The idea of a feed containing pictures of people seems like it should be dull until you start looking at the photos and you wonder about the people and where they live and who they are and wow... look at that. Before you know it, you're sucked into Flickr world. It's a little like Big Brother. The idea seems naff until you fix your eyes on the content and then you are hooked mate! This is the public feed from Flickr. My photos are here too. Can you find them?
WikiPedia info on Digital Cameras
Digital still cameras are cameras whose primary purpose is to capture photography in a digital format. Initially, a digital camera was characterized by the use of flash memory and USB or FireWire for storage and transfer of still photographs (though some early cameras used a serial port connection), and this is still the common meaning of the unadorned term. However, modern digital photography cameras have a video function, and a growing number of camcorders have a still photography function. In addition, some newer camcorders record video directly to flash memory and transfer over USB and FireWire. Among digital still cameras, most have a rear LCD for reviewing photographs. They are rated in megapixels; that is, the product of their maximum resolution dimensions in millions. The actual transfers to a host computer are commonly carried out using the USB mass storage device class (so that the camera appears as a drive) or using the Picture Transfer Protocol and its derivatives, in addition firewire is becoming more popular and supported among more digital cameras. All use either a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) sensor or novel sensors based upon either of those two principles, i.e. chips comprised of a grid of phototransistors to sense the light intensities across the plane of focus of the camera lens. CMOS sensors are differentiated from CCDs proper in that it uses less power and a different kind of light sensing material, however the differences are highly technical and many manufacturers still consider the CMOS chip a charged coupled device. For our purposes, a chip sensor is a CCD.
* Standard Digital Cameras (also called compact digital cameras or digicams): This encompasses most digital cameras. They are characterized by great ease in operation and easy focusing; this design allows for limited motion picture capability. They have an extended depth of field. This allows objects at multiple depths to be in focus simultaneously, which accounts for much of their ease of focusing. It is also part of the reason professional photographers find their images flat or artificial-looking. They excel in landscape photography and casual use. The typical file format they save pictures in is JPEG.
* "Prosumer" Cameras are a general group of higher end cameras that physically resemble SLR "professional" cameras and share some features, but are still geared towards consumers. These cameras tend to have a large optical zoom lens, which compromises a "do it all" ability with barrel distortion and pincushioning. Prosumer cameras are often marketed as and confused with digital SLR cameras. The distinguishing characteristics are they do not have a removeable lens, can take movies, and scene composition is done with either the LCD display or the EVF (Electronic Viewfinder). The overall performance tends to be slower than a true digital SLR, but they are capable of good image quality. Many of the these cameras can save in JPEG or RAW format.
* Digital Single-Lens Reflex Cameras (DSLR) are intended for use by professional photographers and thus externally resemble film cameras. The two main features of a DSLR is they have removable lenses and the image compositing is done through the viewfinder using a mirror-reflected image identical to the single-lens reflex system in film cameras. A few early SLR cameras (the Olympus E-10 being one) did not have removable lenses. DSLR cameras have larger sensors than compacts or prosumers, and thus higher sensivity in dim lighting and less noise overall in the pictures they take. They are also bulkier and frequently much more expensive than their casual-use oriented counterparts. The ability to change lenses gives the same benefits as in film cameras, namely tailoring a lens to an intended use instead of a compromise. Often they use the same or similar lenses as their film counterparts, with the caveat that since the sensor is smaller than 35mm film the lens has an added zoom effect, the ratio typically around 1.3 to 1.5 times more than film. DLSR cameras usually have an "instant-on" ability and the autofocus and general performance is much faster than compact cameras. Two characteristics many consumers are surprised to find is DSLR's do not take movies and the LCD screen is only for reviewing pictures. All compositing is done by the optical viewfinder, which is clearer than an LCD based EVF, although as of 2006 there may be one DSLR that does use the LCD for a live preview. They are superb for portraiture and artistic photography, and virtually all of them can save in JPEG and RAW format.
