Acronym Definition
NDIL National Death Index List
NDIL National Deliverability Index List
NDIL National Democratic Institute
NDIL Nautical Data International
NDIL Navigation Data Integrator (US Navy)
NDIL Neck Disability Index (physical therapy)
NDIL Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus
NDIL Network Deployment and Integration
NDIL New Data Indicator
NDIL New Dietary Ingredient (FDA)
NDIL Nielsen Drug Index
NDIL Nitrogen Drawdown Index (Australian standard for composts, soil
conditioners)
NDIL No Deception Indicated (polygraph)
NDIL Non-Destructive Inspection (such as x-ray of wings for cracks)
NDIL Non-Developmental Item
NDIL Non-Industrial Disability Insurance
NDIL Normalized Dispersion Index
NDIL Numéro de Désignation d'Installation
NDIL Nation Drilling International Limited
NDIL Naugty Daughter-In-Law
NDIL National Daily Instruction Logs
NDIL National Data Interchange Language
NDIL National Deferred Item List
NDIL National Deliverable Items List
NDIL National Derived Intervention Levels
NDIL National Dielectric Image Line
NDIL National Digital Image Library
NDIL National Digital Impairment Learning (modems)
NDIL National Digital Information Laboratory
NDIL National Digital Integrated Laboratory
NDIL National Digital Integration Laboratory (Army Software Engineering Center)
NDIL National Dilate
NDIL National Dilute
NDIL National Direct Inward Line
NDIL National Director of International Logistics
NDIL National Drainable Interstitial Liquid
NDIL National Dual In-Line
NDIL National Dictionary of the Irish Language
NDIL National Democratic Institute for International Language
NDIL New Dimensions In Learning
NDIL Network Design International Lab
NDIL National Digital Image Library
A digital image is a representation of a two-dimensional image as a finite set
of digital values, called picture elements or pixels. The digital image contains
a fixed number of rows and columns of pixels. Pixels are the smallest individual
element in an image, holding quantized values that represent the brightness of a
given colour at any specific point.
Typically, the pixels are stored in computer memory as a raster image or raster
map, a two-dimensional array of small integers. These values are often
transmitted or stored in a compressed form.
Digital images can be created by a variety of input devices and techniques, such
as digital cameras, scanners, coordinate-measuring machines, seismographic
profiling, airborne radar, and more. They can also be synthetized from arbitrary
non-image data, such as mathematical functions or three-dimensional geometric
models; the latter being a major sub-area of computer graphics. The field of
digital image processing is the study of algorithms for their transformation.
Image types
Each pixel of an image is typically associated to a specific 'position' in some
2D region, and has a value consisting of one or more quantities (samples)
related to that position. Digital images can be classified according to the
number and nature of those samples:
Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images,
typically from a physical object. The term is often assumed to imply or include
the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images.
A digital image may be created directly from a physical scene by a camera or
similar device. Alternatively, it may be obtained from another image in an
analog medium, such as photographs, photographic film, or printed paper, by a
scanner or similar device. Many technical images—such as those acquired with
tomographic equipment, side-looking radar, or radio telescopes—are actually
obtained by complex processing of non-image data. Finally, a digital image can
also be computed from a geometric model or mathematical formula (however, in
this case the name image synthesis is more appropriate).
Digital image authentication is an emerging issue for the providers and
producers of high resolution digital images such as health care organizations,
law enforcement agencies and insurance companies. There is currently no method
available to analyze a digital image and determine if it has been altered or
not. However, there are some technologies on the horizon which are useful in
confirming the non-alteration of images whose original producer is known.
A digital camera is an electronic device used to capture and store photographs
digitally, instead of using photographic film like conventional cameras, or
recording images in an analog format to magnetic tape like many video cameras.
Modern compact digital cameras are typically multifunctional, with some devices
capable of recording sound and/or video as well as photographs. In the Western
market, digital cameras now outsell their 35 mm film counterparts.[1]
Classification
Digital cameras can be classified into several categories:
Video cameras
Video cameras are classified as devices whose main purpose is to record moving
images.
* Professional video cameras such as those used in television and movie
production. These typically have multiple image sensors (one per color) to
enhance resolution and color gamut. Professional video cameras usually do not
have a built-in VCR or microphone.
* Camcorders used by amateurs. They generally include a microphone to record
sound, and feature a small liquid crystal display to watch the video during
taping and playback.
