A SiPix digital camera next to a matchbox to show scale

Nikon D200 dSLR with Nikon film scanner, which converts film images to digital

A CompactFlash (CF) card stores digital photographs

A Hasselblad 503CW with a digital camera back

A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images on a light-sensitive sensor. ( also known as Nikon or Nikon Corp, is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo Japan specializing in Optics The Nikon D200 is a 102 megapixel Digital single-lens reflex camera that falls between entry-level and midrange DSLR cameras such as the Nikon D40, Nikon D40x A digital single-lens reflex camera ( digital SLR or DSLR) is a Digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and Pentaprism A film scanner is a device made for Scanning Photographic film directly into a computer without the use of any intermediate printmaking CompactFlash ( CF) is a Mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of Medium-format Cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden A camera is a device used to capture images either as still Photographs or as sequences of moving images ( Movies or Videos. Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic A digital system uses discrete (discontinuous values usually but not always Symbolized Numerically (hence called "digital" to represent information for A digital image is a representation of a two-dimensional Image using ones and zeros (binary

Many compact digital still cameras can record sound and moving video as well as still photographs. Sound' is Vibration transmitted through a Solid, Liquid, or Gas; particularly sound means those vibrations composed of Frequencies Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic In the Western market, digital cameras outsell their 35 mm film counterparts. The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings ^[1]

Digital cameras can include features that are not found in film cameras, such as displaying an image on the camera's screen immediately after it is recorded, the capacity to take thousands of images on a single small memory device, the ability to record video with sound, the ability to edit images, and deletion of images allowing re-use of the storage they occupied.

Digital cameras are incorporated into many devices ranging from PDAs and mobile phones (called camera phones) to vehicles. A camera phone is a Mobile phone which is able to capture either still Photographs or Motion video. The Hubble Space Telescope and other astronomical devices are essentially specialised digital cameras. The Hubble Space Telescope ( HST; also known colloquially as "the Hubble" or just "Hubble" is a space telescope that was carried into Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study

Classification

Digital cameras can be classified into several categories:

Video cameras

Video cameras are classified as devices to record moving images.

• Professional video cameras such as those used in television and movie production. A professional Video camera (often called a television camera even though the use has spread is a high-end device for recording electronic moving images (as opposed Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic These typically have multiple image sensors (one per color) to enhance resolution and color gamut. Image resolution describes the detail an Image holds The term applies equally to Digital images film images and other types of images In color reproduction including Computer graphics and Photography, the gamut, or color gamut (pronounced /ˈgæmət/ is a certain complete Professional video cameras usually do not have a built-in VCR or microphone. PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS IS A GENERAL ARTICLE ABOUT VCRs/VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDERS
• Camcorders used by amateurs. A camcorder is a portable Consumer electronics device for recording Video and audio using a built-in recorder unit They generally include a microphone to record sound, and feature a small liquid crystal display to watch the video during taping and playback.
• Webcams are digital cameras attached to computers, used for video conferencing or other purposes. Webcams ( web cameras) are small cameras (usually though not always Video cameras, whose images can be accessed using the World Wide Web, instant A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. A videoconference (also known as a videoteleconference) is a set of interactive Telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact Webcams can capture full-motion video as well, and some models include microphones or zoom ability.

Compact digital cameras

Compact cameras are designed to be small and portable; the smallest are described as subcompacts. Compact cameras are usually designed to be easy to use, sacrificing advanced features and picture quality for compactness and simplicity; images can usually only be stored using Lossy compression (JPEG). A lossy compression method is one where compressing data and then decompressing it retrieves data that may well be different from the original but is close enough to be useful Most have a built-in flash usually of low power, sufficient for nearby subjects. A flash is a device used in Photography that produces an instantaneous flash of artificial Light Live preview is almost always used to frame the photo. In Digital photography, live preview is the feature that allows a Digital camera 's electronic display to be used as a Viewfinder, that is as a means of They may have limited motion picture capability. Compacts often have macro capability, but if they have zoom capability the range is usually less than for bridge and DSLR cameras. Macro photography is close-up Photography; the classical definition is that the Image projected on the "film plane" (i A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements with the ability to vary its Focal length (and thus Angle of view) as opposed to a fixed focal Bridge digital cameras are a type of high-end Digital camera. A digital single-lens reflex camera ( digital SLR or DSLR) is a Digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and Pentaprism They have a greater depth of field, allowing objects within a large range of distances from the camera to be in sharp focus. In Optics, particularly as it relates to Film and Photography, the depth of field (DOF is the portion of a scene that appears sharp in the image They are particularly suitable for casual and "snapshot" use.

Bridge cameras

Main article: Bridge digital camera

Bridge or SLR-like cameras are higher-end digital cameras that physically resemble DSLRs and share with them some advanced features, but share with compacts the framing of the photo using live preview and small sensor sizes. Bridge digital cameras are a type of high-end Digital camera. A digital single-lens reflex camera ( digital SLR or DSLR) is a Digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and Pentaprism In Digital photography, live preview is the feature that allows a Digital camera 's electronic display to be used as a Viewfinder, that is as a means of

Fujifilm FinePix S9000

Bridge cameras often have superzoom lenses which provide a very wide zoom range, typically between 10:1 and 18:1, which is attained at the cost of some distortions, including barrel and pincushion distortion, to a degree which varies with lens quality. Fujifilm FinePix S9500 or FinePix S9000 is a Bridge digital camera released by Fujifilm in 2005 and intended for the enthusiastic The term hyperzoom or superzoom is used to advertise photographic Zoom lenses with unconventionally large focal length factors typically more than 4× and ranging These cameras are sometimes marketed as and confused with digital SLR cameras since the appearance is similar. Bridge cameras lack the mirror and reflex system of DSLRs, have so far been fitted with fixed (non-interchangeable) lenses (although in some cases accessory wide-angle or telephoto converters cannot be attached to the lens), can usually take movies with sound, and the scene is composed by viewing either the liquid crystal display or the electronic viewfinder (EVF). An electronic viewfinder or EVF is a Viewfinder where the image captured by the lens is projected electronically onto a miniature display They are usually slower to operate than a true digital SLR, but they are capable of very good image quality while being more compact and lighter than DSLRs. The high-end models of this type have comparable resolutions to low and mid-range DSLRs. Many of these cameras can store images in lossless RAW format as an option to lossy JPEG compression. A raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of a Digital camera or Image scanner. The majority have a built-in flash, often a unit which flips up over the lens. The guide number tends to be between 11 and 15.

