumerscanuseittoeasilycomparecameracapabilities.Itisnot,however,the
majorfactorinevaluatingadigitalcameraformostapplications.Theprocessingsysteminsidethe
camerathatturnstherawdataintoacolorbalancedandpleasingphotographisusuallymorecritical,
whichiswhysome4+megapixelcamerasperformbetterthanhigherendcameras.
Resolutioninpixelsisnottheonlymeasureofimage
quality.Alargersensorwiththesamenumberofpixels
generallyproducesabetterimagethanasmallerone.
Oneofthemostimportantdifferencesisan
improvementinimagenoise.Thisisoneofthe
advantagesofdigitalSLRcameras,whichhavelarger
sensorsthansimplercameras(socalledpointandshoot
cameras)ofthesameresolution.
Lensquality:resolution,distortion,dispersion
(seeLens(optics))

Imageatlefthasahigherpixelcountthanthe
onetotheright,butlowerspatialresolution.

Capturemedium:CMOS,CCD,negativefilm,
reversalfilmetc.
Captureformat:pixelcount,digitalfiletype(RAW,TIFF,JPEG),filmformat(135film,120
film,5x4,10x8).
Processing:digitaland/orchemicalprocessingof'negative'and'print'.
Pixelcounts
Thenumberofpixelsnforagivenmaximumresolution(whorizontalpixelsbyhverticalpixels)isthe
productn=wh.Thisyieldse.g.1.92megapixels(1,920,000pixels)foranimageof16001200.
ThemajorityofcompactaswellassomeDSLRcamerashavea4:3aspectratio,i.e.w/h=4/3.[9]
AccordingtoDigitalPhotographyReview,the4:3ratioisbecause"computermonitorsare4:3ratio,old
CCDsalwayshada4:3ratio,andthusdigitalcamerasinheritedthisaspectratio."[9]
Thepixelcountquotedbymanufacturerscanbemisleadingasitmaynotbethenumberoffullcolor
pixels.Forcamerasusingsinglechipimagesensorsthenumberclaimedisthetotalnumberofsingle
colorsensitivephotosensors,whethertheyhavedifferentlocationsintheplane,aswiththeBayer
sensor,orinstacksofthreecolocatedphotosensorsasintheFoveonX3sensor.However,theimages
havedifferentnumbersofRGBpixels:BayersensorcamerasproduceasmanyRGBpixelsas
photosensorsviademosaicing(interpolation),whileFoveonsensorsproduceuninterpolatedimagefiles
withonethirdasmanyRGBpixelsasphotosensors.Comparisonsofmegapixelratingsofthesetwo
typesofsensorsaresometimesasubjectofdispute.[10]
Therelativeincreaseindetailresultingfromanincreaseinresolutionisbettercomparedbylookingat
thenumberofpixelsacross(ordown)thepicture,ratherthanthetotalnumberofpixelsinthepicture
area.Forexample,asensorof25601600sensorelementsisdescribedas"4megapixels"(25601600
=4,096,000).Increasingto32002048increasesthepixelsinthepictureto6,553,600(6.5
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megapixels),afactorof1.6,butthepixelspercminthepicture(atthesameimagesize)increasesby
only1.25times.Ameasureofthecomparativeincreaseinlinearresolutionisthesquarerootofthe
increaseinarearesolution,i.e.,megapixelsintheentireimage.
Dynamicrange
Practicalimagingsystemsbothdigitalandfilm,havealimited"dynamicrange":therangeofluminosity
thatcanbereproducedaccurately.Highlightsofthesubjectthataretoobrightarerenderedaswhite,
withnodetailshadowsthataretoodarkarerenderedasblack.Thelossofdetailisnotabruptwithfilm,
orindarkshadowswithdigitalsensors:somedetailisretainedasbrightnessmovesoutofthedynamic
range."Highlightburnout"ofdigitalsensors,however,canbeabrupt,andhighlightdetailmaybelost.
Andasthesensorelementsfordifferentcolorssaturateinturn,therecanbegrosshueorsaturationshift
inburntouthighlights.
Somedigitalcamerascanshowtheseblownhighlightsintheimagereview,allowingthephotographer
toreshootthepicturewithamodifiedexposure.Otherscompensateforthetotalcontrastofasceneby
selectivelyexposingdarkerpixelslonger.AthirdtechniqueisusedbyFujifilminitsFinePixS3Pro
digitalSLR.Theimagesensorcontainsadditionalphotodiodesoflowersensitivitythanthemainones
theseretaindetailinpartsoftheimagetoobrightforthemainsensor.
Highdynamicrangeimaging(HDR)addressesthisproblembyincreasingthedynamicrangeofimages
byeither
increasingthedynamicrangeoftheimagesensoror
byusingexposurebracketingandpostprocessingtheseparateimagestocreateasingleimage
withahigherdynamicrange.
HDRimagescurtailburnoutsandblackouts.