* Webcams are digital cameras attached to computers, used for video conferencing
or other purposes. Webcams can capture full-motion video as well, and some
models include microphones or zoom ability.
In addition, many Live-Preview Digital cameras have a "movie" mode, in which
images are continuously acquired at a frame rate sufficient for video.
Live-preview digital cameras
Enlarge picture
Canon PowerShot A95 with CompactFlash card loaded
Live-preview digital camera
The term digital still camera (DSC) most commonly refers to the class of
live-preview digital cameras, cameras that use an electronic screen as the
principal means of framing and previewing before taking the photograph. All use
either a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor to sense the light
intensities across the focal plane.
Many modern live-preview cameras have a movie mode, and a growing number of
camcorders can take still photographs. However, even a low-end live-preview
camera can take better still pictures than a mid-range video camera, and
mid-range live-preview cameras have much lower video quality than low-end video
cameras; that is, products are not generally optimized for both still and video
photography, due to their different requirements.
Among live-preview cameras, most have a rear liquid crystal display for both
preview and reviewing photographs. Transfers to a computer are commonly carried
out using the USB mass storage device class (so that the camera appears as a
drive) or using the Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) and its derivatives; in
addition, Firewire is sometimes supported.
The live-preview cameras are typically divided into compact (and subcompact) and
bridge cameras.
Enlarge picture
A student taking a picture
Enlarge picture
Canon PowerShot A60
Compact digital cameras
Also called digicams, this encompasses most digital cameras. They are
characterized by great ease in operation and easy focusing; this design allows
for limited motion picture capability. They tend to have significantly smaller
zooms than bridge and DSLR cameras. They have an extended depth of field. This
allows objects at a larger range of depths to be in focus, which accounts for
much of their ease of use. They excel in landscape photography and casual use.
They typically save pictures in only the JPEG file format. All but the cheapest
models have a built-in flash, although its guide number tends to be very low,
perhaps just 6 or 8.
Bridge cameras
Bridge digital camera
Bridge or SLR-like cameras form a general group of higher-end live-preview
cameras that physically resemble DSLRs and share with these some advanced
features, but share with compacts the live-preview design and small sensor
sizes.
Enlarge picture
Fujifilm FinePix S9000
Bridge cameras tend to have superzoom lenses, which compromises – in varying
degrees, depending on the quality of the zoom lens – a "do it all" ability with
barrel distortion and pincushioning. These cameras are sometimes marketed as and
confused with digital SLR cameras since the bodies resemble each other. The
distinguishing characteristics are that bridge cameras lack the mirror and
reflex system of DSLRs, have so far been always produced with only one single
sealed (non-interchangeable) lens (but accessory wide angle or telephoto
converters can be attached to the front of the sealed lens), can usually take
movies, record audio and the scene composition is done with either the liquid
crystal display or the electronic viewfinder (EVF). The overall performance
tends to be slower than a true digital SLR, but they are capable of very good
image quality while being more compact and lighter than DSLRs. The high-end
models of this type have comparable resolutions to low and mid-range DSLRs. Many
of the these cameras can save in JPEG or RAW format. The majority have a
built-in flash, often a unit which flips up over the lens. The guide number
tends to be between 11 and 15.
Digital single lens reflex cameras
Digital single-lens reflex cameras
Digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) are digital cameras based on film
single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs), both types are characterized by the existence
of a mirror and reflex system. See the on DSLRs for a detailed treatment of this
category.
Digital rangefinders
Rangefinder camera
A rangefinder is a focusing mechanism once widely used on film cameras, but much
less common in digital cameras. The term rangefinder alone is often used to mean
a rangefinder camera, that is, a camera equipped with a rangefinder.
For information on digital rangefinders specifically, check the digital
rangefinder section in the linked above.
Professional modular digital camera systems
This category includes very high end professional equipment that can be
assembled from modular components (winders, grips, lenses, etc.) to suit
particular purposes. Common makes include Hasselblad and Mamiya. They were
developed for medium or large format film sizes, as these captured greater
detail and could be enlarged more than 35mm.
Typically these cameras are used in studios for commercial production; being
bulky and awkward to carry they are rarely used in action or nature photography.
They can often be converted into either film or digital use by changing out the
back part of the unit, hence the use of terms such as a "digital back" or "film
back." These cameras are very expensive (up to $40,000) and are typically not
seen in the hands of consumers.
