Abstract
Photography as we know it has a rich history that in the years has combined various developments and technologies to come up with the digital camera that we have now. Many photographers do not realize the history behind the camera, the developments they have undergone and the techniques that they use when they take pictures. Cameras have undergone many changes and developments since the idea of photography became public knowledge in 1839. Thus the idea of photography and cameras came up a long time ago and has been with us through the developments and technologies leading to the sleek and stylish digital cameras that are available now. Photography was developed in two phases whereby there was the chemical and optical process. Technology has changed cameras from the bulky apparatus that was used ages ago to the small gadgets that we have today.
Keywords: photography, digital camera, technology, chemical, optical.
History of digital camera.
The name photography was made up by John Herschel in 1839. By this time, the idea of photography was public knowledge and even the local people knew about it. Photography was developed in chemical and optical phases. The optical process which is the dark room as it is commonly known has been around for about 400 years. This shows how photography has a rich history. The chemical process however developed more slowly even though scientists had ideas of how to change colors on pieces of paper. It took various kinds of developers to realize that light as we know it is related to exposure. Chemical developments were slow but steady. Robert Boyle discovered that silver chloride became dark when exposed to light even though he first though it was because of the air. Other discoveries were by Angelo where he realized that powdered silver nitrate turned black under sunlight. Other discovered liquids that turned color when exposed to sunlight for some time. The great discovery came when Niepce after 8 hours was able to capture a picture exposed to light successfully (Randy 2008).
After the passing of Niepce, back in 1829, another developer inherited his work and was able to reduce the 8 hours Niepce used to develop a picture to half an hour. He was known as Louis and he used salt to make the images he took permanent. At this time many people began to develop their own pictures even though there were many protests that photography was the work of the devil. At this time picture taking was very expensive and so not very many people took pictures and also for one to take a copy of the same picture, he had to use two cameras. After the development of calotype process, more copies of pictures could be made because it utilized copies. This was invented by William Talbot in 1839 where he wanted to bring development to everybody instead of those who could afford it. Through this process, photographers were able to make multiple copies of their pictures. William used the Lacock Abbey as the very first negative paper in existence in 1835.
Over the next ten years, photo studios popped up everywhere in Europe. In the 1850s, Frederick Archer introduced the Collodion process that reduced the exposure time to 2 to 4 seconds. This way pictures would be produced at a faster rate. This process was cheaper and took less time. During the Collodion process, the plate would be still wert when it went through its coating, exposure and development. The development process required many equipment and space. It also required finances and so not everybody could get access to developing prints. In n 1872, Richard Manddox began using gelatin for the photographic plates. Previously, glass was used and without the glass, dry plate process was developed. This made the development process quicker and attainable for any level photographer. By the year 1884, the flexible film was introduced by George Eastman and he later developed the box camera. The box camera became the prototype where every camera has been developed.
Ideas from the box camera led to the point and shoot cameras used in the 1980s and 90s. These simple but effective cameras lead to the development of the disposable cameras and then digital camera technology. Digital photography development came up in 1959 with the charge-coupled device (CCD) which was invented by Willard Boyle and George Smith. Fairchild semiconductor produced the first CCD chip in 1973. Bryce Bayer- from Eastman- Kodak was able to develop color sensors for the CCD chip back in 1975. Kodak introduced the first mega pixel sensor in 1986. Kodak has later come up with developments and inventions that have brought about the digital camera revolution. Other makers of point-and-shoot cameras have also come up with developments in technology that are used today. One of these camera makers are canon.
Developments in technology have brought about what we know now as the modern digital camera. It is only a matter of time before new developments overshadows the very beginning of the roots of photography. Kodak released the first professional digital camera system (DCS) for the photojournalists. This was the Nikon F-3 that had a 1.3 megapixel sensor. The first digital cameras for the consumer level were from Kodak and these were the apple Quicktake 100 camera and the Kodak DC40 camera. These were able to be connected to a computer through a serial cable and one could print, upload or save the pictures from the computer (Mary 2010).