Digital single lens reflex cameras

Main article: Digital single-lens reflex cameras

Digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) are digital cameras based on film single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs), both types are characterized by the existence of a mirror and reflex system. A digital single-lens reflex camera ( digital SLR or DSLR) is a Digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and Pentaprism The single-lens reflex (SLR Camera uses an automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging See the main article on DSLRs for a detailed treatment of this category. A digital single-lens reflex camera ( digital SLR or DSLR) is a Digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and Pentaprism

Digital rangefinders

Main article: Rangefinder camera

A rangefinder is a user-operated optical mechanism to measure subject distance once widely used on film cameras. A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a Rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs Most digital cameras measure subject distance automatically using acoustic or electronic techniques, but it is not customary to say that they have a rangefinder. The term rangefinder alone is sometimes used to mean a rangefinder camera, that is, a film camera equipped with a rangefinder, as distinct from an SLR or a simple camera with no way to measure distance.

Information on digital rangefinder cameras specifically is here. A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a Rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs

Professional modular digital camera systems

This category includes very high end professional equipment that can be assembled from modular components (winders, grips, lenses, etc. ) to suit particular purposes. Common brands include Hasselblad and Mamiya. They were developed for medium or large format film sizes, as these captured greater detail and could be enlarged more than 35 mm.

Typically these cameras are used in studios for commercial production; being bulky and awkward to carry they are rarely used in action or nature photography. They can often be converted into either film or digital use by changing out the back part of the unit, hence the use of terms such as a "digital back" or "film back". These cameras are very expensive (up to $40,000) and are typically not used by consumers.

Line-scan camera systems

A line-scan camera is a camera device containing a line-scan image sensor chip, and a focusing mechanism. An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal These cameras are almost solely used in industrial settings to capture an image of a constant stream of moving material. Unlike video cameras, line-scan cameras use a single array of pixel sensors, instead of a matrix of them. An active-pixel sensor (APS, also commonly written active pixel sensor, is an Image sensor consisting of an Integrated circuit containing an array of pixel Data coming from the line-scan camera has a frequency, where the camera scans a line, waits, and repeats. The data coming from the line-scan camera is commonly processed by a computer, to collect the one-dimensional line data and to create a two-dimensional image. The collected two-dimensional image data is then processed by image-processing methods for industrial purposes.

Line-scan technology is capable of capturing data extremely fast, and at very high image resolutions. Usually under these conditions, resulting collected image data can quickly exceed 100MB in a fraction of a second. Line-scan-camera–based integrated systems, therefore are usually designed to streamline the camera's output in order to meet the system's objective, using computer technology which is also affordable.

Line-scan cameras intended for the parcel handling industry can integrate adaptive focusing mechanisms to scan six sides of any rectangular parcel in focus, regardless of angle, and size. The resulting 2-D captured images could contain, but are not limited to 1D and 2D barcodes, address information, and any pattern that can be processed via image processing methods. Since the images are 2-D, they are also human-readable and can be viewable on a computer screen. Human-readable refers to a representation of information that can be naturally read by Humans In most contexts the alternative representation is Data Advanced integrated systems include video coding and optical character recognition (OCR). Video coding is the field in electrical engineering and computer science that deals with representation of video data for storage and/or transmission for both analog and Digital Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the Mechanical or electronic translation of Images of handwritten typewritten

Conversion of film cameras to digital

When digital cameras became common, a question many photographers asked was whether their film cameras could be converted to digital. This article is mainly concerned with Still photography film For Motion picture film please see Film stock. The answer was yes and no. For the majority of 35 mm film cameras the answer is no, the reworking and cost would be too great, especially as lenses have been evolving as well as cameras. For the most part a conversion to digital, to give enough space for the electronics and allow a liquid crystal display to preview, would require removing the back of the camera and replacing it with a custom built digital unit.

Many early professional SLR cameras, such as the NC2000 and the Kodak DCS series, were developed from 35 mm film cameras. The technology of the time, however, meant that rather than being a digital "back" the body was mounted on a large and blocky digital unit, often bigger than the camera portion itself. These were factory built cameras, however, not aftermarket conversions.

A notable exception was a device called the EFS-1, which was developed by Silicon Film from c.  1998–2001. It was intended to insert into a film camera in the place of film, giving the camera a 1. 3 MP resolution and a capacity of 24 shots. Units were demonstrated, and in 2002 the company was developing the EFS-10, a 10 MP device that was more a true digital back.

A few 35 mm cameras have had digital backs made by their manufacturer, Leica being a notable example. Medium format and large format cameras (those using film stock greater than 35 mm), have a low unit production, and typical digital backs for them cost over $10,000. This page is about medium-sized film formats For formats of a different Medium, see Format disambiguation Large format describes large Photographic films large cameras View cameras (including Pinhole cameras and processes that use a film or digital sensor These cameras also tend to be highly modular, with handgrips, film backs, winders, and lenses available separately to fit various needs.

The very large sensor these backs use leads to enormous image sizes. The largest in early 2006 is the Phase One's P45 39 MP imageback, creating a single TIFF image of size up to 224. 6 MB. Medium format digitals are geared more towards studio and portrait photography than their smaller DSLR counterparts, the ISO speed in particular tends to have a maximum of 400, versus 6400 for some DSLR cameras. Film speed is the measure of a photographic film's sensitivity to Light.

