The art and science of producing and manipulating digital photographs that are represented as bit maps. - www.webopedia.

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digital - system based on discontinuous data, between two values, 0 and 1, or off and on, digitally process in a series of zeroes and ones. bit maps - a representation of rows and columns of dots, of a graphic image. The value of each dot is stored in one or more bits of data. For simple monochrome images, one bit is sufficient to represent each dot, but for colors and shades of gray, each dot requires more than one bit of data. The more bits used to represent a dot, the more colors and shades of gray that can be represented. The density of the dots, known as the resolution, determines how sharp the image is represented. This is often expressed in dots per inch (dpi) or simply by the number of rows and columns, such as 640 by 480.

 A form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film. The captured image is then stored as a digital file ready for digital processing (colour correction, sizing, cropping, etc.), viewing or printing.. - http/ /en.wikipedia.org

ANALOG Using film for storage Image were made by exposing light sensitive photographic film and used chemical photographic processing to develop and stabilize the image. Image captured cannot be viewed until processed. Less colour and contrast

DIGITAL Using sensor for storage Image can be displayed, printed, stored, manipulated, transmitted, and archived using digital and computer techniques, without chemical processing. Instant review on captured image, and can be deleted. More colour and better contrast

Type Low Resolution webcam, cell phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Point and Shoot Pro-Sumer - skill levels between a professional and consumer.

Functions Creates photos intended for display on the internet, LCD display, cell phones etc. Not intended to produce quality images. Small in size, lightweight, less costly, easy to use. Have high quality lenses and advanced features for creative control. Some have long telephoto zooms lenses while others start at wide angle. A few have a zoom range from wide to super telephoto. Most advanced digital cameras accept accessories and add-ons including converter lenses, filters, remote controls and external flashes. Have outstanding lens, produce high resolution images and accept interchangeable lenses and sophisticated accessories. Perform better in low light. DSLRs function automatically but also have a full range of manual controls. You can buy only a DSLR body, and purchase lenses separately.

DSLR - Digital Single lens Reflect

Type CompactFlash (CF)

Functions First specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994. Uses flash memory (a non-volatile storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed) to store an image. 2 types of cards Type I (3.3 mm thick) and Type II (5 mm thick). Produced in 1997 by Siemens AG and SanDisk. Uses flash memory card format. Produced by Sony in 1998. Is a removable flash memory card format. Types - Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, (including the PRO Duo), Memory Stick Micro (M2).

MultiMedia Card (MMC) Memory Sticks

Secure Digital Card (SD)

Developed by Matsushita, SanDisk, and Toshiba in 1999. Is a flash memory card format.

The type of file format depends on how you plan to use the photo, how much editing, the quality desired, and memory card storage space available.

- JPEG / JPG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) delivers a compressed version of the photo taken. The compression level can be adjusted allowing you to choose between higher and lower quality. Eg, 5-megapixel DSLR set to high resolution is good for 8 x10 print, while a lower quality setting is fine for email. Disadvantage: The image retains the effects of the settings you used to shoot the picture. Although JPEG can be edited, some image degradation will occurs. - TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) flexible and adaptable file format for handling images and data within a single file, by including the header tags (size, definition, image-data arrangement, applied image compression) defining the image's geometry. The ability to store image data in a lossless format makes a TIFF file a useful image archive - a TIFF file using lossless compression (or none) may be edited and re-saved without losing image quality. Can be use across multiple platforms. Disadvantage : Not all DSLRs offer this format. Offers high quality than JPEG, thus files are very large. TIFF images take longer to capture and take up more space on the camera than JPEG.

- RAW The camera does not process/compress a RAW image, instead it will be done by photo-editing software. Named because the image is not yet processed (raw) and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited. Normally, the image is processed by photo-editing software and later converted to TIFF or JPEG format. Disadvantage : The camera does not compress the photos thus, the image use more storage space and take longer to capture. RAW files must be converted to TIFF or JPEG files (with proprietary software) before it can be printed or emailed.

* Whether JPEG, TIFF or RAW is better, it depends on what is important to the photographer.

