Cameras come in many sizes and types. The basic term denotes any device--electronic or otherwise--that captures visible images, including camcorders, handheld cameras, movie cameras, and older film-based still cameras. The technology that these devices use to capture images, however, can basically be split into two groups: digital, and film-based. Film-based cameras have been around for some time. Developed in the first half of the 19th century, these devices were originally nothing more than novelty items. Eventually, however, technological refinements allowed them to become relatively portable, versatile, and quick. By the middle of the 20th century, the hand-held camera had reached a point of speed and effectiveness that allowed it to take many pictures on a single (relatively) tiny roll of photographic film. This state of technology remained pretty much static for some time. Film-based cameras grew smaller, more powerful, and quicker, but they still relied on rolls of film to get the job done. Then, in the 1990s, the digital revolution placed an even more powerful technology in the hands of photography. Digital technology meant that images could now be produced without film, allowing the photographer a hitherto unheard of level of versatility. Digital cameras have since become commonplace, and provide their users with a wide range of features and capabilities. Depending on memory and lens quality, these cameras can take extremely high-quality prints, store them on an internal hard-drive, and then transfer them to a computer. The prints, if produced with high quality photography paper and printers, can easily rival those produced by a film-based machine. |
