Background

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2. Background2.1. Digital Camera Technology--How Things Work

Digital cameras work with the same basic concept as a traditional camera. They have a viewfinder or LCD screen to show the image prior to taking a photograph, a lens with a shutter behind it to allow the light from the subject to hit a light sensitive material. However, this is where most of the similarities end.

Digital cameras use a CCD (Charged Coupled Device) to sense the colors of the light and their intensity. The CCD can be likened to a very find piece of graphing paper, with thousands of little squares (transistors) to which sense the differences between the colors. There are three types of transistors used in commonplace CCDs, red, green and blue. Each transistor then passes the color and intensity it sensed to and Analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The ADC then converts the information passed to it by the transistors into a digital format, or binary 1's and 0's. The digital output of the ADC is then passed to a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The DSP adjusts the contrast and other image details to get the perfect look and then compresses the data into a file format like JPEG (Joint Photographics Expert Group).

Digital cameras may also have the ability to do an optical or a digital zoom on an image. An optical zoom is when a lens is used to get a closer look at the subject. A digital zoom is used to enhance the optical zoom for a larger image even though the maximum size has been attained via optical zoom. Even though an image can be resized later, it is suggested to use the built in digital zoom of the camera at this point before any compression has been done to the image. File formats like JPEG tend to degrade in quality when resized more so then when the image is resized by the camera's software. This is due to artifacts left behind from the compression.

A good resource for definitions of the terms used above is Digital Photography Review. Please refer there for more information. Kodak also has a good site with much information on how things work, Kodak Digital Learning Center.

2.2. Kodak Digital Camera Product Line

The technical specifications for the cameras in the Kodak Digital Camera product line have been attained from owners of the cameras and from third party web sites. None of the information in this section has been taken or compared to any Kodak documentation or their web site. Please submit missing and or incorrect information not obtained from copyrighted Kodak materials to khemicals@marblehorse.org. This information is useful to not only track the progression of digital cameras and as a comparison tool but also for many other technical uses.

2.2.1. DC5000

CDD Resolution 2.1 Megapixel Image Resolution 1760 x 1168; 896 x 592 pixels Image Quality Options Best, Better, Good Image Storage Compact Flash Card Viewfinder 1.8” TFT color LCD and optical viewfinder Lens 2x zoom, autofocusing Digital Zoom 3x Focus Range 0.25m to infinity Exposure Auto with manual override Shutter Speed 1/2 - 1/755 second Aperature Range f/6.5 - f/13.0 ISO Equivalent 100 Scripting DigitaOS Burst Capture Yes Time Lapse Yes Orientation Sensor Yes Self Timer 10 seconds Tripod Mount Yes Flash Strobe flash (9.8' range) and optional external flash sync File Formats JPEG (.JPG) User Interface ? Power 4 AA batteries or AC Power Adapter Dimensions 140mm wide x 89mm deep x 83mm high Weight 1.0 lb without batteries Video Out NTSC or PAL

2.2.2. DC4800

CDD Resolution 3.3 Megapixels Image Resolution 2160 x 1440; 1800 x 1200; 1536 x 1024; 1080 x 720 pixels Image Quality Options Uncompressed TIFF, Normal and Basic Image Storage Compact Flash Card Viewfinder 1.8” TFT color LCD and optical viewfinder Lens 3x zoom, autofocusing Digital Zoom 2x Focus Range 7.8” to infinity Exposure Auto with manual override Shutter Speed 1/1000 - 16 seconds Aperature Range f/2.8 - f/8.0 ISO Equivalent 100, 200 and 400 Scripting ? Burst Capture Yes Time Lapse ? Orientation Sensor ? Self Timer 10 seconds Tripod Mount Yes Flash Strobe flash (9.8' range) File Formats JPEG (.JPG), TIFF (.TIFF) User Interface ? Power LiIon rechargeable batter pack or optional AC adapter Dimensions 4.72” wide x 2.56” deep x 2.72” high Weight 0.72 lb without batteries Video Out NTSC or PAL

2.2.3. DC3800

CDD Resolution 2.3 Megapixel Image Resolution 1792 x 1184; 896 x 592 pixels Image Quality Options Best, Better, Good Image Storage Compact Flash Card Viewfinder 1.5” TFT color LCD and optical viewfinder Lens autofocusing Digital Zoom 2x Focus Range 8” to infinity Exposure Auto Shutter Speed 1/2 - 1/1000 of a second Aperature Range f/2.8 - f/8.0 ISO Equivalent 100 Scripting ? Burst Capture Yes Time Lapse ? Orientation Sensor ? Self Timer 10 seconds Tripod Mount Yes Flash Strobe flash (8.2' range) File Formats JPEG (.JPG) User Interface ? Power 2 AA batteries or AC Power Adapter Dimensions 3.7” wide x 2.4” deep x 1.3” high Weight 0.36 lb without batteries Video Out NTSC