History

Early development

The concept of digitizing images on scanners, and the concept of digitizing video signals, predate the concept of making still pictures by digitizing signals from an array of discrete sensor elements. Eugene F. Lally of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory published the first description of how to produce still photos in a digital domain using a mosaic photosensor. Eugene F Lally was a Space Age pioneer{1} born in South Boston Massachusetts in 1934 ^[2] The purpose was to provide onboard navigation information to astronauts during missions to planets. An astronaut or cosmonaut (космона́вт) is a person trained The mosaic array periodically recorded still photos of star and planet locations during transit and when approaching a planet provided additional stadiametric information for orbiting and landing guidance. The concept included camera design elements foreshadowing the first digital camera.

Texas Instruments designed a filmless analog camera in 1972, but it is not known whether it was ever built. The first recorded attempt at building a digital camera was in 1975 by Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak. Steven J Sasson (born 1950 is an Electrical engineer and the inventor of the Digital camera. ^[3] It used the then-new solid-state CCD image sensor chips developed by Fairchild Semiconductor in 1973. An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal Present day Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc is a spin-off company resulting from reconstitution of assets in National Semiconductor ^[4] The camera weighed 8 pounds (3. 6 kg), recorded black and white images to a cassette tape, had a resolution of 0. 01 megapixels (10,000 pixels), and took 23 seconds to capture its first image in December of 1975. The prototype camera was a technical exercise, not intended for production.

Analog electronic cameras

Handheld electronic cameras, in the sense of a device meant to be carried and used like a handheld film camera, appeared in 1981 with the demonstration of the Sony Mavica (Magnetic Video Camera). Mavica was a brand of Sony Cameras which used removable disks as the main recording media This is not to be confused with the later cameras by Sony that also bore the Mavica name. This was an analog camera, in that it recorded pixel signals continuously, as videotape machines did, without converting them to discrete levels; it recorded television-like signals to a 2 × 2 inch "video floppy". A Video Floppy is a Video storage medium in the form of a 2" magnetic Floppy disk used to store still frames of analog Composite video. In essence it was a video movie camera that recorded single frames, 50 per disk in field mode and 25 per disk in frame mode. The image quality was considered equal to that of then-current televisions.

Analog cameras do not appear to have reached the market until 1986 with the Canon RC-701. Canon demonstrated a prototype of this model at the 1984 Olympics, printing the images in the Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. In the United States, the first publication to use these cameras for real reportage was USA Today, in its coverage of World Series baseball. Several factors held back the widespread adoption of analog cameras; the cost (upwards of $20,000), poor image quality compared to film, and the lack of quality affordable printers. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Capturing and printing an image originally required access to equipment such as a frame grabber, which was beyond the reach of the average consumer. The "video floppy" disks later had several reader devices available for viewing on a screen, but were never standardized as a computer drive.

The early adopters tended to be in the news media, where the cost was negated by the utility and the ability to transmit images by telephone lines. The poor image quality was offset by the low resolution of newspaper graphics. This capability to transmit images without a satellite link was useful during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the first Gulf War in 1991. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 culminating in the Tiananmen Square Massacre (referred to in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident, to avoid confusion with two

US government agencies also took a strong interest in the still video concept, notably the US Navy for use as a real time air-to-sea surveillance system.

The first analog camera marketed to consumers may have been the Canon RC-250 Xapshot in 1988. A notable analog camera produced the same year was the Nikon QV-1000C, designed as a press camera and not offered for sale to general users, which sold only a few hundred units. It recorded images in greyscale, and the quality in newspaper print was equal to film cameras. In Computing, a grayscale or greyscale Digital image is an image in which the value of each Pixel In appearance it closely resembled a modern digital single-lens reflex camera. The single-lens reflex (SLR Camera uses an automatic moving mirror system which permits the photographer to see exactly what will be captured by the film or digital imaging Images were stored on video floppy disks.

The arrival of true digital cameras

The first true digital camera that recorded images as a computerized file was likely the Fuji DS-1P of 1988, which recorded to a 16 MB internal memory card that used a battery to keep the data in memory. This camera was never marketed in the United States, and has not been confirmed to have shipped even in Japan.

The first commercially available digital camera was the 1990 Dycam Model 1; it also sold as the Logitech Fotoman. Logitech International SA ( SWX: LOGN,) headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland, is the Holding company for Logitech It used a CCD image sensor, stored pictures digitally, and connected directly to a PC for download. An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal ^[5][6][7]

In 1991, Kodak brought to market the Kodak DCS-100, the beginning of a long line of professional SLR cameras by Kodak that were based in part on film bodies, often Nikons. The Kodak Professional Digital Camera System (unofficially named the DCS 100 was the first DSLR camera It used a 1. 3 megapixel sensor and was priced at $13,000.

The move to digital formats was helped by the formation of the first JPEG and MPEG standards in 1988, which allowed image and video files to be compressed for storage. The Moving Picture Experts Group, commonly referred to as simply MPEG, is a Working group of ISO / IEC charged with the development of video and The first consumer camera with a liquid crystal display on the back was the Casio QV-10 in 1995, and the first camera to use CompactFlash was the Kodak DC-25 in 1996. ( is a Japanese electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946 with its Headquarters in Tokyo. CompactFlash ( CF) is a Mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices

The marketplace for consumer digital cameras was originally low resolution (either analog or digital) cameras built for utility. In 1997 the first megapixel cameras for consumers were marketed. The first camera that offered the ability to record video clips may have been the Ricoh RDC-1 in 1995. Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images

1999 saw the introduction of the Nikon D1, a 2. The Nikon D1 is a Digital single-lens reflex camera introduced on June 15, 1999. 74 megapixel camera that was the first digital SLR developed entirely by a major manufacturer, and at a cost of under $6,000 at introduction was affordable by professional photographers and high end consumers. A digital single-lens reflex camera ( digital SLR or DSLR) is a Digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and Pentaprism This camera also used Nikon F-mount lenses, which meant film photographers could use many of the same lenses they already owned.

