The family of photography equipment has been expanded rapidly and steeped into the digital era. There're a variety of camera products developed for consumer and industrial uses. They include digital cameras, point and shoot cameras, SLR (single lens reflex) cameras, single use cameras, rangefinder cameras, TLR (twin lens reflex) cameras, medium and large format film cameras, instant cameras, and camcorders. Digital cameras use image sensor technology and memory storage for capturing and storing images in a digital format. Film cameras have been gradually replaced by digital cameras. The digital format allows images to be available instantly with no need for a chemical development process necessary for a conventional camera using light-sensitive films. Although the current camera technology is now focused on the digital camera which provides improved convenience, yet the conventional cameras, such as the single-lens camera, the automatic camera, microfilm camera, and the disposal camera, still have their own market. Camcorders can store video images on a recording medium and replay the stored images on a display. Camcorders actually are self-contained camera recorder units which allow recording video images and audio of live events onto a storage device.
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Friday, 16 February 2007 |
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A camcorder is capable of recording image signals picked-up by a image pick-up device or external input signals supplied from an external input terminal by a video tape recorder (VTR) or playing back video signals recorded by VTR. The commercialization of such small portable video camera/ videotape recorder combinations has made it possible to conveniently, efficiently and inexpensively videotape activities such as sporting events and social gatherings. A camcorder records on magnetic tape the image of an object to be photographed, and is equipped with a display through which the object photographed can be confirmed. A video camcorder has the function of a general video camera for imaging an object as well as the function of a video recorder for recording the image of the object. |
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Sunday, 11 February 2007 |
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Digital cameras provide several advantages over traditional film cameras in terms of data storage, manipulation, and transmission. A digital camera uses an electronic sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) to capture an image, a digital camera processor (DCP) to convert analog image signals from the CCD into digital image signals. Digital cameras are equipped with a display such as a liquid crystal display. The display device is used to display regenerated or reproduced images photographed and recorded, and display images during photography. A digital camera converts a photographed picture into a digital picture signal, compresses the digital picture signal, and records the compressed picture information to a record medium. A digital camera can be set to a variety of shooting conditions. |
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Tuesday, 16 January 2007 |
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A typical digital camera captures a picture and stores the captured pictorial information in a digital data format. A digital image photographed by a digital camera is generally recorded in a recording medium (a removable medium) such as a detachable memory card. Although the digital images can be stored and displayed on a computer, it may not be suitable for every day use. More recently, digital picture frames have been introduced as another mechanism for sharing digital images. Digital picture frames are image display devices that contain liquid crystal display (LCD) screens and are capable of displaying digital images. A digital picture frame includes a memory card for storing images to be displayed. The housing of a digital picture frame is in a manner similar to a conventional photo frame. |
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Monday, 11 December 2006 |
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In recent years, digital cameras or electronic cameras have rapidly come into widespread use in place of conventional cameras using a silver film. Digital camera is one of the widely spread consumer electronics. A digital camera typically includes a lens system for projecting and focusing the image of a subject onto the surface of an electronic image sensor. A digital camera uses an image pickup device, which is a kind of semiconductor device, such as a charged coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). A digital camera is equipped with a zoom lens which allows a photographer to zoom from a telephoto angle to a wide angle by adjusting the zoom lens. There are many kinds of zoom lens systems which may be available for the digital cameras. |
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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 |
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Night vision systems are utilized to allow a user to see objects at relatively low visibility light levels. Night vision systems typically are classified as either passive night vision systems or active night vision systems. Night vision gogles (NVG) are well known for their ability to enhance nighttime vision. The goggles employ intensifier devices which operate to multiply the incident light received to produce a display that is bright enough for presentation to the eyes of a viewer. Image intensifiers use photocathode upon which the incident light is focussed to generate electrons. The most prevalent type of night vision goggles is binocular NVG which have a pair of parallel optical channels. Many of night vision goggle systems are attached to a helmet or a head-gear set which is worn on a user's head. |
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Monday, 20 November 2006 |
