How Digital Photography Works
2nd Edition
Published on 5. March 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-7897-3630-7 (ISBN)
Description
A full-color, illustrated adventure into the high-tech wonders inside your digital camera by the author/illustrator team that created the bestselling How Computers Work.
With clear and simple explanations that say, "You, too, can understand this," and brilliant, full-color illustrations, How Digital Photography Works, Second Edition, gives you detailed information on the hidden workings of digital cameras, professional picture-taking techniques, and even photo-editing software. Some of the topics covered in this groundbreaking book include:
? How Digital Viewfinders Frame Your Pictures
? How Twin Lens Cameras and Tilt-and-Shift Lenses Change the Rules
? How Cameras Focus on Moving Targets
? How Exposure Systems Balance Aperture and Shutter
? How Electronic Flashes Create a Burst of Light
? How Studio Lighting Creates a Perfect Lighting Environment
? How Color Calibration Makes What You See on the Screen Match What You See on Paper
? How Your Camera's Microprocessor Manipulates Images
? How Photoshop Expands a Photographer's Artistry
Introduction
Part 1: Getting to Know Digital Cameras
Chapter 1 The Workings of a Digital Camera
Chapter 2 Inside Digital Video Cameras
Part 2: How Digital Cameras Capture Images
Chapter 3 How Lenses Work
Chapter 4 How Light Plays Tricks on Perception
Chapter 5 How Digital Exposure Sifts, Measures, and Slices Light
Chapter 6 How Technology Lets There Be Light
Chapter 7 How Light Becomes Data
Chapter 8 How New Tech Changes Photography
Part 3: How the Digital Darkroom Works
Chapter 9 How Software Changes Pixels by the Numbers
Chapter 10 How Digital Retouching Rescues Family Heirlooms
Chapter 11 How the Digital Darkroom Makes Good Photos into Great Fantasies
Part 4: How Digital Print-Making Works
Chapter 12 How Computers and Printers Create Photographs
Chapter 13 How Photo-Quality Printers Work
Glossary
Index
With clear and simple explanations that say, "You, too, can understand this," and brilliant, full-color illustrations, How Digital Photography Works, Second Edition, gives you detailed information on the hidden workings of digital cameras, professional picture-taking techniques, and even photo-editing software. Some of the topics covered in this groundbreaking book include:
? How Digital Viewfinders Frame Your Pictures
? How Twin Lens Cameras and Tilt-and-Shift Lenses Change the Rules
? How Cameras Focus on Moving Targets
? How Exposure Systems Balance Aperture and Shutter
? How Electronic Flashes Create a Burst of Light
? How Studio Lighting Creates a Perfect Lighting Environment
? How Color Calibration Makes What You See on the Screen Match What You See on Paper
? How Your Camera's Microprocessor Manipulates Images
? How Photoshop Expands a Photographer's Artistry
Introduction
Part 1: Getting to Know Digital Cameras
Chapter 1 The Workings of a Digital Camera
Chapter 2 Inside Digital Video Cameras
Part 2: How Digital Cameras Capture Images
Chapter 3 How Lenses Work
Chapter 4 How Light Plays Tricks on Perception
Chapter 5 How Digital Exposure Sifts, Measures, and Slices Light
Chapter 6 How Technology Lets There Be Light
Chapter 7 How Light Becomes Data
Chapter 8 How New Tech Changes Photography
Part 3: How the Digital Darkroom Works
Chapter 9 How Software Changes Pixels by the Numbers
Chapter 10 How Digital Retouching Rescues Family Heirlooms
Chapter 11 How the Digital Darkroom Makes Good Photos into Great Fantasies
Part 4: How Digital Print-Making Works
Chapter 12 How Computers and Printers Create Photographs
Chapter 13 How Photo-Quality Printers Work
Glossary
Index
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 204 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
574 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7897-3630-7 (9780789736307)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Ron White | Timothy Edward Downs
How Digital Photography Works
Book
09/2005
Que Corporation,U.S.
€47.22
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Author Ron White is the author of the award-winning, decade-long best-seller How Computers Work and a dozen other books on digital photography, computers, and underground music. He has been a photojournalist for three decades, both shooting photos and writing for some of the best-known publications in the United States. He gained attention early in his career by leaving the water running in the darkroom at the San Antonio Light, flooding the publisher's office. He has since acquired drier recognition as a newspaper and magazine executive and as an award-winning writer and publication designer. He has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Robert F. Kennedy Awards for his criticism and investigative reporting and by the National Magazine Awards for his self-effacing humor as a feature writer and columnist at PC Computing. He has been a host on NPR's Beyond Computing and a frequent guest on television and radio to explain new technology. Currently, he is working on The Daily Digital Digest, a newsletter and Internet blog to expand on the information found in his books. Tim Downs and Ron White have worked together on editorial and advertising technical guides for more than 10 years. Ron lives with his wife, Sue, in San Antonio. He can be reached at ron@ronwhite.com.
Illustrator Timothy Edward Downs is an award-winning magazine designer, a photographer, and the illustrator of the best-seller How Computers Work. He has directed and designed several national consumer business, technology, and lifestyle magazines, always infusing a sense of "How it Works" into every project. By tapping his vast computer system and process knowledge, Tim has developed the richly illustrative style that is unique to the How It Works series. In How Digital Photography Works, Tim has further blurred the lines between informational illustration and photography.
