Definition: Image Sensor

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Image Sensors are the nitty gritty end of the digital camera. Basically the digital version of film. But just as there are lots of different types of film that you can buy, there are also lots of different types (or sizes) of image sensors, and this can be important when choosing a digital camera.

What is an Image Sensor:

An Image Sensor is a device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices. It is a set of charge-coupled devices (CCD) or CMOS sensors such as active-pixel sensors. (from Wiki)

Why is the Image Sensor important?

Image sensors come in different sizes, and which size you have will affect the image quality of the photographs taken with it. Full frame sensors are the same size as 35mm film, but they are part of very expensive professional DSLR camera’s!

As always lets look at the simple description:

Compact digital cameras generally have a 1/2.5″ sensor (3% of full frame sensor)

Common DSLR digital cameras generally have an APS-C sensor (around 40% of full frame sensor)

Whats the difference?

So DSLR’s have much larger sensors than those in compact digital camera’s, therefore they have greater image quality.

Some digital compact cameras can be 10 megapixel’s, the same as some DSLR’s (or more) so how come they aren’t as good when it come to image quality?

This is where the size of the image sensor comes in. Take two 10 megapixel camera’s - one compact and one DSLR. The manufacturer is trying to fit the same amount of pixels on the smaller compact sensor as they are on the much larger DSLR sensor. And this is the important part, the compact’s pixels have to be smaller to fit on the sensor, and therefore it reduces the amount of sensitivity and light that the pixels can capture and that works out as a loss in image quality.

Obviously this only comes into the buying equation when you are concerned about image quality, which is another reason why I am looking at a DSLR as my next camera.

Image quality becomes a big factor when you want to print images or enlarge them, anything much larger than 6 x 4 or maybe 7 x 5 and you will notice the difference between the compact and the DSLR.

Mandy

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The Pro’s and Con’s of Digital Point and Shoot Camera’s

Last week I looked at DSLR’s, so this week I thought I would look at the other side of the coin and look at digital point and shoot camera’s.

Point and shoots are extremely popular digital cameras, which means there is a huge amount of models available and therefore a lot of choice out there. You can buy everything from an extremely low end model all the way up to high performance models, which means there’s a model for every pocket. So I thought I would look at this type of camera as a whole, and look at the major pro’s and con’s to these cameras.

Pro’s

great for people new to digital photography, or people who prefer simplicity

easily fits in your pocket

great for snapshots of family, holidays etc…

fully automatic and easy to use, hence the name!

You can buy waterproof and shockproof models

Con’s

the image you see in the viewfinder isn’t the one that the lens will see, and capture

you can’t change the lens

they don’t have manual settings eg. the aperture is set

harder to make creative and artistic photographs

the digital sensor that captures the image is small so the quality of the image is restricted

My camera

When I look at my camera, a Traveler DC-5080 I see how far these type of cameras have come, it’s a fairly low end model (nice and cheap). But it has still produced some good photographs and has quite a lot of features like digital zoom, movie mode, white balance and ISO settings for example. The only thing is the more creative and artisitc I want to be, the harder it is to create what I want to do.

At the end of the day it comes down to what type of photography you want to do? Whether you want to take snapshots, or whether you want to be more creative and artistic with your photography. The answer to this question will be the one to help you decide which type of camera you want to buy.

I would like to get more creative with my photography and try new things out. So my decision on what camera I would buy is to look at getting a DSLR and learn as I go. But I am going to keep a point and shoot as a back up camera, because I still want the opportunity to take quick snapshots, and have a easy to carry camera to use. I suppose I’m after the best of both worlds!

Mandy

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Don’t Forget to Set the Date and Time!

I have been updating my Flickr account with a back log of Project 365 photographs which it was in desperate need of, I had become a little behind to say the least.

When I started to notice that the dates of the images were wrong, I don’t normally look at the dates but with working through so many photographs they caught my eye today. They were saying the images had been taken in March 2008! Which I thought was a little strange.

So I checked my computer’s date and time, which were fine so it wasn’t that. The next stop was the camera, which hadn’t crossed my mind as the culprit. I had set the date and time when I had got it over a year ago. But it was the culprit, it’s date was set on 23 March 2008 at 1.15 am for some reason?

The only reason I can think of for this to happen was that a while ago the battery went flat while I was out, maybe that messed around with the date and time somehow, I don’t know. It was easily fixed though through the setup menu.

But since I’m doing a Project 365 it’s important that I have the correct date so I’m glad that I noticed it, and have corrected it now. It just shows it’s easy to miss the simple things, and good to check them every now and then!

Mandy

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How User Friendly is your Camera?

I am in the process of looking at my camera’s features more closely and getting to know how they work and the best ways in which I can use them. Here’s some previous posts: Shooting in Macro Mode, What is EV Conpensation.

Which is very interesting and I am really enjoying doing it, but it is making me look at how user friendly my camera is. How easy is it to flick between the different settings when changing the shot?

Photography mode

For instance when choosing which photography mode I want to use I have to go into the menu, then capture, then scene, to change it. Most cameras have a photography mode option now and mine has a choice of: auto, sports, night scene, portrait, landscape and backlit modes.

It’s a great mode to have for a point and shoot as there is no manual settings for individual shots. It would be nice if this setting was easier to get at as I use it regularly. But I have to remember this camera is made as a cheap, very small, carry anywhere camera and I am very pleased it has this option at all.

Something to consider when buying a camera

This is something to consider when choosing a new camera to buy, and likely to be one of a growing wish list I seem to be compiling for a new camera.

I think it comes down to prioritizing what is more important and what options would I like to have to hand on a daily basis when taking photographs.

So working out which are my favourite features and which I use the most will help me to make that decision. I am looking at buying another camera this year, but I didn’t realise looking at my exisiting camera would start to build a picture of what I would like my next camera to be.