Also in 1999, Minolta introduced the RD-3000 D-SLR at 2. 7 megapixels. This camera found many professional adherents. Limitations to the system included the need to use Vectis lenses which were designed for APS size film. The camera was sold with 5 lenses at various focal lengths and ranges (zoom). Minolta did not produce another D-SLR until September 2004 when they introduced the Alpha 7D (Alpha in Japan, Maxxum in North America, Dynax in the rest of the world) but using the Minolta A-mount system from its 35 mm line of cameras.

2003 saw the introduction of the Canon 300D, also known as the Digital Rebel, a 6 megapixel camera and the first DSLR priced under $1000, and marketed to consumers. The Canon EOS 300D, manufactured by Canon marketed in North America as the EOS Digital Rebel and in Japan as the EOS Kiss Digital, is a The Canon EOS 300D, manufactured by Canon marketed in North America as the EOS Digital Rebel and in Japan as the EOS Kiss Digital, is a

Image resolution

The resolution of a digital camera is often limited by the camera sensor (typically a CCD or CMOS sensor chip) that turns light into discrete signals, replacing the job of film in traditional photography. Image resolution describes the detail an Image holds The term applies equally to Digital images film images and other types of images A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument A charge-coupled device ( CCD) is an analog Shift register, that enables the transportation of analog signals (electric charges through successive stages (capacitors An active-pixel sensor (APS, also commonly written active pixel sensor, is an Image sensor consisting of an Integrated circuit containing an array of pixel The sensor is made up of millions of "buckets" that essentially count the number of photons that strike the sensor. In Physics, the photon is the Elementary particle responsible for electromagnetic phenomena This means that the brighter the image at that point the larger of a value that is read for that pixel. In Digital imaging, a pixel ( pict ure el ement is the smallest piece of information in an image Depending on the physical structure of the sensor a color filter array may be used which requires a demosaicing/interpolation algorithm. In Photography, a color filter array ( CFA) or color filter mosaic ( CFM) is a mosaic of tiny color filters placed over the Pixel A demosaicing Algorithm is a digital image process used to interpolate a complete image from the partial raw data received from the color-filtered The number of resulting pixels in the image determines its "pixel count". For example, a 640x480 image would have 307,200 pixels, or approximately 307 kilopixels; a 3872x2592 image would have 10,036,224 pixels, or approximately 10 megapixels.

The pixel count alone is commonly presumed to indicate the resolution of a camera, but this is a misconception. There are several other factors that impact a sensor's resolution. Some of these factors include sensor size, lens quality, and the organization of the pixels (for example, a monochrome camera without a Bayer filter mosaic has a higher resolution than a typical color camera). Explanation Bryce Bayer's patent called the green photosensors luminance-sensitive elements and the red and blue ones chrominance-sensitive elements. Many digital compact cameras are criticized for having excessive pixels, in that the sensors can be so small that the resolution of the sensor is greater than the lens could possibly deliver.

Australian recommended retail price of Kodak digital cameras

As the technology has improved, costs have decreased dramatically. Measuring the "pixels per dollar" as a basic measure of value for a digital camera, there has been a continuous and steady increase in the number of pixels each dollar buys in a new camera consistent with the principles of Moore's Law. Moore's law describes an important trend in the History of computer hardware. This predictability of camera prices was first presented in 1998 at the Australian PMA DIMA conference by Barry Hendy and since referred to as "Hendy's Law". ^[8]

Since only a few aspect ratios are commonly used (especially 4:3 and 3:2), the number of sensor sizes that are useful is limited. The aspect ratio of a Shape is the ratio of its longer Dimension to its shorter dimension Furthermore, sensor manufacturers don't manufacture every possible sensor size but take incremental steps in sizes. For example, in 2007 the three largest sensors (in terms of pixel count) used by Canon are the 21. is a Japanese Multinational corporation that specializes in imaging and optical products including Cameras photocopiers and Computer printers 1, 16. 6, and 12. 8 megapixel CMOS sensors. The following is a table of sensors commercially used in digital cameras.

