MITC 216 Multimedia Systems

Multimedia Hardware

GILBERT R. HUFANA Professor

Multimedia Hardware
Capturing Devices y Editing/Production Devices y Post-production Devices
y

Capturing Devices
y y y

Cameras
Used to capture still images/pictures

Video Cameras
Used to capture moving objects

Audio Recorder/Recording System

Used to capture audio or voice Ranges from simple capturing device such as the microphone to more complex system such as audio digitizer/MIDI/recording studio

Computer used to capture text

Editing/Production Devices
y

Computer
The primary device used for editing/production of multimedia components It may be images, video, audio, animation or text The issue behind is the capacity of the computer to respond to the demands of computing for these various media

PostPost-Production Devices
y

Post-production devices usually are the devices used to display the multimedia application
Computer HDTV/LCD/LED TV LCD Projectors DVD Players

The Camera
a lightproof box, with some method of letting in just a small amount of light at just the right time y Once the light is in the box, it forms an image causes a chemical reaction on photographic film or energizes a photocell
y

The Camera

The Camera

The Camera
Pentaprism

View finder

Sensor Shutter release button

Lens

Shutter

Camera
Comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes and styles y The choice of camera to use has a major impact on the sort of pictures you can take y Types/Kinds
y

Compact/Zoom Compact Hybrid Digital SLR Point & Shoot

Capturing Images: 4-step Process 41. 2.

3.

4.

Image that is recorded is light reflecting from the subject Light energy is then converted into electrical signals by the cameras image sensor These electrical signals are analyzed, processed & converted into digital format The digital data is then stored to a flash memory for future retrieval

Capturing Images: 4-step Process 4-

2 1 3 4

The Lens
The eye of the camera y Consists of highly polished glass or plastic lenses called elements y Controls how wide a view is projected onto the image sensor y Focal Length the distance from its optical center to the image sensor y The longer the focal length the smaller the angle of view
y

The Lens

24mm

35mm

50mm

100mm

200mm

400mm

Sensors
The retina or film of the camera onto w/c the lens projects the image y Its job is to convert the image into electrical signal, w/c is then processed & digitized y Either CMOS or CCD y Made up of tiny light-sensitive cells known as photosites, each of w/c corresponds to a pixel in the final picture
y

Digital Processing
Things needed to be done before data is stored in memory y Most cameras are equipped with onboard functions to analyzed, tweaked & processed images captured by the sensor y Affects the quality of pictures that the camera produces y It includes sharpness, color space & saturation
y

Digital Processing

Pixel
picture element y a single point in a raster image y the smallest addressable screen element y Each pixel has its own address. The address of a pixel corresponds to its coordinates. y normally arranged in a 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares
y

Pixel

File Formats
Digital cameras produce large amount of data y 1 megapixel=3MB of storage requirement y Compression reduction process
y

Lossless loses none of the detail but leads only to a modest space saving
x RAW

Lossy produces smaller sizes by sacrificing some of the data

x JPEG (reduction of about 75% of the original size)

File Formats
Size and Format
Resolution Basic JPEG Normal JPEG Fine JPEG Ex-fine JPEG RAW RAW + JPEG TIFF

12 MP 1.5 MB 8 MP 4 MP 2MB 1MB

6MB 4MB 2MB

6MB 4MB 2MB

12MB 8MB 4MB

18MB 12MB 6MB

24MB 16MB 8MB

36MB 24MB 12MB

Memory
Digital cameras are memory-hungry when used at their top priority y The max capacity available on a single card will depend on its type y Compact flsh, SD, xD, and Memory Stick Pro y Cards also vary in speed at which they can read and write data (MB/s)
y

EXIF
Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) format y Detailed log of how the picture was taken y Stored w/in the image file (metadata) y It tells you the actual focal length used, Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO setting etc. y Not
y

Screens
Plays a vital role in keeping the photographer informed with what is going on y Acts as:
y

Information board View finder A computer monitor Play back screen

Focus
The point/area on the image that is equally sharp everything parallel w/ the imaging chip y Limited y Depth of field the range of distance that looks sharp y Focal point the area in the picture that looks sharpest y Autofocus (AF) automatic solution to focsuing
y

