How Do Digital Cameras Work?

In a nutshell, a digital camera uses a lens or series of lenses to focuses light onto a sensor. This sensor then records the image electronically and transfers it to the electronic workings of the camera where it is organized, converted into binary digital data, and then stored on fixed or removable memory to be later read by a computer. Of course this is a highly simplified explanation of how a digital camera works.

The most common digital camera sensor is a charge-coupled device, or CCD, but some models use a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). In either case, light beams are converted to electrical charges, which are then transferred to the core electronic section, and eventually onto the storage media.

As we all learned in grade school, there are three primary colors. Digital cameras use filters to divide the light into those three colors during the conversion process. Good quality cameras have three separate sensors for filtering, with each sensor matching one strand of light.

Digital cameras also control the amount of light that actually reaches the sensor. They do this through the aperture or hole size, and through the shutter speed. Most cameras have automatic aperture setting though some do allow for manual control, which is preferable for professional photographers and advanced amateurs. Shutter speed is set electronically.

There are four main types of lenses for digital cameras: fixed focus, replaceable lens systems, fixed zoom, and digital zoom. Less expensive cameras typically have fixed focus or fixed zoom lenses. Digital zoom lenses have a way of enlarging the pixels from the middle of the image, rather than actually zooming in on an object in the distance. Therefore, they tend to make images grainy or fuzzy, unlike the much more cleanly zoomed images that an optical zoom lens can produce.

Most digital cameras come with an LCD screen to preview images or to look at them after capture. Most LCD screens are rather small, because the size of the cameras overall is small, too. For better viewing, you must transfer the image to a computer. For quality of image, the biggest factor is the resolution, which is measured in megapixels. The higher the resolution, generally the better the image quality.

Resolution also plays a role in the quality and size of the printed photographs. A cell phone camera or other low quality camera with a one megapixel resolution will produce images that are really only good for emailing or web pages, not printing. With a 2-megapixel camera, the images are good for printing at 4x6 inch sizes or so, while a 4-megapixel camera can be detailed enough to produce good prints at 16x20 inch size. With prices falling continually, if you love photos and hope to make some enlargements, you are best to only consider cameras above 6-megapixels.

Several years ago, digital cameras stored images onto fixed memory locations inside the camera. Users needed a cable to hook up to a computer in order to transfer images. Today's cameras all use removable, reusable memory media, and are therefore much more flexible and convenient. Larger amounts of storage are easy to purchase, so one can also take higher resolution pictures without fear of running out of memory. Various systems for storage include SmartMedia cards, memory sticks, and CompactFlash cards. Other cameras use microdrives, like little hard drives, or DVDs. Whichever method your camera uses, the convenience and freedom that digital photography allows will turn you into a shutterbug in short order!

Article Source: http://www.articlemonk.com

Wilfred Ursley is a writer for a variety of popular Internet magazines, with tips and resources on new products and health education themes.
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