Width	Height	Aspect ratio	Actual pixel count	Megapixels	Camera examples
320	240		76,800	0. The aspect ratio of a Shape is the ratio of its longer Dimension to its shorter dimension In Digital imaging, a pixel ( pict ure el ement is the smallest piece of information in an image 1
640	480		307,200	0. 3	Apple QuickTake 100 (1994)
832	608		505,856	0. 5	Canon Powershot 600 (1996)
1,024	768		786,432	0. 8	Olympus D-300L (1996)
1,280	960		1,228,800	1. 3	Fujifilm DS-300 (1997)
1,280	1,024		1,310,720	1. 5	Fujifilm MX-1700 (1999)
1,600	1,200		1,920,000	2	Nikon Coolpix 950
2,012	1,324		2,663,888	2. The Nikon Coolpix 950 was introduced in early 1999 to supersede the Coolpix 900 in the Nikon Coolpix series. 74	Nikon D1
2,048	1,536		3,145,728	3	Canon PowerShot A75
2,272	1,704		3,871,488	4	Canon Ixus 400
2,464	1,648		4,060,672	4. The Nikon D1 is a Digital single-lens reflex camera introduced on June 15, 1999. The following provides a partial list of products manufactured under the Canon Brand. 1	Canon 1D
2,560	1,920		4,915,200	5	Olympus E-1
2,816	2,112		5,947,392	6
3,008	2,000		6,016,000	6	Nikon D40, D50, D70, D70s
3,072	2,048		6,291,456	6. The Canon EOS-1D is a 4-megapixel professional Digital single-lens reflex camera launched in November 2001 The Olympus E-1, introduced in 2003, was the first DSLR designed from the ground up for digital photography The D40 and the D40x are the most compact members of Nikon 's entry-level digital SLR range announced November 16, 2006. The D50 is a now-discontinued 61 megapixel entry-level Digital single-lens reflex camera from Nikon. The Nikon D70 is a digital single-lens reflex Camera model In Spring 2004 Nikon introduced it at the 2004 PMA Annual Convention and Trade Show 3	Canon 300D, Canon 10D
3,072	2,304		7,077,888	7	Olympus FE-210
3,456	2,304		7,962,624	8	Canon 350D
3,264	2,448		7,990,272	8	Olympus E-500,Olympus SP-350,Canon PowerShot A720 IS
3,504	2,336		8,185,344	8. The Canon EOS 300D, manufactured by Canon marketed in North America as the EOS Digital Rebel and in Japan as the EOS Kiss Digital, is a The Canon EOS 10D is a discontinued 63- Megapixel semi-professional digital SLR Camera, initially announced on February The Canon EOS 350D ( Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT in North America and the Canon EOS Kiss Digital N in Japan) is an 8 The Olympus E-500 ( Olympus EVOLT E-500 in North America) is an 8 Megapixel digital SLR camera manufactured by Olympus of Olympus SP-350 is 8 Megapixel compact Digital camera. The Olympus SP-350 is a digital camera that was announced by its maker on August 29 2005 The Canon PowerShot A is a series of Digital cameras released by Canon. 2	Canon 30D, Canon 1D II, Canon 1D II N
3,520	2,344		8,250,880	8. The Canon EOS 30D is an 82- Megapixel semi-professional Digital single-lens reflex camera, initially announced on February 20, The EOS 1D Mark II is a professional 82 Megapixel Digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR camera body produced by Canon. The EOS 1D Mark II is a professional 82 Megapixel Digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR camera body produced by Canon. 25	Canon 20D
3,648	2,736		9,980,928	10	Olympus E-410, Olympus E-510, Panasonic FZ50
3,872	2,592		10,036,224	10	Nikon D40x, Nikon D200, Nikon D80, Sony Alpha A100
3,888	2,592		10,077,696	10. The Canon EOS 20D is an 82- Megapixel semi-professional Digital single-lens reflex camera, initially announced on August 19 The Olympus E-410 (or Olympus EVOLT E-410 in North America) is a 10 megapixel digital single-lens reflex (DSLR camera intended be the smallest and lightest The Olympus E-510 (or Olympus EVOLT E-510 in North America) is a 10 megapixel digital single-lens reflex (DSLR camera oriented to the "prosumer" Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 is a Superzoom Bridge digital camera by Panasonic. The Nikon D200 is a 102 megapixel Digital single-lens reflex camera that falls between entry-level and midrange DSLR cameras such as the Nikon D40, Nikon D40x The D80 is a Digital single-lens reflex camera model announced by Nikon on August 9th 2006 Sony α ( Greek letter alpha) is a Digital SLR camera system introduced on June 5, 2006. 1	Canon 400D, Canon 40D
4,064	2,704		10,989,056	11	Canon 1Ds
4,256	2,832		12,052,992	12. Article Starts Here -->The EOS 400D, called Digital Rebel XTi in North America and EOS Kiss Digital X in Japan, is an entry-level The Canon EOS 40D is a 101- Megapixel semi-professional Digital single-lens reflex camera. The EOS-1Ds is a full-frame Digital SLR camera body formerly made by Canon, released in the spring of 2003. 1	Nikon D3
4,288	2,848		12,212,224	12. The Nikon D3 is a 121- Megapixel professional full frame (35mm Digital single-lens reflex camera (dSLR announced by the Nikon Corporation 2	Nikon D2Xs/D2X,Nikon D300
4,368	2,912		12,719,616	12. The Nikon D2X is a 124- Megapixel professional Digital single-lens reflex camera that Nikon Corporation announced on September 16, The Nikon D300 is a 123-megapixel professional DX format digital single-lens-reflex (dSLR Camera that Nikon Corporation announced on 23 August 2007 along with 8	Canon 5D
4,608	3,072		14,155,776	14. The EOS 5D is a 128 Megapixel Digital single-lens reflex (DSLR camera body produced by Canon. 2	Sigma SD14
4,992	3,328		16,613,376	16. The Sigma SD14 is a Digital single-lens reflex camera produced by the Sigma Corporation of Japan. 6	Canon 1Ds II
5,616	3,744		21,026,304	21. The EOS-1Ds Mark II is a digital SLR camera body by Canon Inc 1	Canon 1Ds III
7,212	5,142		39,031,344	39. The EOS-1Ds Mark III is a digital SLR camera body by Canon Inc 0	Hasselblad H3D-39

Methods of image capture

This digital camera is partly disassembled. Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of Medium-format Cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden The lens assembly (bottom right) is partially removed, but the sensor (top right) still captures a usable image, as seen on the LCD screen (bottom left).

Since the first digital backs were introduced, there have been three main methods of capturing the image, each based on the hardware configuration of the sensor and color filters.

The first method is often called single-shot, in reference to the number of times the camera's sensor is exposed to the light passing through the camera lens. Single-shot capture systems use either one CCD with a Bayer filter mosaic it, or three separate image sensors (one each for the primary additive colors red, green, and blue) which are exposed to the same image via a beam splitter. Explanation Bryce Bayer's patent called the green photosensors luminance-sensitive elements and the red and blue ones chrominance-sensitive elements. An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal Primary colors are sets of Colors that can be combined to make a useful range ( Gamut) of colors

The second method is referred to as multi-shot because the sensor is exposed to the image in a sequence of three or more openings of the lens aperture. There are several methods of application of the multi-shot technique. The most common originally was to use a single image sensor with three filters (once again red, green and blue) passed in front of the sensor in sequence to obtain the additive color information. An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal Another multiple shot method utilized a single CCD with a Bayer filter but actually moved the physical location of the sensor chip on the focus plane of the lens to "stitch" together a higher resolution image than the CCD would allow otherwise. A third version combined the two methods without a Bayer filter on the chip.

