Devices - Cameras & Camcorders

Cameras & Camcorders

As part of the GCSE course you need to be aware of certain things about Camera and Camcorders devices.  For example some of the features such as:

Most modern day cameras and camcorders can:

• take photos, record sound and HD video
• download files to a computer using a USB cable, via Bluetooth or using the HDSD card to transfer the images
• Zoom in using the optical or digital zoom
• View images/videos immediately on the LCD screen
• Store files with SD and micro SD cards
• Crop and edit files using inbuilt software
• View files on TV using a USB cable and HDMI ports

This clip explains the difference between digital and optical zoom:

Optical zoom moves the lens closer and zooms in.  Digital zoom enlarges parts of the image (this can become blurred)

Resolution

All images on cameras are made up of tiny dots, called Pixels.  A megapixel is then 1 million pixels!  The more pixels there are the better quality the image (the more detailed the image).  This also means the more the image.

This clip explains pixels (although it is quite 'techy' and you do not have to know it to this depth, it will give you some good background knowledge!)

Geotagging images

What is geotagging? It is marking a video, photo or other media with a location. This not only helps people find images and information based on a location, but it can also be used to create location-based news and media feeds by combining an application like Google Maps with geotagged blogs, news articles and Flickr photos.

Images are one of the oldest types of media to use geotagging. Certain formats like the JPEG format allow for geographical information to be embedded within the image and then read by picture viewers, which allows the exact location of where a picture was taken to be saved with a photograph.

Smartphones with built-in cameras and GPS have made geotagging images easy.
Advantages of digital cameras

• You can preview the images and decide if you are going to keep them or delete them
• You can store hundreds or even thousands of photos in the camera with the right memory card
• It is fairly easy to take well exposed and in-focus photos because the cameras usually have built in computer systems to help you
• It is easy to upload the images to either print or import them into a photo editing software
• It is generally simple to correct an image - such as reducing red-eye
• You can add extra information to an image such as date or it's geo-location using geotagging
• You can upload images directly to photo-sharing sites or email them
• Digital photos can be displayed at home using a digital photo frame
• You can also use a colour printer to print the photos
• Images can stored and backed up easily using any storage media
• A digital camera can also be used to record video

Dis-advantages of digital cameras

• A hard disk failure can result in photos being lost (particularly if you never backed them up!)
• A corrupted memory card may also result in lost photos
• The battery can easily run out
• Today we rarely print out our photos (at one time all photos had to be printed to view them - this could be seen as a good point though?)
• A good digital camera can be expensive to buy (but you can pick up a relatively simple digital camera fairly cheaply)