Storage
Manycameraphonesandmostdigitalcamerasusememorycardshavingflashmemorytostoreimage
data.ThemajorityofcardsforseparatecamerasareSDformatmanyareCompactFlashandtheother
formatsarerare.XQDcardformatwasthelastnewformofcard.Mostmoderndigitalcamerasalsouse
internalmemoryforalimitedcapacityforpicturesthatcanbetransferredtoorfromthecardorthrough
thecamera'sconnectionsevenwithoutamemorycardinsertedintothecamera.
Memorycardscanholdvastnumbersofphotos,requiringattentiononlywhenthememorycardisfull.
Formostusers,thismeanshundredsofqualityphotosstoredonthesamememorycard.Imagesmaybe
transferredtoothermediaforarchivalorpersonaluse.Cardswithhighspeedandcapacityaresuitedto
videoandburstmode.

Marketimpact
Inlate2002,2megapixelcameraswereavailableintheUnitedStatesforlessthan$100,withsome1
megapixelcamerasforunder$60.Atthesametime,manydiscountstoreswithphotolabsintroduceda
"digitalfrontend",allowingconsumerstoobtaintruechemicalprints(asopposedtoinkjetprints)inan
hour.Thesepricesweresimilartothoseofprintsmadefromfilmnegatives.However,becausedigital