Focus Modes
y

Focus Priority AF (Single servo)

Shooting a non-moving object at a fixed distance from the camera

Continuous AF
When a subject is moving, so that the focus needs to be constantly adjusted til the shutter is fired

Predictive AF
Measures the speed of the subject then adjust autofocus to allow for the shutter delay

Exposure Metering
y

Exposure
how light or dark (amount of light) an image will appear when it's been captured by your camera the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph

Knowing how your digital camera meters light is critical for achieving consistent and accurate exposures. y Metering is the brains behind how your camera determines the shutter speed and aperture, based on lighting conditions and ISO speed.
y

Incident vs Reflected light

y y

Incident Light
The amount of light as seen from the object

Reflected Light
The amount of light reflected from the object

All in-camera light meters have a fundamental flaw: they can only measure reflected light.

Light Metering
If all objects reflected the same percentage of incident light, this would work just fine, however real-world subjects vary greatly in their reflectance. y For this reason, in-camera metering is standardized based on the luminance of light which would be reflected from an object appearing as middle gray.
y

What constitutes middle gray?

Middle gray is 18% of Luminance

18% Gray 18% Red 18% Green 18% Blue Tone Tone Tone Tone

If the camera is aimed directly at any object lighter or darker than middle gray, the camera's light meter will incorrectly calculate under or over-exposure, respectively

Exposure Metering Modes

y

Matrix or Evaluative Metering

In this mode the camera attempts to take into consideration everything in your frame It assesses overall lighting from all these zones and takes a best guess by averaging them to decide on how to expose the shot

Exposure Metering Modes

y

Center-weighted Average Metering

the most common metering method implemented in nearly every digital camera and the default for those digital cameras which don't offer metering mode selection This method averages the exposure of the entire frame but gives extra weight to the center ideal for portraits

Exposure Metering Modes

y

Spot (Partial) Metering

allows you to meter the subject in the center of the frame (or on some cameras at the selected AF point) Only a small area of the whole frame is metered and the exposure of the rest of the frame is ignored. This type of metering is useful for brightly backlit, macro, and moon shots.

Exposure Metering Modes

Matrix/Evaluative Metering

Center-weighted Metering

Spot Metering

Exposure Modes
y y

P Programmed Mode
Camera sets shutter speed and aperture

A Aperture Priority
User selects aperture and camera sets the shutter speed based on the metered light

S Shutter Priority
User selects shutter speed and camera sets the aperture based on the metered light

M Manual Mode
User is in full control of the camera

Automatic Exposure
EXPOSURE MODE HOW IT WORKS

Camera tries to pick the lowest f-stop value possible for a given exposure. This ensures the shallowest possible depth of field. Landscape Camera tries to pick a high f-stop to ensure a large depth of field. Compact cameras also often set their focus distance to distant objects or infinity. Sports/Action Camera tries to achieve as fast a shutter speed as possible for a given exposure -- ideally 1/250 seconds or faster. In addition to using a low f-stop, the fast shutter speed is usually achieved by increasing the ISO speed more than would otherwise be acceptable in portrait mode. Night/LowCamera permits shutter speeds which are longer than light ordinarily allowed for hand-held shots, and increases the ISO speed to near its maximum available value. However, for some cameras this setting means that a flash is used for the foreground, and a long shutter speed and high ISO are used expose the background. Check your camera's instruction manual for any unique characteristics. Portrait

Factors affecting Exposure

Aperture y Shutter Speed y ISO
y

Aperture
The word aperture simply means an opening y an adjustable iris that can be opened or closed to control how much light enters the camera y made of a series of thin metal blades that move together to create a roughly circular opening of variable size
y

Aperture
y

the focal length of the lens divided by its diameter (f ratio)

In the figure, we have a lens with a focal length of 50mm and a diameter of 10mm.
50/10=5 gives us an f-ratio of 1/5 or f5. If the lens was still 50mm focal length with a 20mm diameter, it would be f2.5.