What’s on your wish list?

Mandy

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Traveler DC-5080 Camera Review

In The Photographer Blog image of the week feature that runs weekly on a Monday I share a photograph I have taken and talk a little about it. So I thought it would be good to take a close look at the camera I am using at the moment to take the photographs.

My Traveler DC-5080 is the camera I use at the moment and was a present from my husband a couple of years ago. As point and shoots go it’s at the cheap end of the range, but it is a 5 million pixel camera and I feel takes really nice photos.

Although it does have limitations because of the model I was pleasantly surprised by the options that it does have. Including different photography modes like macro, sport, night, portrait, landscape and backlight. It also has a movie mode although I don’t use that much.

The features that interest me the most are the settings and how much I can adjust them. On this camera I can adjust the EV compensation, white balance, ISO, colour, sharpness and saturation. And these are the settings that I want to learn more about, I will be looking at them seperately in future posts. But I am very happy that I can adjust these and have a mess around with them to see how they work. This is the part of taking photographs that I want to improve on, adjusting the settings to improve the image that I am taking.

The camera itself is nice and small with an internal rechargeable battery making it ideal to stick in my pocket whenever I go out, because you never know when a photo opportunity may happen. All in all it’s a descent starter digital camera for me, and will let me get to grips with the settings and learn more about digital photography.

Which camera do you use on a daily basis?

Mandy

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Which Type of Digital Camera Do You Use?

So which type of digital camera do you use?

In yesterdays post I took a look at how digital cameras work, so today I thought I’d take a look at the different types available. Although for me it’s not just a question of which type I use, it’s also which type I would like to have! Here are the different types:

1. Point and Shoots

These are great for taking snapshots and are generally small and easy to fit into a pocket or bag, so they can be taken anywhere. They have come a long way and take good images for snapshots and also are reasonably priced. But they do have limited features and options that you can use and therefore limit the photographs that you can take. At the moment this is the type I use.

2. Advanced Point and Shoots

These cameras have all the features of point and shoots but they have greater resolution (megapixels) and have more options and features for taking photographs.

3. Digital SLR Cameras

These cameras are for very keen photographers or professionals. SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex and are very similar to 35mm film SLR’s. You are able to change the lens and may find that some 35mm lens will fit your digital SLR. They are fantastic for being in control of your creativity when taking photographs, and they have very high resolution so they can be used by professionals. But this means they are expensive! And this is the one I would like…

Which one do you use?

Thanks

Mandy

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How do Digital Cameras Work?

Have you ever wondered how digital cameras work?

I know I do. It has always fascinated me how they work. I understand how film cameras work, the shutter is released to expose the light sensitive film to the image being taken, and then the film is developed with chemicals.

But how do digital cameras work when there is no film and no chamicals? Obviously the image is created digitally but it would be interesting to know how!

I recently watched a program on the Discovery Channel called How It’s Made, and they were looking at how sensors are made for digital products including Digital Cameras. It was really interesting, a light sensitive sensor is made using a mixture of circuits and light sensitive chemicals. That when exposured to an image it records the different light information from the image, then a processor converts that information into the photograph. Cool hey!

Now that was a very basic introductory description about how they work. Digital cameras are very sophisticated pieces of equipment with basically miniature computers onboard. But this is an introduction to them, here is another one that puts it slightly better from How Stuff Works: An introduction to how Digital Cameras work. 

I hope between these two descriptions you can get a feel for how they work. How on earth do people come up with these ideas and inventions in the first place? Because digital cameras have revolutionized photography and how we take photographs. That was some idea!

Thanks

Mandy

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Which Cameras Have I Used?

How did it all start?

A lot of my family were into cameras and taking photographs. I always remember watching them and wanting to have a go. I have probably been interested in cameras and wanting to take photographs since I was about five. I remember really early on being shown how to take a photograph, probably because I was nagging to have a go. It was on a really basic camera with no settings or anything, and it was to just practice taking photographs (and shut me up) without moving the whole camera to do it.

I had a lot of cameras when I was young, and I have had trouble trying to remember them all, but the ones below are the ones I used the most.

Which cameras have I used… so far?

1. I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s when cameras were going through a lot of changes and shapes and sizes. A lot of new models came out like the 110, Disc and Polaroid cameras. My first camera was a hand me down, the simplest 35mm camera you had ever seen with no settings whatsoever and a flash cube! Showing my age now.

2. I had a Disc camera for a while, they were very popular at the time due to the design being so different, they were really thin. And the negatives were on a disc like a kids picture viewer.

3. I wanted to try an SLR camera so I borrowed my Dad’s old Zenith SLR that weighed a ton, it’s the heaviest camera I’ve ever held.

4. Next I was given a hand me down 35mm old camera of my Granddad’s made by Kodak, from about the 60’s. Still worked though, nobody else wanted to use it because the settings on the lens were in feet rather than f stops.

5. Then I had a more modern point and shoot 35mm Richoh RZ-735 with a zoom lens. My first camera with a zoom on it.

6. I also borrowed my husbands 35mm SLR for a while, a Pentax MZ-50 with a SMC Pentax 35-80 mm lens on it. I really enjoyed using that camera.

7. My first digital camera was a 1.5 mega pixel Fujifilm point and shoot camera that needed batteries! This was only a year or so after they came out and they were still quite expensive. The only thing now was I wanted a computer…

8. My most recent camera is a Traveler DC-5080 5 mega pixel camera and size wise my smallest camera so far. Although it’s not a Digital SLR it is a nice little camera and most of the photographs on this blog will have been taken with it.

I would like to buy a digital SLR camera but that will be a little way in the future, but not too far hopefully. The problem will be deciding which one to get? I’ll let you know when I am deciding.

Thanks

Mandy

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