A short list of the most
common terms used in digital photography:
6 MP camera: A camera capable of shooting an image measuring six million
pixels in size.
Aperture: The opening behind the lens that permits light to travel to the
camera's interior where the sensor is located.
JPEG: The term used to describe a type of digital compression used for
digital images. This particular compression ratio was fixed by the Joint Photo
Experts Group to reduce the picture size. This reduction, however, results in
considerable loss of picture quality.
Digital zoom: The process of digitally enlarging a portion of the
picture. This function is performed within the electronics of the digital camera
without any physical adjustment of the lenses, and results in a loss of picture
quality.
Megapixels: A measurement of digital photo quality. A one-megapixel image
is made up of one million pixels.
Memory: The electronic storage space built into digital cameras for the
purpose of storing pictures.
Optical Zoom: As opposed to digital zoom, this is the process of changing
the focal length and magnification of the lens physically, without altering the
quality of the recorded digital image. Superior to digital zoom.
Pixels: A contraction of the term "Picture Element". It is the smallest
element of a digital image, a single "dot" of light or ink.
Pixel Count: The number of pixels that go into making each image. The higher the
pixel count the more realistic an image is likely to appear.
PPI: An acronym for "pixels per inch", and is used to describe an element
in picture quality. The higher the number of pixels displayed per inch, the
better the picture will appear to the human eye and the less easily viewers will
notice individual pixels.
RAW/NEF: The uncompressed image as shot by a digital camera. Canon
introduced the RAW picture format, while Nikon calls this format NEF.
Sensor: The digital strip within the camera that converts incoming light
into an electrical signal. It performs the role of "re-useable negative" within
a digital camera.
Shutter Speed: The duration for which the camera's aperture is opened,
thereby allowing light to stream in. Longer shutter speeds leave the aperture
open longer, letting more light in and resulting in more exposure.
TIFF:
An acronym for "Tagged Image File Format". While there is no loss
of information in this format, the resulting file sizes are also very large.
White Balance: Human eyes compensate for lighting conditions with
different colors of light. A digital camera, however, requires a reference point
that represents white. It then calculates all other colors based upon this
setting.
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