Digital cameras enjoy many advantages compared to film cameras. Although the cost of digital cameras is more than that of film cameras, it is basically cheaper in the long run because there are no processing and ongoing film costs. It is possible to view the pictures one has shot immediately and you can delete or recapture again instantly. Problems that may come with exposure, lighting, composition and sharpness are detected right on the spot and adjustments can be made while the subject is still present. This gives one a great pleasure in taking pictures and encourages one to take more pictures. Because of the instant feedback of digital cameras, nature photographers learn quicker and have great experiences and fun in the process. Also nature instructors can easily teach their students to get better images more rapidly.
Digital cameras are also easier to travel with compared to the film ones. This is because for example like in airports, the x-ray machines can damage film but they cannot do any damage to the digital cameras. Furthermore for the film cameras, one has to carry a lot of films so as to accommodate many pictures whereas the digital cameras has storage media with various sizes of storage and all one needs is the memory stick to store the pictures. When the media becomes full, one can download the pictures to a computer or another storage media. So with digital cameras photographers do not have to carry hundreds of rolls of film on an overseas trip (John 2007).
Film cameras are restricted to only 36 exposures whereas the digital cameras only need memory card and battery-power consumption. With many digital cameras, one can take more than 100 pictures at a go without the need to download the pictures to another storage drive or computer. Digital cameras also convert digital files directly. For the film cameras, one needs to scan the pictures first and the digitalize them. To purchase a good film scanner is very expensive and also the process of digitalizing takes a lot of time. Digital camera memory cards are cheap to purchase and the beauty of it all is that they can be used again and again and again. It is also quite difficult to find E-6 slide film processing that is used to process films. Memory cards do not require any processing you just download the pictures to a printer or a computer. This is done by the use of a communications cable called serial cable or a card reader.
With digital cameras, one can shoot pictures, review, correct and reshoot images at ease. One can review the image shot and then one is able to know if they got the right shot or they will need to reshoot it immediately. For example in underwater photographing, digital cameras are ideal because one can tell there and then if they got the right shot. Film cameras are however not ideal because the film has to be processed first so as to tell if the y got the right shot. Even if the film is processed during the dive trip, they risk the chance of poor processing. Digital cameras have a small amount of digital noise which can be managed with photo-editing software. However film cameras have a lot of grain structure that is visible if the picture is enlarged (Jack 2005).
Digital cameras are able to use higher ISO speeds and this translates to greater depth of field, less usage of flash power and thus they have the ability to shoot pictures in low light levels. Digital cameras are also very sensitive to light and this combined with their high ISO speeds can be able to shoot clear still pictures on deep sea diving and in low light levels. The ISO speed of digital cameras can be changed from one shot to another. Thus it is easy to adjust the pictures being shot. Film cameras however have the same ISO speed from image to image. The white balance on a digital camera allows one to adjust the image’s color as one switches the depth and to the available light to flash. Film images can easily be damaged through scratching and mishandling whereas digital images can be stored in CD or DVD that can last many years. Images on a digital camera can be seen on a television screen through the communications cable. Digital cameras can also be adjusted for distance so that one can shoot an image far away.
Disadvantages of digital cameras include the initial cost of investing in digital equipment. Digital cameras are very expensive and also the equipment for storage and computers that are needed are also expensive. Digital cameras are also very fragile than the film cameras. They tend to get damaged easily if not properly taken care of. They are mostly made of plastic shell that can be damaged when dropped or when pressure is applied. Digital cameras tend to use a lot of power and so they drain batteries faster than the film cameras. Thus the cost of batteries is high when it comes to digital cameras. Digital cameras also have a delay from when the shutter release is pressed to when it takes the picture. Thus one might get a shot of the image that they did not want. Digital cameras have a restricted megapixel so when trying to blow up an image to higher resolution it may become blurry (Dale 2007)
Digital cameras have a rich history and they have come a long way from the box cameras to the film cameras. They have various advantages which out ways their disadvantages and thus are a good investment. They produce great image quality and clarity. The fact that one can upload pictures from these cameras and share on the internet is an added advantage.
References
Dale, A. (2007). Digital overdrive: communications & multimedia technology 2011. Canada: Burlington press.
Jack, D. (2005). Master guide for underwater Digital Photography. New York: Amherst Media, Inc press
John, G. (2007). Digital nature photography: the art and the science. USA: Library of congress press
Mary, B. (2010). History of the Digital Camera. USA: About.com article
Randy, O. (2008). Light and video microscopy. USA: Library of congress press.
