Introduction

Digital photography is quickly becoming the preferred way to take pictures.

If you are in the market for a new camera, consider the following advantages of digital over traditional film photography. In the long run, digital is less expensive.

All photos are recorded are on a memory device within the camera and then downloaded straight to your computer. You skip the need to keep buying rolls of film and paying for development.

You can send unlimited copies of the same picture to friends and relatives without spending a penny extra. You see your pictures quicker.

Most digital cameras allow you to view your photos immediately. There is no waiting and worrying about whether or not that "perfect shot" turned out.

You can take a picture of that new baby and immediately download it to your computer to share your good news with friends and relatives.

There's no need for anxious grandparents to wait days or even weeks for a picture. Most digital cameras have built in editing features. Cropping and recentering the picture to make it look its best can be done easily. You no longer have to worry about a stray hand distracting from the main subject of your photo. Sharpening can be done immediately to bring out the details.

Within minutes you can have a print-perfect photo. You avoid the frustration of running out of film and having to find a store that is open in the middle of an important event or on vacation. Depending on the size of your memory card and the setting of file size and quality, which you often control, you can store a couple hundred pictures on one tiny card.

That is the equivalent of nine or ten rolls of film. These are just a few of the advantages of digital photography. It is definitely worth considering as you search for your next new camera.

The History Of Digital Photography

Photography has gone a long way from the early attempts at capturing images using the camera obscura to today's digital photography. However, photography's development has never been as fast as the development is seen today in the digital age. Digital photography began with the concept of digitizing images for the use of astronauts when having missions on planets.

A company called Texas Instruments also designed a filmless analog camera in 1972, but it was never produced. However, the first digital camera was built by Steven Sasson of Kodak three years later. Unlike the compact cameras of today, Sasson's creation was a bulky eight-pound camera that took 23 seconds to capture an image to a cassette and another 23 seconds to play it back on a television screen. The first image had a resolution of 0.01 megapixels but it was a start.

There were other attempts at building digital cameras, but it was only in the late 1980s when the first true digital camera was created.

The Fuji DS-1P was built in 1988 but it was never mass-marketed. The 1990s saw the rise of commercially available digital cameras.

They were, however, pricey at first and had very low image resolutions. But later developments led to more consumer-friendly prices and better resolutions. Today, digital photography has crossed over to different gadgets aside from the digital camera. Most cellular phones and PDAs now have cameras built into them. Some even have resolutions as big as 5 megapixels. But unlike professional digital cameras, phone cameras can only save pictures in a compressed JPG format.

💡 Photography has many branches and types, such as:

• Aerial photography is the art of taking photographs from the air.
• Art photography is devoted to beautiful pictures for the sake of beauty only.
• Studio or advertising photography is dedicated to the promotion of products and institutions.
• Photojournalism takes pictures of events to support the news story and to create awareness among the people.
• Outdoor and travel photography is focused on taking pictures of landscapes and natural places.
• Sports photography records images of the sporting events and games that take place in the world.
• Some types of photography like macro and scientific and macro or close up photography are restricted to specific fields and are not widely known.

The charm of photography lies as much in the end product as in the process of taking pictures. Looking at an album is like taking a trip down memory lane; it makes us feel highly nostalgic and emotional.

All About Photography

Photography is the art of reproducing pictures of people, objects, or places in their exact likeness. These images can be transferred to any photosensitive material.

Photography includes taking and printing pictures. The backbone of photography is the camera, the instrument or device that works on the principle of optics. The camera and photographic techniques have undergone phenomenal changes since the time the first camera was made.

The earlier model did not contain the film; instead, it had a small light shield box with a lens and translucent screen on either side. The image that traveled through the lens was stored on the screen. Known as 'camera obscura,' it was no more than a sketching device for artists.

Then the scientists discovered the quality of silver nitrate that changes its color when exposed to light. This was the beginning of photogram, a method of making permanent images.

They would place objects on the paper dipped in silver nitrate and expose it to the sunlight. After some time, the area covered under the object stayed white while the rest of the space turned black. However, the image formed was temporary, so the method did not last long. Over the centuries, the principles, the method, and the material used in photography went through many changes.

After experimenting with various methods like Daguerre and calotype process, finally, collodion, or the wet plate technique was universally accepted.

Modern photography has given a totally new meaning to the entire perception of life and privacy.

Photography has made it possible to capture and preserve special moments, in private and in public life.

History became more authentic with pictures, and photographs served as evidence in many cases. People made their family tree in their albums. Suddenly life was so much more fun and meaningful. With the tremendous technological advances in the art of photography, it is no more just fun and frolic but has acquired the dimensions of a full-fledged profession.