1. Lens Alignment - a red dot use to align, twist and click the lens in place more easily. 2. F lash Pop Up Button - Press for pop up flash, useful for fill-in flash. If in full auto mode, the camera will decide whether or not to use the flash. 3. Lens Release - allow the lens to be twisted and released. Change lenses out of dusty areas and try to have the camera switched off. The static produced when the camera is on will attract dust to the sensor.

4. Depth of Field preview - The depth of field determines how much an image is in focus. Eg, if you took a photo of someone with a mountain in the background, and both the subject and the mountain are in focus, you have deep or large depth of field. If the subject is in focus but the mountains are blurred, you have shallow or small depth of field. E.g. - F16 gives deep depth of field and F2.8 gives shallow depth of field. This button will close the aperture to give you and idea (through the viewfinder) of what will be in focus. 5. Lens contacts - These line up with the contacts of any compatible lenses, allowing the cameras auto focus and other settings to work in time with your lens's settings.

6. Mirror - allows you to see, through the viewfinder, what you will photograph by reflecting the image up, and into the eyepiece. It flips up as you press the shutter release and returns once the picture is taken. Never touch the mirror with your fingers and use special cleaning equipment and solutions. Any dust on the mirror will not appear in your photographs. 7. Grip - usually rubberised for more effective handling of the digital SLR cameras.

8. Shutter Release Button - takes the picture at whatever settings you have made. A half press will start the auto focus and exposure calculations. 9. Focus Assist Beam - It illuminates the subject in poor light to assist the auto focus. It will sometimes be used as an indicator for the self timer function. 10. Pop Up Flash - Semi-pro or Prosumer DSLR 's have a built in flash, when on full auto, will pop up when required. On the manual settings, you have to activate it via a button for more creative photography.

1. Viewfinder - with most DSLR, you see about 95-98% of what you shoot. Will see the focussing ring at the centre of the image plus most of the other information such as shutter speeds, aperture settings etc. 2. Dioptre Adjustment - Very handy if you are slightly long or short sighted. As in binoculars, you can adjust the viewfinder to match the difference in your eyes, enabling you to use the camera without your glasses. 3. Rubber Eyecup - This can be removed but is handy for 2 reasons. If you wear glasses, it will protect the lenses from scratching against the camera. Without glasses, it helps the viewfinder to mould around your eye and eliminate any surrounding glare.

4. Joystick Dial - allow you to move around a menu or image in display mode. 5. Exposure Lock/Zoom Button - serves 2 purposes. Firstly, as the Exposure Lock button. If you aim the camera at a scene and press this, it will record and keep (for a few seconds) that exact exposure whilst you re-compose and shoot. Good for if you are shooting into light and want control over the exposure. (Doesn't work in the manual setting). Secondly, when using the image preview screen to look at your exposed images, using this button will zoom in on a specific area.

6. Focus Point Selector/Zoom Button - has 2 functions. Firstly, it is the Auto focus point selector. You can choose from a number of points as to which you would like to use. If you select all of them, the camera will pick the best point automatically. Secondly, when reviewing your images on the screen, this will zoom out of a specific area. 7. Write Indication Light - This will vary in its position depending on the camera you are using. When it flashes red, it is writing data from the recently exposed images, to the CF card or other media. If you open the media door whilst it is flashing, you normally lose the images.

8. Jog Dial and Set button - jog dial will scroll through images or items in a menu, and set button will select an image or setting in the menu. 9. On/Off Button - power on and off, also activates/deactivates the jog dial. 10. Erase Button - erase any selected images. You are normally asked first "are you sure" as a safeguard. 11. Play Button - will display the last image taken. Then you can scroll through all the others. 12. Jump Button - used to jump 2 or 3 images or menu items at a time. Good if in a hurry.

13. Info - bring up all the information of any image that you select and view. It will tell you the exposure settings, white balance, date/time, image size, etc. 14. Menu Button - bring up all the internal menu functions on the screen. Scroll through using the dial and select buttons. 15. Screen - displays menus and images that have been exposed.

1. Light for LCD Display - Turns on the light to illuminate the LCD panel in low light conditions. 2. AF/WB - Auto focus/white balance setting. Pressing this brings up the choices for white balance (i.e. AUTO/daylight/sun/shadow/tungsten etc), and auto focus (i.e. One shot or Servo etc). One shot means the camera will focus once and take the image. Servo means the cameras focussing system automatically keep tracking and re-focussing on the subject until you press the shutter. Great for sports/action shots!