History
Early development
Enlarge picture
Steven Sasson, an Eastman Kodak engineer, with his prototype digital camera
The concept of digitizing images on scanners, and the concept of digitizing
video signals, predate the concept of making still pictures by digitizing
signals from an array of discrete sensor elements. Eugene F. Lally of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory published the first description of how to produce still
photos in a digital domain using a mosaic photosensor.[2] The purpose was to
provide onboard navigation information to astronauts during missions to planets.
The mosaic array periodically recorded still photos of star and planet locations
during transit and when approaching a planet provided additional stadiametric
information for orbiting and landing guidance. The concept included camera
design elements foreshadowing the first digital camera.
Texas Instruments designed a filmless analog camera in 1972, but it is not known
if it was ever built. The first recorded attempt at building a digital camera
was by Steven Sasson, an engineer at Eastman Kodak.[3] It used the then-new
solid-state CCD image sensor chips developed by Fairchild Semiconductor in
1973.[4] The camera weighed 8 pounds (3.6 kg), recorded black and white images
to a cassette tape, had a resolution of 0.01 megapixel (10,000 pixels), and took
23 seconds to capture its first image in December of 1975. The prototype camera
was a technical exercise, not intended for production.
Analog electronic cameras
Handheld electronic cameras, in the sense of a device meant to be carried and
used like a handheld film camera, appeared in 1981 with the demonstration of the
Sony Mavica (Magnetic Video Camera). This is not to be confused with the later
cameras by Sony that also bore the Mavica name. This was an analog camera based
on television technology that recorded to a 2 × 2 inch "video floppy". In
essence it was a video movie camera that recorded single frames, 50 per disk in
field mode and 25 per disk in frame mode. The image quality was considered equal
to that of then-current televisions.
Analog cameras do not appear to have reached the market until 1986 with the
Canon RC-701. Canon demonstrated this model at the 1984 Olympics, printing the
images in newspapers. Several factors held back the widespread adoption of
analog cameras; the cost (upwards of $20,000), poor image quality compared to
film, and the lack of quality affordable printers. Capturing and printing an
image originally required access to equipment such as a frame grabber, which was
beyond the reach of the average consumer. The "video floppy" disks later had
several reader devices available for viewing on a screen, but were never
standardized as a computer drive.
The early adopters tended to be in the news media, where the cost was negated by
the utility and the ability to transmit images by telephone lines. The poor
image quality was offset by the low resolution of newspaper graphics. This
capability to transmit images without a satellite link was useful during the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and the first Gulf War in 1991.
The first analog camera marketed to consumers may have been the Canon RC-250
Xapshot in 1988. A notable analog camera produced the same year was the Nikon
QV-1000C, designed as a press camera and not offered for sale to general users,
which sold only a few hundred units. It recorded images in greyscale, and the
quality in newspaper print was equal to film cameras. In appearance it closely
resembled a modern digital single-lens reflex camera. Images were stored on
video floppy disks.
The arrival of true digital cameras
The first true digital camera that recorded images as a computerized file was
likely the Fuji DS-1P of 1988, which recorded to a 16 MB internal memory card
that used a battery to keep the data in memory. This camera was never marketed
in the United States, and has not been confirmed to have shipped even in Japan.
The first commercially available digital camera was the 1990 Dycam Model 1; it
also sold as the Logitech Fotoman. It used a CCD image sensor, stored pictures
digitally, and connected directly to a PC for download.[5][6][7]
In 1991, Kodak brought to market the Kodak DCS-100, the beginning of a long line
of professional SLR cameras by Kodak that were based in part on film bodies,
often Nikons. It used a 1.3 megapixel sensor and was priced at $13,000.
The move to digital formats was helped by the formation of the first JPEG and
MPEG standards in 1988, which allowed image and video files to be compressed for
storage. The first consumer camera with a liquid crystal display on the back was
the Casio QV-10 in 1995, and the first camera to use CompactFlash was the Kodak
DC-25 in 1996.
The marketplace for consumer digital cameras was originally low resolution
(either analog or digital) cameras built for utility. In 1997 the first
megapixel cameras for consumers were marketed. The first camera that offered the
ability to record video clips may have been the Ricoh RDC-1 in 1995.
