Digital photography

The latest generation of digital cameras demonstrates some of the technological changes.

The field consists of two broad categories. In the first, used primarily in the studio, the camera attaches directly to the computer (via SCSI cable). Software translates the captured image into a Photoshop file, and images can be immediately manipulated and saved for use in almost any medium.

In the second category, the camera is portable (not tethered to the computer). This is the kind usually seen in the consumer market. These cameras have storage devices known as "PCMCIA cards," and because of their typically limited memory/storage capacity, they generally require compromises in image quality. They therefore often fall short of the needs of the DTP professional, despite the value of their portability. However, pro-quality equipment is, of course, available.

In addition, all digital cameras have file size limitations. These limitations are directly related to the size of the camera's processing chip and/or its interpolation programming. File size requirements (and the choice of camera) are determined by the intended end use of the image.