The camera has one small, slow chip and very little memory to do that interpolation. Your computer has a big, powerful processor and lots of memory, not to mention, no particular need to compromise their software routines to fit into a small amount of memory or trade quality for speed to avoid long delays after taking a picture. In short, your computer will do a vastly better job at interpolating the picture than your camera will, and to top that off you can choose different algorithms (often named after the mathematicians or programmers who created them, like Lanczos or Mitchell) and experiment with how well they work on a particular image. You can even save different versions of the file, including the original, which you can't if the camera is doing the work. There's nothing to be gained by compromising image quality, which is exactly what you're doing if you don't use the best filter you can get your hands on. The interpolated image even takes up more space on your camera's memory card, but it doesn't hold any more information than the original. Finally, as I mentioned above, it adds time between shots, as the camera has to grind away at reshaping your picture before you can take another one.
Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) data, saved by modern digital cameras in each picture file, is a powerful tool for both keeping track of your work and learning more about how to use your camera and how to take advantage of its capabilities. Created by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, this standard is now used by almost all digital cameras. EXIF data stores, as part of the picture file, information such as the date, time, camera model, and settings such as focus mode, flash mode, ISO sensitivity setting, white balance, and many more facts about the state of the camera when the picture was taken. The EXIF data actually envelops the picture data, be it compressed (usually JPEG format) or uncompressed (RAW or TIFF format) data. The data does add anywhere from 100 bytes to 64 kilobytes to the size of the file, but it is invaluable for anything from keeping track of work, indexing large numbers of photographs, or learning more about how your camera's settings affect the quality of the final product.
What is it that is actually capturing the image? Where film cameras have a roll of film exposed behind the aperture, digital cameras have a sensor. Most digital cameras use an array of photo sensors under a filter matrix which results in the sensors each recording red (8-12 bit), green (8-12 bit) or blue (8-12 bit) light intensities. These separate sensors or channels create what is often referred to as the Bayer matrix pattern where every other sensor records green with the alternating cells recording in red or blue. Each pixel in a conventional sensor only captures one color. This data is typically 10 or 12 bits per pixel, with 12 bits per pixel currently being most common. Most cameras now provide the option to instantaneously store the captured material in a RAW file while alternatively the camera's processor can weave the RAW data using all three color channels to provide an instant 24 bit full-color JPEG or TIFF display image. RAW is not an abbreviation but literally means "raw" or "unprocessed". A RAW data file contains the original image information as it comes off the sensor before in-camera processing so you have a variety of choices in processing the data on your PC using one of many editing software programs available.
Analog or film cameras use the term ASA speed, however it is important to remember that a single digital camera can capture and store images at several ISO speeds. Amplifying the image signal in a camera can also amplify noise and thereby higher ISO speeds may produce progressively more noise in the photo. The character of an image in a photo can also change noise. Where lighter areas in analog or film photos tend to have the most noise, it is the darker areas of digital photographs that have the largest amount of noise. Digital cameras produce three types of noise called random noise, fixed pattern noise and banding noise. Random noise describes the abnormal intensity of color fluctuations compared to the rest of the photograph. It is most influenced by the ISO speed however the pattern of random noise may change even if exposure settings remain the same. Random noise may be the least objectionable, but the most difficult to remove where the noise is too often mistaken for true image characteristics. Fixed Hot pixels or fixed pattern noise describe pixel intensity that far exceeds that of ambient random noise fluctuations.
If you are looking to turn your pictures into pieces of art, there are many options available to you, as well. You can turn your print into a black and white picture and hand color some details. You can create beautiful special effects that will really make your digital photo stand out in a crowd, too. As you can image, the tools to create the perfect picture can cost a lot of money, if you have to purchase them. If you are on a budget, or just like to save money, anything you can find for free is a bonus! Well, there are free photo editors out there, you just have to look for them. Since the introduction of the Internet, there are literally thousands upon thousands of pages of information that are geared specifically toward helping you achieve the pictures of your dreams. You don't have to spend one penny to edit your photographs. All you need is access to a computer and scanner and you are well on your way. Just log onto any one of the number of free photo editor applications available and a whole new world of editing possibilities will be right at your fingertips. Don't let your money, or lack of, keep you from making the best pictures, just download some freeware and start editing your own pictures!
For best results using fill flash, try to have your subject in shade with lit areas behind it. The fill flash takes care of the shade, and helps balance the light level so the subject and the background are clear and proportionately bright. If your camera has a "slow synchronized flash" feature, this can be used to combine foreground and background elements in a way not otherwise possible (because of the short reach of small, built-in flashes). With the use of a tripod and relatively still subjects, good quality shots can be taken in otherwise difficult conditions, such as night shots or even shots on a moving platform. Longer shutter delays can produce blur effects similar to the "moving traffic" effects often seen in advertising, and with a little patient experimentation you can produce shots with a mid-range digital camera that rival expensive commercial art.
Memory Sticks are used only in Sony products, and Sony is serious about keeping the technology in use. Unfortunately it seems like no one else is. They're available up to 4 Gigabytes in capacity, have good speed, but if you're using a Memory stick, it's probably because you're using a Sony camera and you don't have a choice. The newest common storage media are xD-Picture cards. Developed by Olympus and Fuji as a replacement for the older Smart Media cards, xD cards are compact and durable, with a heftier shell than older designs. They are stable in the market and likely to be around for a while, but they are gaining neither market share nor size rapidly - currently the largest xD cards are 1 Gigabyte. This is probably because only Olympus and Fuji now use this standard. Wide and wafer-thin, Smart Media cards define "legacy technology." Available only as large as 128 Megabytes, this is one technology I would have expected to have been "voted off the island" by now. Alas, they were used in tens if not hundreds of millions of cameras and smart phones, so they are still being made and will be available for some time. You won't find them in any new cameras, however.
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