1999 saw the introduction of the Nikon D1, a 2.74 megapixel camera that was the
first digital SLR developed entirely by a major manufacturer, and at a cost of
under $6,000 at introduction was affordable by professional photographers and
high end consumers. This camera also used Nikon F-mount lenses, which meant film
photographers could use many of the same lenses they already owned.
Also in 1999, Minolta introduced the RD-3000 D-SLR at 2.7 megapixels. This
camera found many professional adherents. Limitations to the system included the
need to use Vectis lenses which were designed for APS size film. The camera was
sold with 5 lenses at various focal lengths and ranges (zoom). Minolta did not
produce another D-SLR until September 2004 when they introduced the Alpha 7D
(Alpha in Japan, Maxxum in North America, Dynax in the rest of the world) but
using the Minolta A-mount system from its 35mm line of cameras.
2003 saw the introduction of the Canon 300D, also known as the Digital Rebel, a
6 megapixel camera and the first DSLR priced under $1,000, and marketed to
consumers.
Image resolution
The resolution of a digital camera is often limited by the camera sensor
(usually a charge-coupled device or CCD chip) that turns light into discrete
signals, replacing the job of film in traditional photography. The sensor is
made up of millions of "buckets" that collect charge in response to light.
Generally, these buckets respond to only a narrow range of light wavelengths,
due to a color filter over each. Each one of these buckets is called a pixel,
and a demosaicing/interpolation algorithm is needed to turn the image with only
one wavelength range per pixel into an RGB image where each pixel is three
numbers to represent a complete color.
The one attribute most commonly compared on cameras is the pixel count. Due to
the ever increasing sizes of sensors, the pixel count is into the millions, and
using the SI prefix of mega- (which means 1 million) the pixel counts are given
in megapixels. For example, an 8.0 megapixel camera has 8.0 million pixels.
The pixel count alone is commonly presumed to indicate the resolution of a
camera, but this is a misconception. There are several other factors that impact
a sensor's resolution. Some of these factors include sensor size, lens quality,
and the organization of the pixels (for example, a monochrome camera without a
Bayer filter mosaic has a higher resolution than a typical color camera). Many
digital compact cameras are criticized for having too many pixels, in that the
sensors can be so small that the resolution of the sensor is greater than the
lens could possibly deliver.
Excessive pixels can even lead to a decrease in image quality. As each pixel
sensor gets smaller it is catching fewer photons, and so the signal-to-noise
ratio will decrease. This decrease leads to noisy pictures, poor shadow region
quality and generally poorer-quality pictures.
Enlarge picture
Australian recommended retail price of Kodak digital cameras
As the technology has improved, costs have decreased dramatically. Measuring the
"pixels per dollar" as a basic measure of value for a digital camera, there has
been a continuous and steady increase in the number of pixels each dollar buys
in a new camera consistent with the principles of Moore's Law. This
predictability of camera prices was first presented in 1998 at the Australian
PMA DIMA conference by Barry Hendy and since referred to as "Hendy's Law".[8]
Methods of image capture
Enlarge picture
This digital camera is partly disassembled. The lens assembly (bottom right) is
removed, but the sensor (top right) still captures a usable image, as seen on
the LCD screen (bottom left).
Since the first digital backs were introduced, there have been three main
methods of capturing the image, each based on the hardware configuration of the
sensor and color filters.
The first method is often called single-shot, in reference to the number of
times the camera's sensor is exposed to the light passing through the camera
lens. Single-shot capture systems use either one CCD with a Bayer filter mosaic
it, or three separate image sensors (one each for the primary additive colors
red, green, and blue) which are exposed to the same image via a beam splitter.
The second method is referred to as multi-shot because the sensor is exposed to
the image in a sequence of three or more openings of the lens aperture. There
are several methods of application of the multi-shot technique. The most common
originally was to use a single image sensor with three filters (once again red,
green and blue) passed in front of the sensor in sequence to obtain the additive
color information. Another multiple shot method utilized a single CCD with a
Bayer filter but actually moved the physical location of the sensor chip on the
focus plane of the lens to "stitch" together a higher resolution image than the
CCD would allow otherwise. A third version combined the two methods without a
Bayer filter on the chip.
The third method is called scanning because the sensor moves across the focal
plane much like the sensor of a desktop scanner. Their linear or tri-linear
sensors utilize only a single line of photosensors, or three lines for the three
colors. In some cases, scanning is accomplished by rotating the whole camera; a
digital rotating line camera offers images of very high total resolution.
