Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Digital cameras & resolution by Jakob Jelling



By Jakob Jelling
http://www.snapjunky.com

While analyzing any camera, one of the most important qualities of a photograph that a person seeks, is resolution. This word itself needs a brief discussion before progressing onto its implication upon a digital camera. This is a word that seems to almost every new photographer as a nightmare. With all the myths and irrelevant information circulating all around, this is quite common. This however is an effort to clear those misty myths and provide good information for everyone. Without any complexity, generally a photograph, either viewed on the screen or printed, is composed of infinitesimal dots (called pixels). The greater amount of these dots that can fit per inch of space, the smaller the dots and the sharper the image. This is the basis of understanding ... resolution!

Considering an image at 100 dots per inch that is one square inch in size. It is comprised of 100 X 100 pixels. Now changing this image four-times to four square inches. This image is quite clear. Now the same 100 X 100 dots exist, but with only 25 dots per inch. The appearance becomes grainy. This is the factor know as resolution that determines this quality of image. Hence it can now be interpreted by any person what the importance of resolution is and where it is required in the filed of photography. While purchasing a digital camera, resolution is a very important factor to take into account when settling upon buying a particular one.

Digital camera resolution comes in as Mega pixels. A Mega pixel is composed of one million pixels. The greater the number of Mega pixels, the greater becomes the standard of quality of the photograph or picture. As a standard, one mega pixel is the minimum bottom line below which a digital camera must not be usually purchased. This is a general decided value for any amateur photographers also, and the exact value of higher mega pixels is not a concern for people who do not intend to print the photographs. In an effort to scrutinize the pixels in an image out of sheer anxiety, a person can magnify the display in a photo editor, like a little magnifying glass, and they become very much visible!

The resolution decides the ultimate the future of the hard copy of a photograph being taken, whether a digital camera or a conventional camera. A print from a high-resolution photograph challenges anything produced from a chemical film camera. However a low-resolution image print of a photograph is quite appalling with fine details and restrained color transitions absent resulting from too few pixels. Thus the resolution can spoil an entire effort to freeze a memorable moment. Thus it is so vital. As a general rule a minimum of 200 pixels are required for each linear inch of a print. However, some printers get better results with 300 pixels per-inch of resolution.

The above discussion has brought into light a lot of relevant information regarding resolution and its application in the digital camera and photography. Also in the concluding lines it can only be stated for digital camera ... resolution is the real soul!
About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.

Digital camera memory - An introduction by Jakob Jelling



By Jakob Jelling
http://www.snapjunky.com

The digital camera is essentially a computer-based device, whose core is controlled by the computer. And as a result the photographs are stored in a location called memory. Now, this concept is or paramount importance in discussing digital camera. Strictly speaking, digital camera memory is where digital pictures are stored inside the camera. The digital camera memory is an essential and often a very neglected and overlooked section of equipments for digital photography and camera. There are many types of memory available for digital cameras, and it is a good practice to mull over what type of memory a camera uses before buying a digital camera. This discussing is aimed in revealing some of this relevant information!

Knowledge of the digital camera memory is very essential for using such a camera and capturing photographs. The most common form of such memory is a memory card. These are reusable, have a limited capacity and can always be installed when required in excess. A person needs to be well informed about enough memory available for taking photographs. And accordingly make arrangements. Generally, digital cameras come available with low capacity memory cards, and it is a wise purchase to acquire higher capacity memory cards in order to budget for an additional card for later use.

With the increment of a camera mega pixel counts, it becomes essential to use higher capacity memory cards. Some of the small sized cards are for example the 64 megabyte cards and larger ones are like 1-gigabyte cards or combinations of megabyte cards.
Digital camera memory is available in many shapes and facade depending on the type of digital camera that is being used and even and the number of pictures that are required to be stored in the digital camera memory. These different types of memory are solely dependant upon the requirements of the digital camera, like for example a camera using compact flash type 1, requires the use of compact flash type 1 digital camera memory. Other examples of types of digital camera memory are Compact Flash Digital Camera Memory. It is suitable for rugged and rough handling and is also resilient for incessant usage. This is also small in size to assist better handling and flexibility. What more, it is cheap and anyone can afford it!

Generally, the sizes of a digital camera memory are as follows, 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, and 1 GIG. Again, the digital camera memory depends upon the file format used to store photographs upon and the compression used by the manufacturer when storing digital images into memory.

Coming to the concluding portion, it is recommended to get hold of one 256 megabyte or two 128 megabyte cards for a 3-5 mega pixel compact digital camera. For higher resolution photographs, 512 megabyte and 1 gigabyte cards are also available. These are some of the guidelines for revealing the true facts about the different digital camera memories and their secrets. Summing up in a few words, with such a powerful tool as the digital camera, a proper selection of memory can help a person achieve the glorious tasks of freezing a precious moment from life for eternity!
About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com. Visit his digital camera guide and learn how to take better pictures with your digicam.