Cameras: Conventional vs Digtl

In 1839, the camera was introduced to the world from Giroux, France. When the camera was first invented, its functions were quite slow and a bit sketchy. People having their pictures taken would have to stand perfectly still for a minute or two before the image could be fully developed inside the contraption. My microwave can cook me an egg faster than that. Even then, the camera was only capable of producing smudgy shades of gray. Dorothy is back in Kansas, Toto. At first, the black and white figures on the film were difficult to make out, but as the camera developed over the years, it became quite an effective tool for the sake of history.

Today’s conventional camera is a very powerful item, which produces crystal-clear images in just a second. Many cameras come with a strong zoom, doubling the camera’s functions as a pair of binoculars. They offer red-eye reduction and are generally quite simple to use. More sophisticated models allow the user to set the camera on a timer so the photographer can photograph himself. Imagine: in the beginning, the camera took what seemed like decades just to snap a shot, and now we have installed timers to slow the thing down!

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2 Gross MP, maximum aperture, and subtractive noise reduction don’t fit in well with most people’s vocabularies. including no film loading or unloading, not having to get the photos developed, and importing the pictures onto your own computer. There are currently two choices for the photography buff: the simple, conventional camera that digs a little deeper into the pockets, and the digital camera that allows the user to download pictures to his grandma in Florida, if he is lucky enough to figure out how. The camera has gone from fuzzy, black and white smudges to hi-tech, “go get your digital degree at MIT,” mega pixel nonsense. The idea didn’t take long to spread, either.

Remember when “digital” meant the kind of watch that doesn’t have hands? Now it appears that everything has become digital.

Aside from all the elegant features and conveniences, however, many little complexities come with owning a digital camera as well. In most cases, for instance, if the consumer doesn’t have at least a mild idea of what he is supposed to do with this camera, then he may as well just sell it to his neighbor. The photographer doesn’t have to spend a dime to get the photos developed, because all the images are saved byte by byte in a memory chip inside the camera. We now have digital cell phones, digital video, digital music, toys, salad shooters, washing machines—the list goes on.

Many conveniences come packaged with that little piece of “Future or Bust” hardware. Only a few years have passed since the digital camera was introduced to the world.

The world has come a long way as far as photography. Let’s face it; digital cameras are not exactly a snap to figure out (no pun intended).

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Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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