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Rangefinders are used to measure distances to targets. A range finder determines ranges to illuminated objects by analyzing the propagation times of propagated signals. A laser rangefinder is an optical transceiver which is capable of measuring the distance between the rangefinder and a target in the distance. A typical laser range finder includes a laser source, a laser receiver and a processor. The laser source is directed at the object and a series of laser pulses are emitted. The pulses strike the object and are reflected. The detected pulses are processed to figure out the distance between the laser range finder and the object of interest. Rangefinder instruments are used in auto focus cameras and video cameras to find a shooting range in automatic mode by employing the principle of triangulation. |
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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 |
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A scanning electron microscope (SEM) observes a surface mode of the specimen by detecting the secondary electron being generated when a narrow electron beam is irradiated onto the specimen as the object by each detector such as the secondary electron detector, the reflection electron detector, and then displaying the image on a display. By scanning the irradiating electron beam across the sample surface and measuring an appropriate signal, such as the number of electrons incident on the anode, an image of the sample surface can be generated. Electron microscopes are used for observing very fine structures of samples in various research and development fields. A scanning electron microscope is used for observation of minute structures in semiconductor manufacturing processes. |
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Monday, 23 October 2006 |
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A web camera system typically includes a video camera that outputs a captured video image to a personal computer. Webcams are used to transmit videos, at different frame rates and resolutions depending upon the available bandwidth, to provide video conferencing functions when coupled with voice over IP protocols. A webcam captures a continual stream of video images and broadcasts the images via the Internet to any requesting web browser. A webcam may connect to a universal serial bus (USB) port of a personal computer and send video images to a browser that requests the images from the computer. PC cameras typically do not include a viewfinder. A user manually adjusts the focus on a PC camera while viewing the preview image produced by the camera on the monitor. |
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Sunday, 15 October 2006 |
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The single lens reflex (SLR) camera is a type of highly developed and popular camera which uses a hinged mirror to reflect the image formed by the lens onto a viewing screen until exposure. A single lens reflex camera generally consists of an optical system comprised of an objective lens, a pivoted movable mirror to reflect an inverted image upward to a viewing screen, and optics (a pentaprism) to erect the inverted image and direct it to an eyepiece. With the advance of digitization of cameras in recent years, digital cameras have become widely used instead of cameras using silver-halide films. A digital SLR camera combines the advantage of an image processing function, which is unique to digital cameras, with the advantage of the optical system being free from parallax error, which is unique to SLR cameras. |
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Thursday, 05 October 2006 |
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Video cameras come in many forms and sizes and can be used for a variety of purposes. Video surveillance is one of the most reliable and most common methods for maintaining security in government and industry. A typical surveillance video is directed at a location in order to protect the objects in the location from being stolen, to guard against intruders. In security applications several video cameras will be connected to a recording system that periodically records a short period of video from each camera. A video surveillance camera system typically includes a video camera with a pan and tilt mechanism and a display monitor with an operation terminal for controlling the video camera and the pan and tilt mechanism. Remote and locally located cameras typically include devices for camera control. |
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Monday, 18 September 2006 |
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A video camera is a device that takes continuous pictures and generates a signal for display or recording. Video is becoming a central medium for the storage, transmission, and retrieval of dense audio-visual information. Video cameras generally fall into four groups according to their applications: professional video cameras, camcorders, video surveillance cameras, and special systems. A camcorder is a consumer oriented electronic product that records on magnetic tape the image of an object to be photographed, and is equipped with a display. Professional video cameras are commonly used in electronic news gathering, electronic field production and studio applications. Video surveillance cameras are security control devices used to monitor activities in places with security concerns. |
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Thursday, 07 September 2006 |
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A security camera allows activity to be monitored for identification, for alerting the occurrence of unwanted activity or intrusions and for providing a signal that may be recorded for later reference or potential use as evidence. There is a large number of different security camera mounting schemes used in the security camera industry. A security monitoring system includes a number of video cameras that are connected via cables to a main monitor installed in a central control room. Video surveillance equipment can be fixed positioned camera and zoom lenses. Fixed positioned cameras are useful for wide angle shots or limited view applications such as entrances and exits. Automated motion detection systems are employed to alert the monitor of the presence of activity within the view of a camera. |
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Cameras and Optics