The third method is called scanning because the sensor moves across the focal plane much like the sensor of a desktop scanner. Their linear or tri-linear sensors utilize only a single line of photosensors, or three lines for the three colors. In some cases, scanning is accomplished by rotating the whole camera; a digital rotating line camera offers images of very high total resolution. A rotating line camera, is a Digital camera which uses a linear CCD array (called "the line" to assemble a digital image during a rotation of the camera

The choice of method for a given capture is determined largely by the subject matter. It is usually inappropriate to attempt to capture a subject that moves with anything but a single-shot system. However, the higher color fidelity and larger file sizes and resolutions available with multi-shot and scanning backs make them attractive for commercial photographers working with stationary subjects and large-format photographs.

Recently, dramatic improvements in single-shot cameras and RAW image file processing have made single shot, CCD-based cameras almost completely predominant in commercial photography, not to mention digital photography as a whole. CMOS-based single shot cameras are also somewhat common.

Filter mosaics, interpolation, and aliasing

The Bayer arrangement of color filters on the pixel array of an image sensor

In most current consumer digital cameras, a Bayer filter mosaic is used, in combination with an optical anti-aliasing filter to reduce the aliasing due to the reduced sampling of the different primary-color images. Explanation Bryce Bayer's patent called the green photosensors luminance-sensitive elements and the red and blue ones chrominance-sensitive elements. An anti-aliasing filter is a filter used before a signal sampler to restrict the bandwidth of a signal to approximately satisfy the sampling theorem. A demosaicing algorithm is used to interpolate color information to create a full array of RGB image data. A demosaicing Algorithm is a digital image process used to interpolate a complete image from the partial raw data received from the color-filtered In the mathematical subfield of Numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a Discrete set of

Cameras that use a beam-splitter single-shot 3CCD approach, three-filter multi-shot approach, or Foveon X3 sensor do not use anti-aliasing filters, nor demosaicing. Three-CCD or 3CCD is a term used to describe an imaging system employed by some still cameras Video cameras Telecine and Camcorders The Foveon X3 sensor is a CMOS Image sensor for digital cameras designed by Foveon Inc An anti-aliasing filter is a filter used before a signal sampler to restrict the bandwidth of a signal to approximately satisfy the sampling theorem.

Firmware in the camera, or a software in a raw converter program such as Adobe Camera Raw, interprets the raw data from the sensor to obtain a full color image, because the RGB color model requires three intensity values for each pixel: one each for the red, green, and blue (other color models, when used, also require three or more values per pixel). In Digital photography, the Digital Negative ( DNG) File format is a Royalty free RAW image format designed by Adobe Systems A single sensor element cannot simultaneously record these three intensities, and so a color filter array (CFA) must be used to selectively filter a particular color for each pixel. In Photography, a color filter array ( CFA) or color filter mosaic ( CFM) is a mosaic of tiny color filters placed over the Pixel

The Bayer filter pattern is a repeating 2×2 mosaic pattern of light filters, with green ones at opposite corners and red and blue in the other two positions. The high proportion of green takes advantage of properties of the human visual system, which determines brightness mostly from green and is far more sensitive to brightness than to hue or saturation. Sometimes a 4-color filter pattern is used, often involving two different hues of green. This provides potentially more accurate color, but requires a slightly more complicated interpolation process.

The color intensity values not captured for each pixel can be interpolated (or guessed) from the values of adjacent pixels which represent the color being calculated.

Connectivity

Many digital cameras can connect directly to a computer to transfer data:

• Early cameras used the PC serial port. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated In Computing, a serial port is a Serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one Bit at a time (contrast USB is now the most widely used method (most cameras are viewable as USB mass storage), though some have a FireWire port. The USB mass storage device class or USB MSC or UMS is a set of computing communications protocols defined by the USB Implementers Forum that The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus Interface standard for high-speed communications and Isochronous real-time data transfer frequently Some cameras use USB PTP mode for connection instead of USB MSC; some offer both modes. Picture Transfer Protocol ( PTP) is a widely supported protocol developed by the International Imaging Industry Association to allow the transfer of images from digital The USB mass storage device class or USB MSC or UMS is a set of computing communications protocols defined by the USB Implementers Forum that

• Other cameras use wireless connections, via Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 WiFi, such as the Kodak EasyShare One. Bluetooth is a wireless protocol utilizing short-range communications technology facilitating data transmission over short distances from fixed and/or mobile devices creating wireless IEEE 80211 is a set of standards for wireless local area network (WLAN computer communication developed by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee ( IEEE 802 Eastman Kodak Company ( is an American multinational Public company which produces imaging and photographic materials and equipment

A common alternative is the use of a card reader which may be capable of reading several types of storage media, as well as high speed transfer of data to the computer. A memory card reader is a device used for communication with a Smart card or a flash Memory card. Use of a card reader also avoids draining the camera battery during the download process, as the device takes power from the USB port. An external card reader allows convenient direct access to the images on a collection of storage media. But if only one storage card is in use, moving it back and forth between the camera and the reader can be inconvenient.

Many modern cameras support the PictBridge standard, which allows them to send data directly to a PictBridge-capable computer printer without the need for a computer. PictBridge is an Industry standard from the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA for direct printing Some DVD recorders and television sets can read memory cards used in cameras; alternatively several types of flash card readers have TV output capability.

