DIGITAL CAMERAS

Introduction
 In the past twenty years, most of the major
technological breakthroughs in consumer
electronics have really been part of one
larger breakthrough:-
 converting conventional analog
information (represented by a fluctuating
wave) into digital information
(represented by ones and zeros, or bits).
This fundamental shift in technology
totally changed how we handle visual
and audio information -- it completely
redefined what is possible.
 The digital camera is one of the most
remarkable instances of this shift
Introduction
 Essentially, a digital image is just a long string
of 1s and 0s that represent all the tiny colored
dots -- or pixels -- that collectively make up the
image.
 This can be done by sampling the original light
that bounces off the subject, immediately
breaking that light pattern down into a series of
pixel values.
 Just like a conventional camera, it has a series of
lenses that focus light to create an image of a
scene. But instead of focusing this light onto a
piece of film, it focuses it onto
a semiconductor device that records light
electronically. A computer then breaks this
electronic information down into digital data. 
 CCD and CMOS: Filmless
Cameras
 Instead of film, a digital camera has a sensor
that converts light into electrical charges.
 The image sensor employed by most digital
cameras is a charge coupled device (CCD).
Some cameras use complementary metal oxide
semiconductor (CMOS) technology instead.
 Both CCD and CMOS image sensors convert
light into electrons.
 A simplified way to think about these sensors is
to think of a 2-D array of thousands or millions
of tiny solar cells.
 Once the sensor converts the light into
electrons, it reads the value (accumulated
charge) of each cell in the image. This is where
the differences between the two main sensor
types kick in:

CCD
CCD and CMOS: Filmless
Cameras
 A CCD transports the charge across the
chip and reads it at one corner of the
array. An analog-to-digital converter
(ADC) then turns each pixel's value into a
digital value by measuring the amount of
charge at each photosite and converting
that measurement to binary form.
 CMOS devices use several transistors at
each pixel to amplify and move the
charge using more traditional wires. 

CMOS
Sensor
CCD
CMOS SENSOR
 Pro’s And Con’s of The Two
Sensors
 CCD sensors create high-quality, low-noise images. CMOS sensors are
generally more susceptible to noise.
 Because each pixel on a CMOS sensor has several transistors located
next to it, the light sensitivity of a CMOS chip is lower. Many of the
photons hit the transistors instead of the photodiode.
 CMOS sensors traditionally consume little power. CCDs, on the other
hand, use a process that consumes lots of power. CCDs consume as
much as 100 times more power than an equivalent CMOS sensor.
 CCD sensors have been mass produced for a longer period of time, so
they are more mature. They tend to have higher quality pixels, and
more of them.

Although numerous differences exist between the

two sensors, they both play the same role in the
camera -- they turn light into electricity.
 CCD vs. CMOS Sensors
CCD CMOS
cost expensive to produce inexpensive because CMOS
because of special wafers are used for many
manufacturing methods different types of
employed semiconductors

power consumes upto 100x more low power consumption

power than CMOS
noise high quality, low noise images susceptible to noise

maturity produced for longer period; less mature but equal in low
higher quality images, and middle range
more pixels resolutions to CCD
Extended technically feasible; other other circuitry easily
functionality chips are used incorporated on same
chip
 Digital Camera Resolution
 The amount of detail that the camera can capture is
called the resolution, and it is measured in pixels. The
more pixels a camera has, the more detail it can capture
and the larger pictures can be without becoming blurry or
"grainy."
 Some typical resolutions include:
 256x256 - This is 65,000 total pixels.
 640x480 - This resolution is ideal for e-mailing pictures or
posting pictures on a Web site.
 1216x912 - This is a "megapixel" image size -- 1,109,000 total
pixels
 1600x1200 - With almost 2 million total pixels. You can print a
4x5 inch.
 2240x1680 - Found on 4 megapixel cameras. Prints up to 16x20
inches.
 4064x2704 - A top-of-the-line digital camera with 11.1
megapixels. You can create 13.5x9 inch prints with no loss of
picture quality.
 Capturing Color
 Unfortunately, each photosite is colorblind. It only keeps
track of the total intensity of the light that strikes its
surface. In order to get a full color image, most sensors
use filtering to look at the light in its three primary colors
 Once the camera records all three colors, it combines
them to create the full spectrum.
 Capturing Color
 The highest quality cameras use three separate sensors,
each with a different filter. A beam splitter directs light
to the different sensors. 

