DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, a Novice's View

by Lee Alexander

Dictionary Definition

Photography: the art or process of producing images on a sensitized surface by the action of radiant energy. See, even Merriam-Webster cannot make up its mind – is it art or just a cut and dried procedure? As it is with much of nature and its study, science, there is a duality involved. The elements of radiant energy, particularly - the visible spectrum of light, are photons. There is that photo- combining term again. Modern physics hits us with another whammy – photons are discrete particles but they also behave as waves.

In the case of DIGITAL photography, what “sensitized surface”? All we do is spray ink on paper. Thus the purists can have their say - Digital Photography is not true photography. Here is another arrow for the purist's quiver – Digital is to steps as Analog is to ramp. If you go digital, you are obviously throwing away information. This is a specious argument. With a large number of very small steps we soon reach the limits of human vision to discern differences. How many different hues can the human eye perceive? With sixteen plus million colors available, we pretty well cover that field.

My Photography Background

What qualifies me to talk to novices about Digital Photography? Firstly, in the field of Digital Photography, I am just beyond the beginnings – I am on my second digital camera. Although I hardly class myself as a photographer, I am not entirely new to photography. Years ago (many, if you must ask), I set up a ‘wet' darkroom in a basement corner. Replete with a homemade enlarger (lens, shutter, bellows, etc. from Edmunds Scientific), light-tight containers, trays, and hand-staining chemicals, I embarked on a short lived journey of exploration. I soon concluded my time, efforts, and cash would better serve another hobby. I had not even touched color photography at that point. The skill and patience of “amateur photographers” of the time should not be taken lightly.

So I went my merry way, stepping up to an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera with auto exposure. As a typical family man of the era, I shot photos of the family with an occasional spurt of “creativity” such as shooting barns in Westchester County . Such excursions proved I had made the right choice NOT to pursue photography as a full blown hobby. The expense and time-consuming process of putting an invisible image onto to film and then waiting to see what a waste of photo emulsion it was, soon dampened my enthusiasm to “take a picture.”

For me, Digital Photography entered the scene in the mid 1990's. I started to get my photos on floppy disks along with prints and slides. This was quite a revelation! I could now load photos onto my computer, do a minimal job of retouching with magical software, and print copy after copy – all in the comfort of my den. The wet darkroom was history. However, the source of the photos was still images on film.

In 1997, I took the next step. My first early foray into the new world of digital cameras was considerably less than satisfying. The camera created images of 640 x 480 pixels (less than a third of a Megapixel), had only internal storage (no removable media) with a capacity of about 40 low resolution images, and no flash. I had goofed again as an early adopter of immature technology. On the plus side, I got an idea of what was required of this new field for the average Joe and Jane.

The State of Digital Photography Today

With that bit of history and philosophy behind us, let's take a peek at today's status of Digital Photography. Beginning with digital cameras, we see the marketplace divided into three segments: point-and-shoot models, a middle ground with considerably more features, and the prosumer class of high cost SLR's and other models with scads of Megapixels.

Elements common to all levels include a body (a familiar concept to those who have purchased and used high end film cameras) which houses the lens, viewfinder(s), a light sensitive device, a memory storage device, and software to convert the output of the light sensitive device to a format suitable for storage on the memory device.

The body may be made of plastic, metal, or exotic metals. You can guess which market class has which body construction. The lens can be plastic, glass, or an aspheric design. The viewfinder can be a plain old optical range finder type, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) [sometimes both], or an electronic viewer. The characteristics of LCDs vary in size, brightness, and contrast. You are much better off seeing the LCD than reading about its parameters.

The light sensitive device is (essentially) one of two types: a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) device. Without going into details (after all, this is a novice's view) the CCD is usually the better of the two. CMOS devices can be smaller and cheaper to manufacture. CCDs vary in size as well as the number of pixels (the larger, the better - to gather more light), resolution (Megapixels), and speed. The foregoing explains why you cannot expect too much from cameras built into a cell phones and their ilk.

Memory storage has a wide range of options. The simplest and cheapest is internal with no removable media. Once this memory is filled, you must download its contents into your computer or another device and then erase the content to make room for more images. Removable memory devices run a gauntlet of media. Most popular is the solid state (no moving parts) flash memory. An advantage of flash media is its usefulness as an exterior “drive” for your computer when combined with an inexpensive reader.