The choice of method for a given capture is of course determined largely by the
subject matter. It is usually inappropriate to attempt to capture a subject that
moves with anything but a single-shot system. However, the higher color fidelity
and larger file sizes and resolutions available with multi-shot and scanning
backs make them attractive for commercial photographers working with stationary
subjects and large-format photographs.
Recently, dramatic improvements in single-shot cameras and RAW image file
processing have made single shot, CCD-based cameras almost completely
predominant in commercial photography, not to mention digital photography as a
whole. CMOS-based single shot cameras are also somewhat common.
Filter mosaics, interpolation, and aliasing
Enlarge picture
The Bayer arrangement of color filters on the pixel array of an image sensor
In most current consumer digital cameras, a Bayer filter mosaic is used, in
combination with an optical anti-aliasing filter to reduce the aliasing due to
the reduced sampling of the different primary-color images. A demosaicing
algorithm is used to interpolate color information to create a full array of RGB
image data.
Cameras that use a beam-splitter single-shot 3CCD approach, three-filter
multi-shot approach, or Foveon X3 sensor do not use anti-aliasing filters, nor
demosaicing.
Firmware in the camera, or a software in a raw converter program such as Adobe
Camera Raw, interprets the raw data from the sensor to obtain a full color
image, because the RGB color model requires three intensity values for each
pixel: one each for the red, green, and blue (other color models, when used,
also require three or more values per pixel). A single sensor element cannot
simultaneously record these three intensities, and so a color filter array (CFA)
must be used to selectively filter a particular color for each pixel.
The Bayer filter pattern is a repeating 2×2 mosaic pattern of light filters,
with green ones at opposite corners and red and blue in the other two positions.
The high proportion of green takes advantage of properties of the human visual
system, which determines brightness mostly from green and is far more sensitive
to brightness than to hue or saturation. Sometimes a 4-color filter pattern is
used, often involving two different hues of green. This provides potentially
more accurate color, but requires a slightly more complicated interpolation
process.
The color intensity values not captured for each pixel can be interpolated (or
guessed) from the values of adjacent pixels which represent the color being
calculated.
Connectivity
Many digital cameras can connect directly to a computer to transfer data:
* Early cameras used the PC serial port. USB is now the most widely used method
( Most cameras are viewable as USB Mass Storage), though some have a FireWire
port. Some cameras use USB PTP mode for connection instead of USB MSC; some
offer both modes.
* Other cameras use wireless connections, via Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi,
such as the Kodak EasyShare One.
A common alternative is the use of a card reader which may be capable of reading
several types of storage media, as well as high speed transfer of data to the
computer. Use of a card reader also avoids draining the camera battery during
the download process, as the device takes power from the USB port. An external
card reader allows convenient direct access to the images on a collection of
storage media. But if only one storage card is in use, moving it back and forth
between the camera and the reader can be inconvenient.
Many modern cameras offer the PictBridge standard, which allows sending data
directly to printers without the need of a computer.
Integration
Many devices include digital cameras built into or integrated into them. For
example, mobile phones often include digital cameras; those that do are
sometimes known as camera phones. Other small electronic devices (especially
those used for communication) such as PDAs, laptops and BlackBerry devices often
contain an integral digital camera. Additionally, some digital camcorders
contain a digital camera built into them.
Due to the limited storage capacity and general emphasis on convenience rather
than image quality in such integrated or converged devices, the vast majority of
these devices store images in the lossy but compact JPEG file format.
Storage
Digital cameras need memory to store data. A wide variety of storage media has
been used. These include:
Onboard flash memory
Cheap cameras and cameras secondary to the device's main use (such as a camera
phone). ; 3.5" floppy disks : Mainly the Sony Mavica line of the late 1990s. ;
Video Floppy: A 2x2 inch (50 mm × 50 mm) floppy disk used for early analog
cameras. ; PC Card hard drives : Early professional cameras, discontinued. ; CD
single or DVD : a 185 MB small form factor CD, most commonly seen in the Sony
CD-1000. ; Thermal printer : Known only in one model of camera that printed
images immediately rather than storing.