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imageshaveadifferentaspectratiothan35mmfilmimages,peoplehavestartedtorealizethat4x6inch
printscropsomeoftheimageofftheprint.Somephotofinishershavestartedofferingprintswiththe
sameaspectratioasthedigitalcamerasrecord.
InJuly2003,digitalcamerasenteredthedisposablecameramarketwiththereleaseoftheRitzDakota
Digital,a1.2megapixel(1280x960)CMOSbaseddigitalcameracostingonly$11(USD).Following
thefamiliarsingleuseconceptlonginusewithfilmcameras,RitzintendedtheDakotaDigitalforsingle
use.Whenthepreprogrammed25picturelimitisreached,thecameraisreturnedtothestore,andthe
consumerreceivesbackprintsandaCDROMwiththeirphotos.Thecameraisthenrefurbishedand
resold.
SincetheintroductionoftheDakotaDigital,anumberofsimilarsingleusedigitalcamerashave
appeared.MostsingleusedigitalcamerasarenearlyidenticaltotheoriginalDakotaDigitalin
specificationsandfunction,thoughafewincludesuperiorspecificationsandmoreadvancedfunctions
(suchashigherimageresolutionsandLCDscreens).Most,ifnotallthesesingleusedigitalcameras
costlessthan$20(USD),notincludingprocessing.However,thehugedemandforcomplexdigital
camerasatcompetitivepriceshasoftencausedmanufacturingshortcuts,evidencedbyalargeincreasein
customercomplaintsovercameramalfunctions,highpartsprices,andshortservicelife.Somedigital
camerasofferonlya90daywarranty.
Since2003,digitalcamerashaveoutsoldfilmcameras.[11]Pricesof35mmcompactcamerashave
droppedwithmanufacturersfurtheroutsourcingtocountriessuchasChina.Kodakannouncedin
January2004thattheywouldnolongersellKodakbrandedfilmcamerasinthedevelopedworld.[12]In
January2006,Nikonfollowedsuitandannouncedtheywouldstopproductionofallbuttwomodelsof
theirfilmcameras.TheywillcontinuetoproducethelowendNikonFM10,andthehighendNikonF6.
Inthesamemonth,KonicaMinoltaannounceditwaspullingoutofthecamerabusinessaltogether.The
priceof35mmandAPScompactcamerashavedropped,probablyduetodirectcompetitionfromdigital
andtheresultinggrowthoftheofferofsecondhandfilmcameras.[13]Pentaxhavereducedproductionof
filmcamerasbutnothaltedit.[14]ThetechnologyhasimprovedsorapidlythatoneofKodak'sfilm
cameraswasdiscontinuedbeforeitwasawardeda"cameraoftheyear"awardlaterintheyear.The
declineinfilmcamerasaleshasalsoledtoadeclineinpurchasesoffilmforsuchcameras.InNovember
2004,aGermandivisionofAgfaGevaert,AgfaPhoto,splitoff.Withinsixmonthsitfiledfor
bankruptcy.KonicaMinoltaPhotoImaging,Inc.endedproductionofColorfilmandpaperworldwide
byMarch31,2007.Inaddition,by2005,Kodakemployedlessthanathirdoftheemployeesithad
twentyyearsearlier.Itisnotknownifthesejoblossesinthefilmindustryhavebeenoffsetinthedigital
imageindustry.Digitalcamerashavedecimatedthefilmphotographyindustrythroughdeclininguseof
theexpensivefilmrollsanddevelopmentchemicalspreviouslyrequiredtodevelopthephotos.Thishas
hadadramaticeffectoncompaniessuchasFuji,Kodak,andAgfa.Manystoresthatformerlyoffered
photofinishingservicesorsoldfilmnolongerdo,orhaveseenatremendousdecline.In2012,Kodak
filedforbankruptcyafterstrugglingtoadapttothechangingindustry.[15]
Inaddition,digitalphotographyhasresultedinsomepositivemarketimpactsaswell.Theincreasing
popularityofproductssuchasdigitalphotoframesandcanvasprintsisadirectresultoftheincreasing
popularityofdigitalphotography.
DigitalcamerassoldpeakatMarch2012about11millionpermonth,buteveryyeardeclined
significantlyandatMarch2014onlysoldmorethan3millionoronlyabout30percentfromthepeak
sold.Seemsthedeclinetrendhasreachedthebottomwithsalesaverageover3millionamonth.The
maincompetitorissmartphoneshavinginbuiltdigitalcamerawhichdaybydayhavebetterquality
camerasandalsovideos.[16]
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Socialimpact
Untiltheadventofthedigitalcamera,amateurphotographerscouldeitherbuyprintorslidefilmfor
theircameras.Slidescouldbedevelopedandshowntoanaudienceusingaslideprojector.Digital
photographyrevolutionizedtheindustrybyeliminatingthedelayandcost.Theeaseofviewing,
transferringandeditingallowedconsumerstomanagetheirdigitalphotoswithordinaryhome
computersratherthanspecializedequipment.
Cameraphones,beingthemajorityofcameras,havearguablythelargestimpact.Theusercansettheir
SmartphonestouploadtheirproductstotheInternet,preservingthemevenifthecameraisdestroyedor
theimagesdeleted.Somehighstreetphotographyshopshaveselfservicekiosksthatallowimagestobe
printeddirectlyfromsmartphonesviaBluetoothtechnology.
Archivistsandhistorianshavenoticedthetransitorynatureofdigitalmedia.Unlikefilmandprint,
whicharetangibleandimmediatelyaccessibletoaperson,digitalimagestorageiseverchanging,with
oldmediaanddecodingsoftwarebecomingobsoleteorinaccessiblebynewtechnologies.Historiansare
concernedthatwearecreatingahistoricalvoidwhereinformationanddetailsaboutanerawouldhave
beenlostwithineitherfailedorinaccessibledigitalmedia.Theyrecommendthatprofessionaland
amateurusersdevelopstrategiesfordigitalpreservationbymigratingstoreddigitalimagesfromold
technologiestonew.[17]Scrapbookerswhomayhaveusedfilmforcreatingartisticandpersonal
memoirsmayneedtomodifytheirapproachtodigitalphotobookstopersonalizethemandretainthe
specialqualitiesoftraditionalphotoalbums.
Thewebhasbeenapopularmediumforstoringandsharingphotoseversincethefirstphotographwas
publishedonthewebbyTimBernersLeein1992(animageoftheCERNhousebandLesHorribles
Cernettes).TodayphotosharingsitessuchasFlickr,PicasaandPhotoBucket,aswellassocialWeb
sites,areusedbymillionsofpeopletosharetheirpictures.

