Digital Camera Vocabulary
August 19, 2010 by Binary Camera
Filed under compare digital cameras
When it comes to the world of digital cameras, there is a lot to know. It can be difficult for someone new in the industry or new to digital camera use to know what different terms mean and to understand their digital camera. Even if the manual comes with a detailed explanation of everything, it can be difficult to know what all that terminology means.
When you learn the common digital camera vocabulary, you will be able to make sense of your camera manual but you will also be able to read other articles, tutorials and more to help you better understand your digital camera and how to get the most from it.
Here is some digital camera vocabulary you should know to help you:
• Pixels- the elements that make up the digital image, pixels can not be seen with the naked eye unless enlarged to great detail.
• PPI- stands for pixels per inch, the higher this number, the more intricate the detail of your digital photos will be
• Megapixels- you will hear this term used on the packaging of the camera and this refers to the size of the image and not the actual quality of the image
• JPEG- this refers to the process of compressing the image taken by the camera into streams of bytes which can then be decompressed back into their original image- this increases the number of photos that can be taken and stored on the camera
• MPEG- this refers to Moving Pictures Expert Group which is a group that overseas the video and audio encoding standards, if you have an MPEG digital camera, this means that it can also take video clips
• LCD- this refers to Liquid Crystal Display which is the type of display screen used on digital cameras, they can vary in size and are in full color so you can preview your photo before you decide if you want to keep it or not. The LCD also allows you to access the menu and controls of your digital camera.
These are some of the most common digital camera terms used. There may be more which are used in your digital camera manual and you can usually find an explanation of these and the abbreviations used in the glossary of the manual.
You may also see that your digital camera comes with a storage device. This will determine how much space your camera has for holding video clips or photos. You can typically upgrade this with a larger memory card or storage card if you choose. This will allow you to take more photos or digital video clips without having to unload your camera. This is great for longer trips, vacations and other events where you will want a lot of photos but won’t have access to your computer for downloading them and clearing the camera.