Memory cards
CompactFlash cards/Microdrives
Typically higher end professional cameras. The microdrives are actual hard
drives in the CompactFlash form factor. Adapters exist to allow using SD cards
in a CompactFlash device. CompactFlash cards are much larger than most cards,
but have an extremely quick data transfer time. ; Memory Stick : A proprietary
flash memory type manufactured by Sony. ; SD/MMC : A flash memory card in a
small form factor that is gradually supplanting CompactFlash. The original
storage limit was 2 GB, which is being supplanted by 4 GB cards. 4 GB cards are
not recognized in all cameras as a revision was made to the SD standard as SDHC
(SD High Capacity). The cards also have to be formatted in the FAT32 file format
while many older cameras use FAT16 which has a 2 GB partition limit. ; MiniSD
Card : A smaller (slightly less than half-size) card used in devices such as
camera phones. ; MicroSD Card : A smaller yet (less than a quarter size) version
of the SD card. Used in camera phones. ; xD-Picture Card : Developed by Fuji and
Olympus in 2002, a format smaller than an SD card. ; SmartMedia : A now obsolete
format that competed with CompactFlash, and was limited to 128 MB in capacity.
One of the major differences was that SmartMedia had the memory controller built
in the reading device, while in CompactFlash it was in the card. The xD picture
card was developed as a replacement for SmartMedia. ; FP Memory: A 2-4 MB serial
flash memory, known from the Mustek/Relisys Dimera low end cameras.
Batteries
Digital cameras have high power requirements, and over time have become
increasingly smaller in size, which has resulted in an ongoing need to develop a
battery small enough to fit in the camera and yet able to power it for a
reasonable length of time.
Essentially two broad divisions exist in the types of batteries digital cameras
use.
Off-the-shelf
The first is batteries that are an established off-the-shelf form factor, most
commonly AA, CR2, or CR-V3 batteries, with AAA batteries in a handful of
cameras. The CR2 and CR-V3 batteries are lithium based, and intended for single
use. They are also commonly seen in camcorders. The AA batteries are far more
common; however, the non-rechargeable alkaline batteries are capable of
providing enough power for only a very short time in most cameras. Most
consumers use AA Nickel metal hydride batteries (NiMH) (see also and ) instead,
which provide an adequate amount of power and are rechargeable. NIMH batteries
do not provide as much power as lithium ion batteries, and they also tend to
discharge when not used. They are available in various ampere-hour (Ah) or
milli-ampere-hour (mAh) ratings, which affects how long they last in use.
Typically mid-range consumer models and some low end cameras use off-the-shelf
batteries; only a very few DSLR cameras accept them (for example, Sigma SD10).
Rechargeable RCR-V3 lithium-ion batteries are also available as an alternative
to non-rechargeable CR-V3 batteries.
Proprietary
The second division is proprietary battery formats. These are built to a
manufacturer's custom specifications, and can be either aftermarket replacement
parts or OEM. Almost all proprietary batteries are lithium ion. While they only
accept a certain number of recharges before the battery life begins degrading
(typically up to 500 cycles), they provide considerable performance for their
size. A result is that at the two ends of the spectrum both high end
professional cameras and low end consumer models tend to use lithium ion
batteries.
Autonomous devices
An autonomous device, such as a PictBridge printer, operates without need of a
computer. The camera connects to the printer, which then downloads and prints
its images. Some DVD recorders and television sets can read memory cards too.
Several types of flash card readers also have a TV output capability.
Formats
Image file formats
Common formats for digital camera images are the Joint Photography Experts Group
standard (JPEG) and Tagged Image File Format (TIFF).
Many cameras, especially professional or DSLR cameras, support a Raw format. A
raw image is the unprocessed set of pixel data directly from the camera's
sensor. They are often saved in formats proprietary to each manufacturer, such
as NEF for Nikon, CR2 for Canon, and MRW for Minolta. Adobe Systems has released
the DNG format, a royalty free raw image format which has been adopted by a few
camera manufacturers.
Raw files initially had to be processed in specialized image editing programs,
but over time many mainstream editing programs have added support for them, such
as Google's Picasa. Editing raw format images allows much more flexibility in
settings such as white balance, exposure compensation, color temperature, and so
on. In essence raw format allows the photographer make major adjustments without
losing image quality that would otherwise require retaking the picture.
Formats for movies are AVI, DV, MPEG, MOV (often containing motion JPEG), WMV,
and ASF (basically the same as WMV). Recent formats include MP4, which is based
on the QuickTime format and uses newer compression algorithms to allow longer
recording times in the same space.