2.2.4. DC3400

CDD Resolution 1901 x 1212 pixels Image Resolution 1760 x 1168; 896 x 592 pixels Image Quality Options Best, Better, Good Image Storage Compact Flash Card Viewfinder 1.8” TFT Color LCD and optical viewfinder Lens 2x zoom, autofocusing Digital Zoom 3x Focus Range 9.8” to infinity Exposure Auto Shutter Speed 1/2 - 1/755 second Aperature Range Wide: f/3.1 - f/8.1; Telephoto: f/3.9 - 10.3 ISO Equivalent 100 Scripting ? Burst Capture ? Time Lapse ? Orientation Sensor ? Self Timer 10 seconds Tripod Mount Yes Flash Strobe flash (9.8' range) and optional external flash sync File Formats JPEG (.JPG) User Interface ? Power 4 AA batteries or AC Power Adapter Dimensions 5.2” wide x 2.1” deep x 3.0” high Weight 0.75 lb without batteries Video Out NTSC or PAL

2.2.5. DC3200

CDD Resolution 1280 x 960 Image Resolution 1152 x 864; 576 x 432 pixels Image Quality Options Best, Better, Good Image Storage 2 MB Internal and Compact Flash Card slot Viewfinder 1.6” TFT color LCD and optical viewfinder Lens autofocusing Digital Zoom 2x Focus Range 24” to infinity Exposure Auto Shutter Speed 1/4 - 1/500 of a second Aperature Range f/3.6 - f/8.0 ISO Equivalent 100 Scripting ? Burst Capture ? Time Lapse ? Orientation Sensor ? Self Timer ? Tripod Mount ? Flash Strobe flash (8' range) File Formats JPEG (.JPG) User Interface ? Power 4 AA batteries Dimensions 4.45” wide x 3.19” deep x 2.1” high Weight 0.475 lb without batteries Video Out NTSC only (US Version) or NTSC/PAL (Canadian Version)

2.2.6. DC290

CDD Resolution 1901 x 1212 pixels Image Resolution 2240 x 1500; 1792 x 1200; 1440 x 960; 720 x 480 pixels Image Quality Options ? Image Storage Compact Flash Card Viewfinder 2.0” TFT color LCD and optical viewfinder Lens 3x zoom, autofocusing Digital Zoom 2x Focus Range 12” to infinity Exposure Auto with manual override Shutter Speed 1/400 - 16 second Aperature Range Wide: f/3.0 - f/15.3; Telephoto: f/4.7 - f/16.0 ISO Equivalent 100 Scripting DigitaOS Burst Capture Yes Time Lapse Yes Orientation Sensor Yes Self Timer 10 seconds Tripod Mount Yes Flash Strobe flash (9.8' range) and optional external flash sync File Formats JPEG (.JPG) and Flashpix (.FPX) User Interface GUI Power 4 AA batteries or AC Power Adapter Dimensions 4.6” wide x 2.2” deep x 4.2” high Weight 1.2 lb without batteries Video Out NTSC or PAL

2.2.7. DC280

CDD Resolution 1901 x 1212 pixels Image Resolution 1760 x 1168; 896 x 592 pixels Image Quality Options Best, Better and Good Image Storage Compact Flash Card Viewfinder 1.8” TFT color LCD and optical viewfinder Lens 3x zoom, autofocusing Digital Zoom 2x Focus Range 0.5m - Infinity; 0.25m - 0.5m Exposure Auto with manual override Shutter Speed 1/2 - 1/755 second Aperature Range Wide: f/3.0 - f/7.6; Telephoto: f/3.8 - f/9.6 ISO Equivalent 70 Scripting ? Burst Capture ? Time Lapse ? Orientation Sensor ? Self Timer 10 seconds Tripod Mount ? Flash Strobe flash (9.6' range) File Formats JPEG (.JPG) User Interface GUI Power 4 AA batteries or AC Power Adapter Dimensions 5.2” wide x 2.0” deep x 3.0” high Weight 0.75 lb without batteries Video Out NTSC or PAL

2.2.8. DC265

CDD Resolution 1548 x 1032 pixels Image Resolution 1536 x 1024; 1152 x 768; 768 x 512 pixels