Recentresearchandinnovation
Researchanddevelopmentcontinuestorefinethelighting,optics,sensors,processing,storage,display,
andsoftwareusedindigitalphotography.Hereareafewexamples.
3Dmodelscanbecreatedfromcollectionsofnormalimages.Theresultingscenecanbeviewed
fromnovelviewpoints,butcreatingthemodelisverycomputationallyintensive.Anexampleis
Microsoft'sPhotosynth,whichprovidessomemodelsoffamousplacesasexamples.[18]
Panoramicphotographycanbecreatedeasilydirectlyincamerawithoutsoftwareprocessing
outsideofthecameraandeventherealso3DPanoramausesasinglelens
Highdynamicrangecamerasanddisplaysarecommerciallyavailable.Sensorswithdynamic
rangeinexcessof1,000,000:1areindevelopment,andsoftwareisalsoavailabletocombine
multiplenonHDRimages(shotwithdifferentexposures)intoanHDRimage.
Motionblurcanbedramaticallyremovedbyafluttershutter(aflickeringshutterthataddsa
signaturetotheblur,whichpostprocessingrecognizes).[19]Itisnotyetcommerciallyavailable.
BokehcanbemadeincamerawithinLCDdisplaywithbokeharea(s)wewanttoshow.Itislikes
HDRwithdifferentexposuremultishoots,butcannotdirectlymadebythecameraitselfwith
advantagewecanmakefromoneimagetomanyimageswithdifferentbokehareasand
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magnitude
Neutraldensityfilterisavailablenotone,but2ormoreinacamera/camcorderbymanipulating
thesensitivityofthesensor
Anobject'sspecularreflectioncanbecapturedusingcomputercontrolledlightsandsensors.This
isneededtocreateattractiveimagesofoilpaintings,forinstance.Itisnotyetcommercially
available,butsomemuseumsarestartingtouseit.
Dustreductionsystemshelpkeepdustoffofimagesensors,originallyintroducedonlybyafew
cameraslikeOlympusDSLRs,havenowbecomestandardinmostmodelsandbrandsof
detachablelenscamerawithexceptionnodustreductionsysteminlow/cheapcameras
Otherareasofprogressincludeimprovedsensors,morepowerfulsoftware,advancedcameraprocessors
(sometimesusingmorethanoneprocessore.g.Canon7dhas2Digic4processors),enlargedgamut
displays,builtinGPS&WiFi,andcomputercontrolledlighting.

Comparisonwithfilmphotography
Consumercameras
Theprimaryadvantageofconsumerleveldigitalcamerasisthelowrecurringcost,asusersneednot
purchasephotographicfilm.Processingcostsmaybereducedoreveneliminated.Digicamstendalsoto
beeasiertocarryandtouse,thancomparablefilmcameras.Theymoreeasilyadapttomodernuseof
pictures.Some,particularlythosethataresmartphones,cansendtheirpicturesdirectlytoemailorweb
pagesorotherelectronicdistribution.

Advantagesofprofessionaldigitalcameras
Immediateimagereviewanddeletionispossiblelighting
andcompositioncanbeassessedimmediately,which
ultimatelyconservesstoragespace.
Highvolumeofimagestomediumratioallowingfor
extensivephotographysessionswithoutchangingfilm
rolls.Tomostusersasinglememorycardissufficientfor
thelifetimeofthecamerawhereasfilmrollsareare
incurringcostoffilmcameras.

TheGoldenGateBridgeretouchedfor
painterlylighteffects

Fasterworkflow:Management(colourandfile),
manipulationandprintingtoolsaremoreversatilethanconventionalfilmprocesses.However,
batchprocessingofRAWfilescanbetimeconsuming,evenonafastcomputer.
Digitalmanipulation:Adigitalimagecanbemodifiedandmanipulatedmucheasierandfaster
thanwithtraditionalnegativeandprintmethods.Thedigitalimagetotherightwascapturedin
Rawimageformat,processedandoutputin3differentwaysfromthesourceRAWfile,then
mergedandfurtherprocessedforcolorsaturationandotherspecialeffectstoproduceamore
dramaticresultthanwasoriginallycapturedwiththeRAWimage.
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ManufacturerssuchasNikonandCanonhavepromotedtheadoptionofdigitalsinglelensreflex
cameras(DSLRs)byphotojournalists.Imagescapturedat2+megapixelsaredeemedofsufficient
qualityforsmallimagesinnewspaperormagazinereproduction.Eightto24megapixelimages,found
inmoderndigitalSLRs,whencombinedwithhighendlenses,canapproximatethedetailoffilmprints
from35mmfilmbasedSLRs.[20]