Other formats that are used in cameras but not for pictures are the Design Rule
for Camera Format (DCF), an ISO specification for the camera's internal file
structure and naming, Digital Print Order Format (DPOF), which dictates what
order images are to be printed in and how many copies, and the Exchangeable
Image File Format (Exif), which uses metadata tags to document the camera
settings and date and time for image files
Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for
specific uses. Book publishers, specialty publishers, magazines, advertising
agencies, filmmakers, web designers, graphic artists, interior decor firms,
corporate creative groups, and others use stock photography to fulfill the needs
of their creative assignments.
A customer who uses stock photography instead of hiring a photographer can save
time and money, but can also sacrifice creative control. Stock images can be
presented in searchable online databases, purchased online, and delivered via
download or email.
A collection of stock photography may also be called a photo archive, picture
library, image bank or photo bank. As modern stock photography distributors
often carry stills, video, and illustrations, none of the existing terminology
provides a perfect match.
Industry structure
Images are filed at an agency that negotiates licensing fees on the
photographer's behalf in exchange for a percentage, or in some cases owns the
images outright. This is increasingly done online, especially with the newer
micro-stock models.
Pricing is determined by size of audience or readership, how long the image is
to be used, country or region where the images will be used and whether
royalties are due to the image creator or owner. Often, an image can be licensed
for less than $200, or in the case of the microstock photography websites as
little as $1.
With Rights Managed stock photography an individual licensing agreement is
negotiated for each use. Royalty-free stock photography offers a photo buyer the
ability to use an image in an unlimited number of ways for a single license fee.
The client may, however, request "exclusive" rights, preventing other customers
from using the same image for a specified length of time or in the same
industry. Such sales can command many thousands of dollars, both because they
tend to be high-exposure and because the agency is gambling that the image would
not have made more money had it remained in circulation. However, with royalty
free licensing there is no option for getting exclusive usage rights.
Some stock photography sites offer low-resolution photography free for the
purpose of preparing advertising comps to demonstrate a design. If the
advertiser decides to use the image, the rights to use the high-resolution image
then can be negotiated.
Professional stock photographers place their images with one or more stock
agencies on a contractual basis, with a defined commission basis and for a
specified contract term. Some photographers fund their own photo shoots, or
develop imagery in cooperation with an agency, while others submit photographs
originally produced as part of editorial (magazine) or commercial assignments.
Overview
Royalty-free
"Free" in this context means "free of royalties" rather than "no cost".
* Pay a one-time fee to use the image multiple times for multiple purposes (with
limits).
* No time limit on when the buyer can use an image.
* No one can have exclusive rights of a Royalty-free image (the photographer can
sell the image as many times as he wants).
* A Royalty-free image usually has a limit to how many times the buyer can
reproduce it. For example, a license might allow the buyer to print 500,000
brochures with the purchased image. The amount of copies made is called the
print run. Above that print run the buyer is required to pay a fee per brochure,
usually 1 to 3 cents. Magazines with a large print run cannot use a standard
Royalty-free license and therefore they either purchase images with a
Rights-managed license or have in-house photographers.
Rights-managed
(sometimes called "licensed images")
* The buyer must pay each time he uses the image.
* There is a time limit on how long a buyer has exclusive use of an image
(usually one year). This allows the photographer to sell exclusive rights to the
image again when the first buyer's time limit is up.
* The buyer must choose a Rights-managed license if the buyer wants exclusive
use of an image. The photographer would not be allowed to sell the image to
anyone else if exclusivity is part of the license. Not all Rights-managed
licenses are exclusive, that must be stipulated in the agreement.
* Fee is based on such things as exclusivity, distribution, length of time used,
geographic location of use.
* A Rights-managed image usually allows a much larger print run per image than a
Royalty-free license.
* Editorial is a form of rights-managed license when there are no releases for
the subjects. Since there are no releases the images cannot be used for
advertising or to depict controversial subjects, only for news or educational
purposes.
Features
* An important feature of web-based stock photography collections is that the
images have been embedded with meta-data, therefore making the images searchable
by using keywords.