Modes

Many digital cameras have preset modes for different applications. A mode dial or camera dial is a dial used on digital cameras to change the camera's mode Within the constraints of correct exposure various parameters can be changed, including exposure, aperture, focusing, light metering, white balance, and equivalent sensitivity. FOCUS is a software product of Information Builders Inc Originally developed for data handling and analysis on the IBM mainframe, as newer systems were developed A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of Light. In Photography and Image processing, color balance is the global adjustment of the intensities of the colors (typically red green and blue Primary colors For example a portrait might use a wider aperture to render the background out of focus, and would seek out and focus on a human face rather than other image content. A portrait is a painting, photograph, Sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person in which the face and its expression is predominant

Integration

Many devices include digital cameras built into or integrated into them. For example, mobile phones often include digital cameras; those that do are sometimes known as camera phones. A camera phone is a Mobile phone which is able to capture either still Photographs or Motion video. Other small electronic devices (especially those used for communication) such as PDAs, laptops and BlackBerry devices often contain an integral digital camera. The BlackBerry is a Wireless Handheld device introduced in 1999 as a two-way pager Additionally, some digital camcorders contain a digital camera built into them. A camcorder is a portable Consumer electronics device for recording Video and audio using a built-in recorder unit

Due to the limited storage capacity and general emphasis on convenience rather than image quality in such integrated or converged devices, the vast majority of these devices store images in the lossy but compact JPEG file format.

Image data storage

Most digital cameras utilize some form of removable storage to store image data. Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to Computer components devices and recording media that retain digital While the vast majority of the media types are some form of flash memory (CompactFlash, SD, etc. Flash memory is non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed CompactFlash ( CF) is a Mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices Secure Digital ( SD) is a non-volatile Memory card format developed by Matsushita, SanDisk, and Toshiba for use in ) there are storage methods that use other technologies such as Microdrives (very small hard disk drives), CD single (185 MB), and 3.5" floppy disks. The Microdrive is a Brand name for a miniature 1-inch Hard disk designed to fit in a CompactFlash (CF Type II slot A hard disk drive ( HDD) commonly referred to as a hard drive, hard disk, or fixed disk drive, is a Non-volatile storage device A CD single (abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single A megabyte is a unit of Information or Computer storage equal to either 106 (1000000 Bytes or 220 (1048576 bytes depending on A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased

Although JPEG is the most common method of compressing image data, there are other methods such as TIFF and RAW (the latter being highly non-standardized across brands and even models of a brand). A raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of a Digital camera or Image scanner. Most cameras include Exif data that provides metadata about the picture. Exchangeable image file format ( Exif) is a specification for the Image File format used by Digital cameras The specification uses the existing Metadata ( meta data, or sometimes metainformation) is "data about data" of any sort in any media Such Exif data include aperture, exposure time, focal length, date & time taken, and camera model. In Photography, shutter speed is the length of time a shutter is The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly it converges (focuses or diverges (diffuses Light.

Some of the removable storage technologies include all of the following:

CompactFlash (CF-I)	Memory Stick	Microdrive (CF-II)	MultiMediaCard (MMC)
MiniSD Card	microSD (right)	Secure Digital card (SD)	SmartMedia
USB flash drive	xD-Picture Card (xD)	3.5" floppy disks	Mini CD (left)

Other formats include:

• Onboard flash memory — Cheap cameras and cameras secondary to the device's main use (such as a camera phone)
• Video Floppy — a 2x2 inch (50 mm × 50 mm) floppy disk used for early analog cameras
• PC Card hard drives — early professional cameras (discontinued)
• Thermal printer — known only in one model of camera that printed images immediately rather than storing
• FP Memory — a 2-4 MB serial flash memory, known from the Mustek/Relisys Dimera low end cameras

Most manufacturers of digital cameras do not provide drivers and software to allow their cameras to work with Linux or other free software. CompactFlash ( CF) is a Mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices Memory Stick is a removable flash Memory card format launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family The Microdrive is a Brand name for a miniature 1-inch Hard disk designed to fit in a CompactFlash (CF Type II slot The MultiMediaCard ( MMC) is a Flash memory The miniSD Card is a small Form factor removable and portable memory device intended for use in cell phones / mobile phones, digital cameras microSD is a format for removable Flash memory cards It is derived from SanDisk TransFlash and is used mainly in mobile Secure Digital ( SD) is a non-volatile Memory card format developed by Matsushita, SanDisk, and Toshiba for use in SmartMedia is a flash Memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 0 The xD-Picture Card is a type of flash Memory card, used mainly in Digital cameras xD originally stood for e' x' treme D igital A floppy disk is an increasingly Obsolete data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin flexible ("floppy" Magnetic storage medium encased Not to be confused with MiniDisc. Mini CD s or "Pocket" CDs are Compact discs with a smaller Form factor Flash memory is non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed In Computing, PC Card (originally '''PCMCIA''', or PCMCIA Card is the Form factor of a peripheral interface designed for Laptop computers For the type of printer which uses sparks and aluminised paper (and is sometimes referred to as a "thermal printer" see Spark printer. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Free software or software libre is Software that can be used studied and modified without restriction and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified Still, many cameras use the standard USB storage protocol, and are thus easily usable. The USB mass storage device class or USB MSC or UMS is a set of computing communications protocols defined by the USB Implementers Forum that Other cameras are supported by the gPhoto project. gPhoto is a set of Software applications and libraries for use in Digital photography.

Batteries

Digital cameras have high power requirements, and over time have become increasingly smaller in size, which has resulted in an ongoing need to develop a battery small enough to fit in the camera and yet able to power it for a reasonable length of time. Electric power is defined as the rate at which Electrical energy is transferred by an Electric circuit. In electronics a battery is a combination of two or more Electrochemical cells which store chemical Energy which can be converted into electrical energy

Essentially two broad divisions exist in the types of batteries digital cameras use.

