Facts About Digital Photography

History

• Eastman Kodak began experimenting with the use of Charge Couple Devices (CCD) as digital camera sensors in the 1970s. The first digital cameras appeared in the late 1980s, with the first consumer-ready cameras shipping in the 1990s.

How It Works

• Digital photography works similarly film photography, but an electronic sensor works in the place of film. The light from a subject enters the lens and is projected onto the digital sensor and recorded either in the camera's internal memory or to a removable device.

  Benefits

  • Digital photography provides instant results and cuts out the step of film development. The memory card size of the camera allows a photographer to take thousands of photos without stopping to change the film, allowing a better flow of action on a shoot.

  Disadvantages

  • Traditional film has a greater dynamic range, and so can capture more color and light than a camera sensor. As it involves the use of computers and specialized software for post-processing, digital photography can become very expensive.

  Potential

  • The rapid advances in digital photography mean that cameras have become smaller, lighter, and faster than ever; image quality from early digital cameras is easily trumped by even small cell phone cameras. With larger memory storage availability, photographers can store thousands of photos in virtually no space.