So, you own a digital camera and it’s really amazing. But can you explain the working of your digital camera to someone who asks about it? Do you know the photography basics? Well, you might very well be amongst those people who brought digital cameras only because they are digital. Now its time you should know how a digital camera works and get to understand the photography basics.
Before understanding digital photography basics it is essential for you to understand the concept of digital image. A digital image is basically an extensive sequence of 0s and 1s which represents the pixels that collectively form a full image.
The working of a digital camera is quite similar to the working of an analogue camera. The difference between the two is of the technologies employed. A digital camera consists of all components of analogue camera except for the roll. A digital camera does not have a roll. Instead, the images are stored on a semiconductor device as binary digits of 0s and 1s in a digital camera.
A digital camera has inbuilt sensors which convert light into electric charges. The sensors are in the array of 10mm across. The image sensor which is used in a majority of digital cameras is Charged Coupled Device (CCD). Some digital cameras also use Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS). The working of these two devices is more or less same, they convert light into electrons.
As a CCD converts light into electrons, the accumulated charges are initially stored as analogue data and are then converted into digital form through a device called analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). Over the silicone chip, there is a huge collection of very minute light sensitive diodes known as photosites or pixels. These pixels convert light into electrical charges or electrons. As more and more light strikes an array of pixels, they produce more and more electrons. As the lens enters the camera through the lens, it hits the CCD followed by pressing the shutter button. As soon as the shutter opens, it elucidates each and every pixel with various intensities. You are already learning some of the real photography basics so crucial for understanding your digital camera.
The CCD sensors create a low noise, high quality image but they consume a lot of power. On the other hand the CMOS sensors, though consume 100 times less power than CCD, have noise in the image. Moreover, the quality of image is not so good. The CMOS sensors are relatively cheaper than CCD sensors. Moreover CMOS sensors do not require ADC for conversion of data into digital form. The digital cameras which are based on CMOS sensors are small, cheap and best for economy.