Digital Cameras 101

1. Digital Cameras 101 Teresa Knapp Gordon, NBCT Library Media Specialist Jefferson Elementary

2. Digital Camera Basics • Pixels • Sensor Size • Storage Options • Zoom-Optical vs. Digital • Interface • DPI and PPI

3. Pixels • Digital Images are made up of small squares, called pixels

4. Pixels • Pixel Count is the number of pixels that go into making an image • The higher the pixel count, the better the image • Most digital cameras today have between 1 and 14 megapixels (million pixels)

5. Most digital cameras have a 1/2.7” or 1/1.8” sensor. This affects the picture quality-the larger the sensor size, the less “noise” in the photo and the better it looks. Sensor Size

6. Sensor Size • Normal digital camera sensor size operates like less than ISO 400 speed film.

7. Storage Options • Memory Stick • Compact Flash • SD • Multimedia • XD

8. Storage Options • Compact Flash (CF) - The original memory card. 42mm x 36mm x 3mm. Somewhat larger than the others, but used on all high end DSLRs. Available in capacities up to 2GB. There are also miniature hard drives (Microdrives) with almost the same form factor as CF cards (CF type II, 5mm thick)) which are available in capacities from 340MB to 4GB. Microdrives used to be cheaper than solid state CF cards, though there is not a big difference today up to about 1GB. The 4GB Microdrives are actually cheaper than the 2GB CF cards though. Of course prices change pretty fast these days! Overall CF cards tend to be cheaper than any of the other forms of solid state memory - though this too could change. CF cards and microdrives contain their own disk controller, so that makes the camera electronics simpler. • Secure Digital (SD) - Very small - about 24mm x 32mm and 2mm thick. They have a built in write protect switch to prevent accidental erasure and certain encryption capabilities of little interest to digital camera owners.

9. Storage Options • Multimedia - Same size as SD but with less features and no encryption capability. There are some that can be used in some SD cameras but they aren't 100% compatible with SD cards in all applications. • Smart Media - Thinner than CF cards, but lacking an on-card memory controller. Despite the name, they're pretty dumb! • Memory Stick - Introduced by Sony and used only by Sony(?) • XD - Developed and used by Fuji, Olympus and Toshiba - even smaller than SD. 20mm x 25mm by 1.7mm thick

10. Zoom-Digital vs. Optical

11. Zoom-Digital vs. Optical • Most cameras have both • Optical zoom retains the image quality while zooming because the lens is changing focal length and magnification • Digital zoom basically crops the image and enlarges the cropped portion

12. Digital Camera Interface • Serial - The earliest digital cameras had a serial interface, but no current cameras use this since it is so slow • USB 1.1 - USB was the first widespread high speed method of data transfer from cameras. It is theoretically capable of transfer speeds up to 11 megabits/second (note megabits not megabytes) • USB 2.0 - A development of USB but much faster - up to 480 megabits/second. USB devices are compatible with USB1.1 ports on a PC, but will only work with them at the lower data rate. • IEEE 1394 (Firewire) - Though this is an older interface than USB, it was originally only really used much on Apple computers. It's capable of high speed transfer (400 megabits/second) and it's now found on some PCs or it can be added to them via a plug-in card. More common on digital video cameras than still digital cameras.

13. Printers • Your photos will only be as good as your printer quality allows them to be • If you have a state of the art camera and an antique printer, your photos will not look good • Lots of options-Commercial Printing, Online printing, New Photo printers

14. Good Resources for Choosing a Digital Camera • http://wneo.org/hotlists/digcam.htm • http://www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS/BUY/BUY.HTM • http://www.steves-digicams.com/

15. Let’s Take a Break and Digest All of That Information-10 minutes

16. Now That I Have a Camera, How Do I Use It With My Class? • Writing: • http://drscavanaugh.org/digitalcamera/writing_applications.htm • Math: • http://drscavanaugh.org/digitalcamera/math_applications.htm

17. More Ideas • Science • http://drscavanaugh.org/digitalcamera/lab.htm • Projects: • http://drscavanaugh.org/digitalcamera/digital_camera_projects.htm

18. You Are Only Limited by Your Imagination • There are tons of resources on the Internet for using cameras in education • Here are a few of my favorites: • http://www.geocities.com/Athens/olympus/7123/camera.html • http://www.adobe.com/education/digkids/lessons/

19. A Few More • http://www.chiff.com/art/photo/kids.htm • http://www.tech4learning.com/services/teachingwithdigitalcameras.htm • http://wneo.org/hotlists/digcam.htm • www.fotoflexer.com • www.piknik.com • Take some time and explore-Be sure and note your favorites

20. Remember in LRSD you must have a signed consent on file for Photos • Forms are online and I suggest having them done at registration. • They are available in English and Spanish

21. Goals for the Hour • Create using digital cameras • Build an ABC book using pictures that you and your partner take of either you representing the shape of the letter, or an object that represents the letter. • Questions/Help?

22. My Contact Info • Jefferson Elementary • Phone-447-5006 • Email: teresa.knapp@lrsd.org

23. Bibliography • Webpage: http://photo.net/equipment/digital/basics/ Accessed June 2008