3. Drive/ISO - Drive means auto drive or frame rate. You can take a single shot or have the camera on continuous mode which means it will keep firing at 3, 5 or 8 frames per second etc., (depending on your camera), until you remove your finger or the buffer (memory) is full. ISO is the film or sensor sensitivity. 100 ISO is standard sensitivity and will produce fine grain, clear images. 1600 or 3200 ISO on the film or sensor is highly sensitive, meaning you can shoot well in low light conditions without a flash, although you lose a bit in the quality and images will appear more grainy.

4. Shutter Button - takes the picture at whatever settings you have made. A half press will start the auto focus and exposure calculations. 5. Top Dial - used to change various settings in either menu by scrolling up or down. Normally used to change shutter speeds or aperture settings.

6. Metering/Flash Compensation - The metering system is in the screen that you see through the viewfinder when lining up a shot. It will measure the light settings and set the cameras shutter/aperture accordingly. Can be change from full, partial or spot metering, means the camera will expose to the whole scene, a part of the scene (centre weighted) or a single point (spot). The flash compensation button will allow you to fool the camera into thinking that it needs more or less light from your flashgun in order to expose the image correctly. It also allows you more creativity as you play with the settings. If a scene appears underexposed when you have used the flashgun, try increasing the flash compensation by a couple of stops.

7. LCD Screen - display all the exposure, speed ISO etc., settings that you currently have set. 8. Hotshoe - The area where you can place an external flashgun.

9. Exposure Control Dial - from full auto mode (like a point and shoot) to fully manual. It includes easy automatic settings for various modes such as sports, close up, landscape, night and portraits and also allow you to control the built in flash and depth of field settings.

9. Exposure Control Dial Auto (normally coloured) takes care of the exposure automatically. Usually possible to set the resolution and flash mode. Tips - it is important to check the Megapixel/Quality setting set to its highest mode. P Programmed. another auto mode, but with few features for the user to control the settings. The ISO and WB can be adjusted. If the flash is automatic in the Auto mode, it can be forced to Off in this mode. P also allows the user to adjust the balance between aperture and shutter, when the user increases the shutter, the camera opens the aperture to compensate and vice versa.

S Shutter Priority (Tv on some models) a programmed mode, but with the ability to specify the shutter speed. Takes care of the aperture and ISO to correct the exposure. Tips low shutter speed allows a motion effect, while higher shutter speed allows to freeze action.

A Aperture Priority (Av on some models) Functions like the shutter priority mode, but with the ability to specify the aperture speed instead. The camera will take care of the shutter speed and ISO (if auto) to compensate. Can be set to control depth of field, where a larger aperture setting reduces the depth of field. The lower the depth of field, the more the background and foreground will be out of focus, while keeping the subject in sharp focus. The larger the sensor in the camera, the more effect the aperture has on depth of field. Tricks - If a shallow depth of field is required and the camera does not have this mode, try setting the camera to P mode and set the ISO setting to low value (eg 100). This will cause the camera to use wider aperture to compensate. Then set the camera to Macro and fully zoom to the cameras most telephoto setting. Finally move the camera to as close as possible to the subject where the camera can still focus on it when the shutter is half pressed down.

M Manual ives the user full control over the shutter and aperture. If the ISO setting is set to auto, the camera will adjust this to control exposure.

Macro (flower icon) has an extra focus range to allow the camera to focus on close-up items. On DSLR, the Macro mode gives priority to close-up objects over more distant objects, thus reducing the focusing time of close-up items or preventing the camera focusing on a distant object when the intended object is nearby.

Portrait (person icon) the camera gives priority to close-up subjects with face detection enabled and sets the flash to Red-eye reduction. No Flash (No flash symbol) On some cameras where the flash cannot be turned off in the Auto mode, this setting is effectively the same as the Auto mode but with the flash disabled.

10. Pop up Flash - Semi-pro or Prosumer DSLR 's have a built in flash, when on full auto, will pop up when required. On the manual settings, you have to activate it via a button for more creative photography

1. Battery compartment - re-chargeable batteries. 2. Tripod Socket - to attach the camera to most makes of tripod.