Flash Memory Cards:

NAME SIZE (mm) MAX 128MB/512MB/1GB YEAR

Compact Flash (CF) 43 x 36 x 3.3 12GB $22/$64/$140 1994

Secure Digital (SD) 24 x 32 x 2.2 1GB $33/$95/$270 1999

Memory Stick PRO 21 x 50 x 2.8 2GB $45/$116/$250 2003

Smart Media (SM) 37 x 45 x 0.8 128MB $31/NA/NA 1995

xD-Picture Card 20 x 25 x 1.8 512MB $47/$160/NA 2002

Lastly, not a solid state memory device but on the order of the same physical dimensions, we have the MicroDrive (IBM/MagicStor), 2.2 GB at $180

The question you face is which of these formats will be around in the future. So far, CF and SD seem to be the best bet.

Presently, manufacturers tout the resolution in Megapixels as a selling point. This will not always yield the best picture. Digital or film, we still have the physics of light and optics to consider. A 6 Megapixel camera with a so-so lens may not give you as good a photo as a 4 Megapixel one with a better lens.

The last item mentioned, the conversion software, is an important factor to the user with little emphasis from the camera manufacturers. Parameters we should be concerned about are mostly time related: how long to power up, how long between shots (recycle time), how long until auto-focus locks in, and the time lag between pressing the shutter button and recording the actual image. Those used to fast film cameras must learn to compensate for these factors. Some typical values are a boot time of 5 seconds and a recycle time of 2-3 seconds (time required before you can take the next picture). Most mid-priced digital cameras include a “burst mode” function. This allows for a small number of sequential shots before processing; however, do not expect the performance of a motorized SLR film camera. So if you want a quick shot of a child's active romp, an athlete's launch from the blocks, or a lion disappearing into the bush – better have your digital camera powered up and ready.

As mentioned earlier, Digital Photography has aspects that do not even involve a digital camera. Having your silver halide images rendered onto media other than paper, for example. Scanning images into your computer is a popular task for Digital Photography. General purpose scanners are fine for getting images from prints, provided the scanning resolution available is sufficient. If you wish to scan negatives or slides you must go another step. Scanning a print uses reflected light like scanning a paper document or magazine page. Negatives and slides require transmitted light and therefore need adapters that pass light through the image source. Dedicated high resolution devices for this single purpose can run into serious dollars. Reasonably priced photo scanners, such as the Epson Perfection series, are well suited for “home use.”

Okay, we now have images on our computer, what's next? Photo editing, a major step forward in the technology, is a logical progression. The horizon in the image from the camera is not quite horizontal, shadows of power lines cross the architectural wonder of antiquity, flash has turned your model's nose into a locomotive headlamp. All these unwanted artifacts are grist for a photo editing software mill. The standard of photo editors is Adobe's Photo Shop. At more than $600, it tends to be a pricey for the beginning digital photographer. Alternatives abound; from Adobe's own PhotoShop Elements (at $100), Broderbund's The Print Shop, Microsoft's Digital Image Picture It!, to freeware such as Irfan View. Whether you are into digital photography or not, every computer should have a copy of Irfanview. Irfan Skiljan's image viewer/converter has an almost endless list of formats it can handle and even does some basic photo editing—AND it is FREE.

The last item to cover is printers. This subject is broad enough to write a book about and there are many. Unfortunately, new models seem to appear monthly. I will restrict the subject to affordable (how big is your purse?) inkjets. I will mention, at this point, if you plan to do a lot of printings in formats of 8 x 10 or larger, the cost of consumables will soon outweigh the initial hardware purchase price. You might be in the market for a color laser printer. Remember, this is just a Novice's viewpoint.

Just about any late model, general purpose inkjet will produce good prints at 5 x 7 inches or less. Fairly new to the market are inkjet photo printers. General purpose inkjets typically use four colors of ink in either individual cartridges or two cartridges: one black and the other tri-colored. The four colors are designated as CMYK – cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

Photo printers typically use more than four colors in a mix of cartridges. Some add light cyan and light magenta to the mix. Others include red, blue, and a matte black ink for text. The Canon i9900 uses 8 inks and the replacement cost for the cartridges is $96. Quality of photo prints were rated as “Outstanding”, but text and graphics garnered only “Good” [PC World, August 2004]. Prices for printers (within a reasonable budget) range from about $50 to $500. In all cases, the cost of consumables (special photo paper and ink) will outweigh the original device cost if you do a considerable amount of printing.

An Opinionated Conclusion

Continually waiting for “the next step” or vaporware means you will never take the first step in any new undertaking. The state of the art in digital photography today offers a broad spectrum of price and performance. The industry appears to be at that point where price reduction is stalled in favor of “new and improved” products.

Your photographic tastes should indicate the style and features for your choice of digital camera – a point-and-shoot model that fits in a shirt pocket or small purse or an extended zoom with a lens approaching a telescope. If you already have an inkjet printer, check out its performance with photos before opting for an upgrade. If you have been toying with the idea of dipping a toe into these waters, now is a good time.