Off-the-shelf

The first is batteries that are an established off-the-shelf form factor, most commonly AA, CR2, or CR-V3 batteries, with AAA batteries in a handful of cameras. A AA battery (double a or /ˈdʌbəl eɪ/ is a dry cell-type battery commonly used in portable Electronic devices A CR-V3 battery (sometimes CRV3) is a type of high-capacity battery used in various electronic appliances including many Digital cameras It has the shape A AAA battery (pronounced "triple A" is a dry cell-type battery commonly used in portable electronic devices The CR2 and CR-V3 batteries are lithium based, and intended for single use. Lithium batteries are not to be confused with lithium-ion batteries which are high energy-density rechargeable batteries Lithium batteries are They are also commonly seen in camcorders. The AA batteries are far more common; however, the non-rechargeable alkaline batteries are capable of providing enough power for only a very short time in most cameras. In Chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qaly القلي القالي) is a basic, ionic salt of an Alkali metal Most consumers use AA Nickel metal hydride batteries (NiMH) (see also chargers and batteries) instead, which provide an adequate amount of power and are rechargeable. A nickel-metal hydride battery, abbreviated NiMH, is a type of Rechargeable battery similar to a nickel-cadmium ( Ni[[Cadmium Cd]] battery NIMH batteries do not provide as much power as lithium ion batteries, and they also tend to discharge when not used. Lithium-ion batteries (sometimes abbreviated Li-ion batteries) are a type of Rechargeable battery in which a Lithium ion moves between the Anode They are available in various ampere-hour (Ah) or milli-ampere-hour (mAh) ratings, which affects how long they last in use. An ampere-hour (symbol A h or A·h, sometimes abbreviated as Ah) is a unit of Electric charge. "Milli" redirects here for the village in Azerbaijan see Birinci Milli; for similar-sounding words see Millie. Typically mid-range consumer models and some low end cameras use off-the-shelf batteries; only a very few DSLR cameras accept them (for example, Sigma SD10). A digital single-lens reflex camera ( digital SLR or DSLR) is a Digital camera that uses an automatic mirror system and Pentaprism The Sigma SD10 is a digital SLR camera produced by the Sigma Corporation of Japan. Rechargeable RCR-V3 lithium-ion batteries are also available as an alternative to non-rechargeable CR-V3 batteries. A CR-V3 battery (sometimes CRV3) is a type of high-capacity battery used in various electronic appliances including many Digital cameras It has the shape

Proprietary

The second division is proprietary battery formats. These are built to a manufacturer's custom specifications, and can be either aftermarket replacement parts or OEM. An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM is typically a company that uses a component made by a second company in its own product or sells the product of the second company Almost all proprietary batteries are lithium ion. Lithium-ion batteries (sometimes abbreviated Li-ion batteries) are a type of Rechargeable battery in which a Lithium ion moves between the Anode While they only accept a certain number of recharges before the battery life begins degrading (typically up to 500 cycles), they provide considerable performance for their size. A result is that at the two ends of the spectrum both high end professional cameras and low end consumer models tend to use lithium ion batteries.

Formats

Main article: Image file formats

Common formats for digital camera images are the Joint Photography Experts Group standard (JPEG) and Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). Image file formats are standardized means of organising and storing images

Many cameras, especially professional or DSLR cameras, support a Raw format. A raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of a Digital camera or Image scanner. A raw image is the unprocessed set of pixel data directly from the camera's sensor. They are often saved in formats proprietary to each manufacturer, such as NEF for Nikon, CRW or CR2 for Canon, and MRW for Minolta. Adobe Systems has released the DNG format, a royalty free raw image format which has been adopted by a few camera manufacturers. In Digital photography, the Digital Negative ( DNG) File format is a Royalty free RAW image format designed by Adobe Systems

Raw files initially had to be processed in specialized image editing programs, but over time many mainstream editing programs, such as Google's Picasa, have added support for raw images. Editing raw format images allows much more flexibility in settings such as white balance, exposure compensation, color temperature, and so on. In essence raw format allows the photographer to make major adjustments without losing image quality that would otherwise require retaking the picture.

Formats for movies are AVI, DV, MPEG, MOV (often containing motion JPEG), WMV, and ASF (basically the same as WMV). Digital Video (DV is a Digital video format created by Sony JVC Panasonic and other video camera procuers and launched in 1995 and in its smaller tape Form factor The Moving Picture Experts Group, commonly referred to as simply MPEG, is a Working group of ISO / IEC charged with the development of video and QuickTime is a Multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc, capable of handling various formats of Digital video, Media clips sound text Windows Media Video ( WMV) is a compressed Video file format for several proprietary Codecs developed by Microsoft. Recent formats include MP4, which is based on the QuickTime format and uses newer compression algorithms to allow longer recording times in the same space. MPEG-4 Part 14, formally ISO / IEC 14496-142003, is a Multimedia Container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4

Other formats that are used in cameras but not for pictures are the Design Rule for Camera Format (DCF), an ISO specification for the camera's internal file structure and naming, Digital Print Order Format (DPOF), which dictates what order images are to be printed in and how many copies, and the Exchangeable Image File Format (Exif), which uses metadata tags to document the camera settings and date and time for image files. Design rule for Camera File system (DCF is a JEITA specification (number CP-3461 which defines a File format and File system for Digital cameras DPOF (Digital Print Order format is a format which allows the user of a Digital camera or other device such as a Mobile Phone or PDA to define which captured images on the Exchangeable image file format ( Exif) is a specification for the Image File format used by Digital cameras The specification uses the existing

See also

References

External links

• Howstuffworks Digital Cameras
• The first digital camera involving Kodak engineer Steven Sasson. Steven J Sasson (born 1950 is an Electrical engineer and the inventor of the Digital camera.
• Year-by-year developments up to 1998 and images of several types of cameras
• Article about hidden data in JPEG files produced by digital cameras
• canon a650 Digital Camera History
• More megapixels does not necessarily produce better images
• Digital Camera support for UNIX, Linux and BSD
• USB Digital Camera HOWTO for Linux
• Architecture of a still-motion-/picture digital camera