Aperture
If we stop down the aperture, we effectively make the lens smaller, and thus change the f ratio of the lens. y As such, the size of the aperture is described by the f ratio that it creates. y A wide aperture may be f2.8, a narrow aperture may be f22.
y

Aperture
Measured in stops
1.00 1.4 2 2.8 5.6 11 16 22 32 smallest largest 1 stop 1 stop

An Increase in aperture increases the amount of light twice x2 An decrease in aperture decreases the amount of light by halves - /2

Aperture

Wide Aperture f/2.0 - low f-stop number shallow depth of field

Narrow Aperture f/16 - large f-stop number large depth of field

Shutter
more like a gate, with a pair of doors that slide together across the sensor y A camera's shutter determines when the camera sensor will be open or closed to incoming light from the camera lens.
y

Shutter Speed
y

For such short exposures, the rear curtain starts to fall, covering up the sensor before the front curtain is even fully open.

Shutter Speed
Shutter Speed
1 - 30+ seconds 2 - 1/2 second

Typical Examples

Specialty night and low-light photos on a tripod To add a silky look to flowing water Landscape photos on a tripod for enhanced depth of field 1/2 to 1/30 second To add motion blur to the background of a moving subject Carefully taken hand-held photos with stabilization 1/50 - 1/100 second Typical hand-held photos without substantial zoom 1/250 - 1/500 second To freeze everyday sports/action subject movement Hand-held photos with substantial zoom (telephoto lens) 1/1000 - 1/4000 To freeze extremely fast, up-close subject motion second

Playing with Shutter Speed

Slow shutter speed A slow shutter speed with the camera on a tripod turns river rapids misty white.

Panning with the subject during a long exposure blurs the background and gives the impression of motion.

A fast shutter speed freezes the action.

ISO
International Organization for Standards y refers to the sensitivity of the cameras sensor to light y Camera sensors are made up photosites w/c captures light intensity & such data is stored in the cameras circuitry. y This data is called the signal. y The signal, however, must compete with the noise inherent in all electrical equipment.
y

Noise
An unavoidable fact of electronics is noise. y While the sensor is measuring the tiny electronic currents generated by the light, there is also a tiny electric current that comes from other places. y This unwanted current is called noise, and it mostly comes from the ambient heat of the sensor.
y

Signal vs Noise
The difference between the value of the signal and the value of the noise is called the Signal to Noise Ratio When the ratio becomes smaller, the noise is more apparent, and the signal may get lost in it.

ISOs Effect on your Photos

As the ISO setting increases so does the noise, until it overwhelms the signal.

Noise is ugly. Avoid noise by shooting at low ISO settings. Only increase your ISO if there is no other way to get enough light for a good exposure.

Color Temperature
Light comes in a huge range of different colors y Only through the most extreme ends that the human eye can perceive the difference y A sunset will look orange, a clear sky looks a deep blue y Color temperature is measured in K
y

Color Temperature
Color Temperature 1000-2000 K 2500-3500 K 3000-4000 K 4000-5000 K 5000-5500 K 5000-6500 K 6500-8000 K 9000-10000 K Light Source Candlelight Tungsten Bulb (household variety) Sunrise/Sunset (clear sky) Fluorescent Lamps Electronic Flash Daylight with Clear Sky (sun overhead) Moderately Overcast Sky Shade or Heavily Overcast Sky

White Balance
the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo y Our eyes are very good at judging what is white under different light sources; however digital cameras often have great difficulty y An incorrect WB can create unsightly blue, orange, or even green color casts, which are unrealistic and particularly damaging to portraits.
y

White Balance

Incorrect white balance

Correct white balance

White Balance
AWB - uses a best guess algorithm y Custom - allows you to take a picture of a known gray reference under the same lighting, and then set that as the white balance for future photos y The remaining six white balances are listed in order of increasing color temperature, however many compact cameras do not include a shade white balance.
y

Flash
Also known as the strobe y Created by storing battery power in a capacitor, and then firing a high voltage spark through a tube with xenon gas. y Provides harsh lighting
y

MITC 216 Multimedia Systems

END OF LECTURE