photo credit: Paulo Brandão
Although digital photography has had a relatively short history it has, arguably, eclipsed traditional photography in many respects. The power of digital photography lies in its unmatched refinement, provided through seamless, yet affordable, technology.
Digital cameras are well suited to a culture that finds itself increasingly oriented towards online pursuits. Digitized images may be stored directly on a computer, where they can then be emailed or posted online. Although the same can be done with pictures captured on film, doing so would require additional hardware such as a scanner. Further, one can readily burn digitized images to a CD or a DVD.
Online activity has become synonymous with convenience. Unlike traditional photography, digital photography does not require any chemicals or “dark-rooms” for developing images. Image stabilization features render tripods unnecessary. And most digital cameras are smaller than their traditional counterparts, making them ideal for slipping into a pocket or bag. Further, a digital camera allows one to view the image immediately after taking a picture, thus providing instant feedback. And retaking an unwanted photo is a cinch and can be done on the spot. Once a photo has been taken it can be displayed on a LCD screen at the back of the camera. In addition, many cameras are able to display images on a television screen via an AV-out feature.
Digital cameras do not have clumsy film, but rather a reusable memory card. Memory cards are able to store hundreds or even thousands of pictures. The quantity of photographs that the memory card is able to store is dependent upon the quality settings for each photograph. Photographs captured on a higher quality setting will consume a larger amount of memory space than a photograph captured on a lower quality setting; consequently, memory cards can hold fewer photographs captured on high quality setting than photographs captured on low quality settings. Once the pictures have been downloaded to a computer the memory card is ready to be used again.
Most digital SLR cameras allow pictures to be saved in RAW format. In this format information is saved directly from the digital camera’s image sensor. The upshot is that images captured in RAW format can be manipulated without any loss in quality using image-editing software. Such software allows you to manipulate various attributes of the photograph – such as the colours, saturation levels, brightness contrast etc. Thus, one can produce images that approach mathematical perfection, or conjure up something a little more surreal such as HDR photography, but more about that another time. In addition, image-editing software allows photos to be cropped. Although some of the image-editing programs on the market are complex, they provide the user with a wealth of options.
Image-editing software is able to extricate the metadata embedded by the digital camera. Metadata consists of information pertaining to the camera settings that were selected when the photograph was taken. Such information, which traditional cameras are unable to provide, are useful for numerous reasons.
Despite such sophistication, digital photography is becoming increasingly more affordable. Pecuniary options are reflected in the variety of ways in which digitized images can be printed, and in the variety of paper on which they can be printed.
Given the convenience, sophistication, and affordability of digital photography, it is easy to see why photographers, both amateur and professional, have come to embrace the digital camera.