 Each sensor gets an identical look at the image; but

because of the filters, each sensor only responds to one
of the primary colors
 Capturing Color
 Another method is to rotate a
series of red, blue and green
filters in front of a single sensor.
The sensor records three
separate images in rapid
succession. This method also
provides information on all
three colors at each pixel
location; but since the three
images aren't taken at precisely
the same moment, both the
camera and the target of the
photo must remain stationary
for all three readings.
 Capturing Color

So basically a camera captures each image on

a separate CCD array.
 PIXEL
 A pixel is a contraction if the term PIcture ELement.
Digital images are made up of small squares, just like
a tile mosaic on your kitchen or bathroom wall.
Though a digital photograph looks smooth and
continuous just like a regular photograph, it's actually
composed of millions of tiny squares as shown below.

On the left the full image, on the right the area in the red square magnified to
show individual pixels
 PIXELS…
  Each pixel in the image has a numerical value of
between 0 and 255 and is made up of three color
channels. So for example a pixel could be 37-red, 76-
green and 125-blue and it would then look like this 
 If it was 162-red, 27-green and 12-blue, it would look like
this 
 There are over 16 million possible combinations using
this scheme and each one represents a different color
 Each color in this scheme can be represented by an 8-bit
number (byte), so the color of each pixel is defined by
three color bytes. 
What is Autofocus?

 Autofocus (AF) really could be called power-focus, as it often uses a

computer to run a miniature motor that focuses the lens for you.
 Depending on the distance of the subject from the camera, the lens
has to be a certain distance from the film to form a clear image.
 In most modern cameras, autofocus is one of a suite of automatic
features that work together to make picture-taking as easy as
possible. These features include:
 Automatic film advance
 Automatic flash
 Automatic exposure
 There are two types of autofocus systems:
active and passive. Some cameras may have a
combination of both types, depending on the
price of the camera. In general, less expensive
point-and-shoot cameras use an active system,
while more expensive SLR (single-lens reflex)
cameras with interchangeable lenses use the
passive system.
Active Auto Focus:
 In 1986, the Polaroid Corporation used a form of sound navigation
ranging (SONAR), like a submarine uses underwater, to bounce a
sound wave off the subject.
 The Polaroid camera used an ultra-high-frequency sound emitter and
then listened for the echo.
 The Polaroid Spectra and later SX-70 models computed the amount of
time it took for the reflected ultrasonic sound wave to reach the camera
and then adjusted the lens position accordingly.
 But It has its own limitations.
 Active autofocus on today's cameras uses an infrared signal instead of
sound waves, and is great for subjects within 20 feet
 Infrared systems use a variety of techniques to judge the distance.
Typical systems might use:
 Triangulation
 Amount of infrared light reflected from the subject
 Time
The Advances…

A Casio employee
displays the
digital camera
Exilim EX-S880
during a press
conference. The
camera features
a pre-installed
YouTube Capture
software to easily
upload videos to
the Web site.
GPS Photo Taggers…

GPS photo taggers let you mark

the location of your photo and if
you upload your geotagged
photos to Flickr, other people can
see them and where you took
them.
Instant Photo Printers…

Polaroid is teaming with its

spinoff company to make an
instant, ink-free mobile photo
printers. See what you can do
with an iPhone camera next.
Security Camera within your Camera!

Watch out! Who knows who or what is watching you with that
seemingly unattended iPhone. An iPhone security camera is built
right into your iPhone, but requires some hacking. See how the
police use security cameras next.
Cameras to solve Crime!

CBI technicians use these camera

setups to photograph recovered
fingerprints to use in comparison and
for running through the AFIS system.
High Speed Photography…
The sound of a gun firing the bullet
actually triggered the flash for this photo,
not the photographer. High-speed
photography can be used to investigate
events such as car wrecks that happen
very quickly.

This photo shows a water balloon just

as it bursts. Notice how the
background of the photograph is
completely dark; a brief flash of light
is the only thing that catches the
image.
 Cameras to Drive at Night

BMW's Night Vision with Pedestrian

Detection system allows drivers to see
what (or who) is down the road -- even
on the darkest nights.
The EYE Camera!

Stanislavs Bardins of Munich's Ludwig-

Maximilians-University demonstrates the
prototype of a video camera controlled by
the eyes. The camera could be used in
application fields of psychology and
market research.