Beyond the lens of Digital Photography
Nine years after hitting the market in 1997, the world just can't have enough of digital photography. Considered as the fast-adopted technology of all times, digital photography led half of the households in the US and Japan to own at least one digital camera. With digital ones conquering the market, Polaroid and instamatic cameras went out of the picture.
Digital cameras are far different from its predecessors both mechanically and chemically. They have three main components: a silicon chip called sensor which is covered with a regular pattern of very small light sensitive circuits, the single color formed by the combination of red, green and blue beams called pixels and photosites which record the brightness of light and sets the brightness and color of pixels. Most consumer digital cameras also have an LCD screen that can be used for taking pictures. Some have a digital viewfinder where you look through an eyepiece at a digital image. Digital cameras use memory cards of one kind or another to store the images you take. These can be taken out of the camera and replaced by other cards. Aside from its instant results and special effects, digital cameras allow users to edit and send photos via email.
Digital photography became so appealing to the public, especially to the young ones. Almost everywhere, one can see people taking fish-eye shots and clicking shutters. Many of us wonder how photography had started and who was its pioneer. Of course people way back centuries ago didn't just take pictures easily the way we do today. The history of photography dates back in Europe. Before there were analog, instamatic and Polaroid cameras, there was Joseph Nicéphore Niépce creating the first photograph in pewter plates in 1816.
The French gentleman utilized transparent engravings placed on a glass plate or a stone for engraving with a varnish he himself created with was sensitive to light. And with the use of then popular instrument called camera obscura, he created a view of the courtyard,outbuildings, landscape and trees as seen from the upstairs window of his house. The picture was to said to have been exposed for eight to twenty hours before the image was finally finished. Far too slow than the usual process today.
At present, the term digital camera has been coined with the word speed.
Because of its convenience and fast processing, Digital photography does not only apply to photojournalists. It also gave way to the advancement in other fields and works like travel & nature, photography business, school projects, photography and technology classes, creative photography, photo crafts, internet publishing, publications, electronic publishing, presentations, security and forensic sciences.
Consumers have a wide range of digital cameras to choose from because of the continuous innovation created by companies worldwide. The picture quality of digital cameras has steadily improved over the years, enabling cameras to penetrate the mainstream market. The increase in demand for digital cameras made companies sell nearly 300 million units worldwide.
Despite the convenience brought by digital photography, there are still some who prefer to use analog cameras. They have found magic in loading the film, adjusting to the kind of angle needed and clicking the shutter. The inability to review the pictures also adds to the thrill. Analog cameras are maybe behind when it comes to speed and quality of picture but a lot of people still consider them special.
Although there have been discussions regarding which commercial cameras suit the needs of the public best, there is no doubt that digital photography had changed the lives of the people around the world.