History
One of the first major stock photography agencies was the one founded in 1920 by
H. Armstrong Roberts, which continues today under the name RobertStock.
For many years, stock photography consisted largely of outtakes ("seconds") from
commercial magazine assignments. By the 1980s, it had become a specialty in its
own right, with photographers creating new material for the express purpose of
submitting it to a stock house. Agencies attempted to become more sophisticated
about following and anticipating the needs of advertisers and communicating
these needs to photographers. Photographs were composed with more of an eye for
how they might look when combined with other elements; for example, a photo
might be shot vertically with space at the top and down the left side, with the
conscious intention that it might be licensed for use as a magazine cover.
Leading agencies during this time included The Image Bank, SuperStock, Comstock
Images, FPG, Index Stock Imagery which was recently acquired by The Photolibrary
Group, and Masterfile.
In the 1990s, a period of consolidation followed, with Getty Images and Corbis
becoming the two largest companies as a result of acquisitions. Today, stock
photography companies have largely moved online. In the early 2000s,
Jupitermedia Corporation has started buying some of the smaller players in the
market, aggregating them under the banner of their Jupiterimages division, and
became the third largest player in the market. The availability of the internet
provided a means for other, smaller companies to get foothold in the industry.
One such company is Alamy who has since become a significant competitor in the
market with over 9 million pictures in its gallery.
In the 2000s the microstock photography industry, led by iStockPhoto and later
ShutterStock, Dreamstime, Fotolia, and BigStockPhoto emerged as a rapidly
growing market. Using the Internet as their sole distribution method, and
recruiting mainly amateur and hobbyist photographers from around the globe,
these companies are able to offer stock libraries of good quality for very low
prices.
In 2003 ShutterPoint pioneered the open access model which allowed everyone to
upload and market images. The trend was continued by fotoLibra in 2004 and in
2005 Scoopt started a photo news agency for citizen journalism enabling the
public to upload and sell breaking news images taken with cameraphones; in
France, Tinepix is launched.
* binary (bilevel)
* grayscale
* color
* false-color
* multi-spectral
* thematic
The term digital image is also applied to data associated to points scattered
over a three-dimensional region, such as produced by tomographic equipment. In
that case, each datum is called a voxel.
Image viewing
The user can utilize different program to see the image. The GIF, JPEG and PNG
images can be seen simply using a web browser because they are the standard
internet image formats. The SVG format is more and more used in the web and is a
standard W3C format.
Some viewers offer a slideshow utility, to see the images in a certain folder
one after the other automatically.
Image calibration
Proper use of a digital image usually requires knowledge of the relationship
between it and the underlying phenomenon, which implies geometric and
photometric (or sensor) calibration. One must also keep in mind the unavoidable
errors that arise from the finite spatial resolution of the pixel array and the
need to quantize each sample to a finite set of possible values.
More than five million unique players access
their accounts to play RuneScape at least once per month. RuneScape offers both
free and subscription content and is designed to be accessible from any location
with an Internet connection and to run in an ordinary web browser without
straining system resources.
RuneScape takes place in the
fantasy-themed realm of Gielinor, which is divided into several different
kingdoms, regions, and areas. Players can travel throughout the gaming world on
foot, by using magical teleportation spells or devices, or mechanical means of
transportation. Each region offers different types of monsters, materials, and
quests to challenge players. Players are shown on the screen as customizable
avatars. They set their own goals and objectives, deciding which of the
available activities to pursue. There is no linear path that must be followed.
Players can engage in combat with other players or with monsters, complete
quests, or increase their experience in any of the available skills. Players
interact with each other through trading, chatting, or playing combative or
cooperative mini-games.
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With the rising popularity of
commercial MMORPG games came the desire from ardent players of these games to
run their own servers beside the ones run by the game's creator. Since the
original server software is not usually available, the behavior of the server
has to be re-engineered. This can be done by analyzing the data stream with the
original server, or by disassembling and analyzing the client which is
available.
Ultima Online was one of the first
large MMORPGs. Due to its openness in implementation, server emulators arose
very quickly, even during the beta stage of development. The destination to
which the client connects was changeable by simply editing a text file. In beta
stage the client-server data stream was not encrypted yet. The term server
emulator became known through Ultima Online server reimplementation such as UOX,
which was the pioneer. Many forks and reimplementations followed UOX, because
its source code was released under the GNU General Public License relatively
early. RunUO is today the most widely used UO-server emulator. After RuneScape
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Another useful site is
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A defining moment in internet
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Call our office today to set up an appointment. Learn more about how we can
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