Disadvantagesofdigitalcameras
HighISOimagenoisemaymanifestasmulticoloredspecklesindigitalimages,ratherthanthe
lessobjectionable"grain"ofhighISOfilm.Whilethisspecklingcanberemovedbynoise
reductionsoftware,eitherincameraoronacomputer,thiscanhaveadetrimentaleffectonimage
qualityasfinedetailmaybelostintheprocess.
Aliasingmayaddpatternstoimagesthatdonotexistandwouldnotappearinfilm.
Formanyconsumers,theadvantagesofdigitalcamerasoutweighthedisadvantages.Someprofessional
photographersstillpreferfilm.Concernsthathavebeenraisedbyprofessionalphotographersinclude:
editingandpostprocessingofRAWfilescantakelongerthan35mmfilm,downloadingalargenumber
ofimagestoacomputercanbetimeconsuming,shootinginremotesitesrequiresthephotographerto
carryanumberofbatteries,equipmentfailurewhileallcamerasmayfail,somefilmcameraproblems
(e.g.,meterorrangefinderproblems,failureofonlysomeshutterspeeds)canbeworkedaround.Astime
passes,itisexpectedthatmoreprofessionalphotographerswillswitchtodigital.[21]

Equivalentfeatures
Imagenoise/grain
Noiseinadigitalcamera'simageisremarkablysimilartofilmgraininafilmcamera.AthighISOlevels
(filmspeed)thegrain/noisebecomesmoreapparentinthefinalimage.AlthoughfilmISOlevelscanbe
lowerthandigitalISOlevels(25and50respectively),digitalsettingscanbechangedquicklyaccording
torequirements,whilefilmmustbephysicallyreplacedandprotectedfromalllightduringsuch
replacement.Additionally,imagenoisereductiontechniquescanbeusedtoremovenoisefromdigital
imagesandfilmgrainisfixed.Fromanartisticpointofview,filmgrainandimagenoisemaybe
desirablewhencreatingaspecificmoodforanimage.Moderndigitalcamerashavecomparable
noise/grainatthesameISOasfilmcameras.Somedigitalcamerasthough,doexhibitapatterninthe
digitalnoisethatisnotfoundonfilm.
Speedofuse
Turnofthecenturydigitalcamerashadalongstartupdelaycomparedtofilmcameras,i.e.,thedelay
fromwhentheyareturnedonuntiltheyarereadytotakethefirstshot,butthisisnolongerthecasefor
moderndigitalcameraswithstartuptimesunder1/4seconds.[22]Similarly,theamountoftimeneeded
towritethedataforadigitalpicturetothememorycardisnowcomparabletotheamountoftimeit
takestowindthefilmonafilmcamera,withmoderndigitalcamerasandmodernfastmemorycards.
Bothdigitalcamerasandfilmcamerashaveasmalldelaybetweenwhentheshutterbuttonispressed
andwhenthepictureistakenthisisthetimenecessarytoautofocusthelensandcomputeandsetthe
exposure.(ThisshutterdelayispracticallyzeroforSLRandthebestDSLRcameras.)
Framerate

