Progression of Digital Camera Technology

Digital cameras are devices that record images digitally on a light sensitive sensor. They can be used to take still photographs or videos. Highly versatile, they can take thousands of images on a single memory device, can record video with sound, edit these images and delete them allowing re-use of space. Digital cameras have been incorporated into many other devices like PDA'S mobile phones and vehicles. The Hubble Space Telescope is a digital camera.

Initially, the idea of digitizing images on scanners was used by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to provide astronauts with navigational information. A mosaic photo sensor would record locations of planets and stars. This would help astronauts to orbit and land. The FUJI-DS-ISP 1986 was the first true digital device that recorded images in a computerized file. The first digital camera with LCD was the Casio QV-10 in 1995.The image resolution is achieved by the camera sensor that turns light into discrete signals. Millions of "buckets that make up the sensor, count the number of photons that strike it. The brightness of the image is dependant on the number of pixels (the smallest unit of information for an image).

The rapid technological improvements have dramatically reduced costs. "Pixels per dollar" has become the measurement of value of a digital camera. The camera either uses the single shot or the multi-shot method of capturing an image. This refers to the number of times the sensor is exposed to the light passing through the lens. Scanning is another method wherein the sensor moves like a desk-top scanner. In some cases, scanning is achieved by rotating the whole camera, enabling one to get images of a very high resolution. In recent years, technical improvements have made single shot and LCD based cameras very popular in commercial and digital photography.

Let us dwell on the connectivity of these new model digital cameras. Early computers used the Serial port to transfer data. There are cameras that use wireless connections via Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi.Modern cameras come equipped with Pict Bridge Standard which allows for the automatic transfer of data to a Pict Bridge capable computer printer, thereby circumventing the need for a computer.

These cameras lend themselves to a variety of uses. They allow one to view a photograph as soon as it is taken. With constant improvements in technology, and cutting-edge software available, modifications and digital manipulations seem almost endless. They are ideal for sports enthusiasts, who can capture fast action in all its glory. They are ideal for capturing loving moments of family get-togethers. Professionals and amateurs can use these cameras to freeze those special moments of life that come rarely!

You can compare cheap digital cameras and read reviews on Epson, Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Olympus and Sony Digital Camera Reviews at Digital Camera Reviews Site.

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