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Whilesomefilmcamerascouldreachupto10fps,liketheCanonEOS1VHS,[23]professionaldigital
SLRcamerascantakestillphotographsathighestframerates.WhiletheSonySLTtechnologyallows
ratesofupto12fps,theCanonEOS1Dxcantakestillsata14fpsrate.TheNikonF5islimitedto36
continuousframes(thelengthofthefilm)whiletheCanonEOS1DMarkIIIisabletotakeabout110
highdefinitionJPEGimagesbeforeitsbuffermustbeclearedandtheremainingspaceonthestorage
mediacanbeused.EvenBridgecamerasuchasFujifilmFinePixHS10hasburstmode10frame/sand
PanasonicLumixDMCFZ100has11frame/s.[24][25]MoreoverFinePixHS10cantakemoviesat1000
frame/sat224x64pixelswithnosound.[26]
Imagelongevity
Filmandprintscanfade,butdigitalimagescanpotentiallylastunchangedforever.However,themedia
onwhichthedigitalimagesarestoredcandecayorbecomecorrupt,leadingtoalossofimageintegrity.
Filmanddigitalmediashouldbestoredunderarchivalconditionsformaximumlongevity.Without
backupitiseasiertolosehugeamountsofdigitaldata,forexamplebyaccidentaldeletionoffolders,or
byfailureofamassstoragedevice.Incomparison,eachgenerationofcopiesoffilmnegativesand
transparenciesisdegradedcomparedtoitsparent.Filmimagescaneasilybeconvertedtodigital(by
usingadigitalfilmscannerforexample)withsomepossiblelossofquality.
Colourreproduction
Colourreproduction(gamut)isdependentonthetypeandqualityoffilmorsensorusedandthequality
oftheopticalsystemandfilmprocessing.Differentfilmsandsensorshavedifferentcolorsensitivitythe
photographerneedstounderstandhisequipment,thelightconditions,andthemediausedtoensure
accuratecolourreproduction.ManydigitalcamerasofferRAWformat(sensordata),whichmakesit
possibletochoosecolorspaceinthedevelopmentstageregardlessofcamerasettings.Ineffect,the
sceneisstoredasfarasthesensorallows,andcantosomeextentbe"rephotographed"withdifferent
colorbalance,exposure,etc.
EveninRAWformat,however,thesensorandthecamera'sdynamicscanonlycaptureinthegamutthat
thesystemsupports.Whenthatimageistransferredforreproductiononanydevice,thebestpossible
gamutisthegamutthattheenddevicesupports.Foramonitor,itisthescreen'sgamutfora
photographicprint,itisthegamutofthedevicethatprintstheimageonthepaper.ColorgamutorColor
spaceisanabstracttermthatdescribesanareawherepointsofcolorfitinathreedimensionalspace.
Picturethisasdifferentshapedboxes,whereoneboxmaynotfitintoanothersowhatdoesnotfitgets
clippedoff.
Professionalphotographersoftenusehighendmonitorsthatareregularlycalibratedtoreproduce
color/highlights/shadowsetc.consistently.

Frameaspectratios
Mostdigitalpoint&shootcamerashaveanaspectratioof1.33(4:3),thesameasanalogtelevisionor
earlymovies.However,a35mmpicture'saspectratiois1.5(3:2).Severaldigitalcamerastakephotosin
eitherratio,andnearlyalldigitalSLRstakepicturesina3:2ratio,asmostcanuselensesdesignedfor
35mmfilm.Somephotolabsprintphotoson4:3ratiopaper,aswellastheexisting3:2.In2005
Panasoniclaunchedthefirstconsumercamerawithanativeaspectratioof16:9,matchingHDTV.This
issimilartoa7:4aspectratio,whichwasacommonsizeforAPSfilm.Differentaspectratiosisoneof
thereasonsconsumershaveissueswhencroppingphotos.Anaspectratioof4:3translatestoasizeof
4.5"x6.0".Thisloseshalfaninchwhenprintingonthe"standard"sizeof4"x6",anaspectratioof3:2.
Similarcroppingoccurswhenprintingonothersizes,i.e.,5"x7",8"x10",or11"x14".
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Seealso
Analogphotography
Automaticimageannotation
Camcorder
Chimping
DesignruleforCameraFilesystem
Digitalcamera
Digitalimageediting
Digitalimaging
Digitalmicroscope
USBmicroscope
Digitalphotoframe
DigitalPrintOrderformat(DPOF)
Digitalrevolution
Digitalsinglelensreflexcamera
Digitalwatermarking
Exchangeableimagefileformat(Exif)
Geocodedphoto
Highdynamicrangeimaging
LensesforSLRandDSLRcameras
Listofdigitalcamerabrands
Onlineproofing
Rawimageformat
3Dcamcorder

References
1. ^FredC.Billingsley,"ProcessingRangerandMarinerPhotography,"inComputerizedImagingTechniques,
ProceedingsofSPIE,Vol.0010,pp.XV119,Jan.1967(Aug.1965,SanFrancisco)."Marinerisuniquein
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Externallinks
Digitalphotography(https://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Photography/Techniques_and_Styles/Digital/)at
DMOZ
DigitalPhotographyFAQ(http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.html)
LecturesonImageProcessing(http://www.archive.org/details/Lectures_on_Image_Processing),
byAlanPeters.VanderbiltUniversity.
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