Illustrator Timothy Edward Downs is an award-winning magazine designer, a photographer, and the illustrator of the best-seller How Computers Work. He has directed and designed several national consumer business, technology, and lifestyle magazines, always infusing a sense of "How it Works" into every project. By tapping his vast computer system and process knowledge, Tim has developed the richly illustrative style that is unique to the How It Works series. In How Digital Photography Works, Tim has further blurred the lines between informational illustration and photography.
Content
Introduction xii
Part 1: Getting to Know Digital Cameras 2
Chapter 1 The Workings of a Digital Camera 6
Gathering the Light 8
Creating the Image 10
Storing the Image 12
Chapter 2 Inside Digital Video Cameras 14
How the Digital Camcorder Captures Future Memories 18
How a Professional Digital Video Camera Works 20
Part 2: How Digital Cameras Capture Images 22
Chapter 3 How Lenses Work 26
How Light Works 28
How a Lens Bends Light 30
How We Perceive Detail 32
How a Lens Focuses an Image 34
The Magnifying Glass Effect 36
How Lenses Don't Focus 38
How Active Autofocus Makes Pictures Sharp 40
How Passive Autofocus Sees Sharp and Fuzzy 42
How a High-Tech Motor Moves the Lens 44
How the Eye Controls Autofocus 46
Chapter 4 How Light Plays Tricks on Perception 48
How Viewfinders Frame Your Pictures 50
How Lenses See Far and Wide 52
How Digital Lenses Manipulate Space 54
How Optical Zooms Zoom 56
How Digital Zoom Fakes It 58
How Perception Creates Depth of Field 60
Chapter 5 How Digital Exposure Sifts, Measures, and Slices Light 62
How a Diaphragm Controls Light 64
How a Shutter Slices Time 66
How a Camera Measures Light 68
How Light Meters See the World 70
How Digicams Juggle Exposure and Creativity 72
How Exposure Systems Balance Aperture and Shutter 74
How Digital Photographers Remain Masters of Their Domains 76
How Digital Cameras Create a Whiter Shade of White 78
How Speed Creates Noisy Pictures 80
How Histograms Run the Gamut 82
Chapter 6 How Technology Lets There Be Light 84
How Electronic Flash Works 86
How the Flash Knows When to Quit 88
How Shutter and Flash Sync 90
How a Flash Turns Eyes Red 92
How Fill Flash Works 93
How Studio Lighting Works 94
How Photographers Control Light and Shadow 96
Chapter 7 How Light Becomes Data 98
How Film Photography Captures an Image 100
How a Microchip Catches a Picture 102
How Image Sensors Differ 104
How the Foveon Image Sensor Stacks It On 106
How an Image Becomes Data 108
How Algorithms Smooth Out a Picture's Rough Spots 110
How Software Compresses Pictures for Storage 112
How Pictures Are Stored on a Chip 114
How a Digital Camera Squeezes Video Down to Size 116
Chapter 8 How New Tech Changes Photography 118
How Digital Tech Changes the Way Lenses Work 120
How Four Thirds Digital Cameras Create a New Standard 122
How Digital Cameras Cure the Shakes 124
Electronic Image Stabilization 126
Vari-Angle Prism System 127
Piezoelectric Supersonic Linear Actuator Stabilization 128
Shift Image Stabilizer 129
How Lenses Tilt with Images 130
How Two Lenses Work As One 132
How a Light Field Camera Can Focus Anything 134
How Digital Cameras Tidy Up 136
Part 3: How the Digital Darkroom Works 138
Chapter 9 How Software Changes Pixels by the Numbers 142
How Software Manipulates Images on the Pixel Level 144
How the Digital Darkroom Focuses Pictures After They're Taken 146
How Blurred Becomes Better 148
How Software Changes Exposure After the Shot 150
How Software Corrects Bad Lighting 152
How Bigger Pictures Preserve Little Details 154
How a Digital Darkroom Improves Even Correctly Exposed Photos 156
How Photoshop Multiplies a Photo's Dynamic Range 158
How Layers Serve and Protect Photos 160
Chapter 10 How Digital Retouching Rescues Family Heirlooms 162
How Software Removes Dust and Tears 164
How the Digital Darkroom Revives Your Ancestors 166
How Darkroom Software Brings Pictures Back to Life 168
Chapter 11 How the Digital Darkroom Makes Good Photos into Great Fantasies 170
How to Change a Red Rose to Blue 172
How Digital Photos Make Fun of You 174
How Software Makes One Photo Out of Many 176
How Panorama Programs Stitch Several Photos into One Superwide 178
Part 4: How Digital Print-Making Works 180
Chapter 12 How Computers and Printers Create Photographs 184
How a Camera's LCD Displays Photos 186
How Colors Are Created 188
How Color Calibration Works 190
Chapter 13 How Photo-Quality Printers Work 192
How a Printer Rains Ink to Create a Picture 194
How Photo Inkjet Printers Work 196
How Dye-Sublimation Printers Work 198
Glossary 200
Index 214
Part 1: Getting to Know Digital Cameras 2
Chapter 1 The Workings of a Digital Camera 6
Gathering the Light 8
Creating the Image 10
Storing the Image 12
Chapter 2 Inside Digital Video Cameras 14
How the Digital Camcorder Captures Future Memories 18
How a Professional Digital Video Camera Works 20
Part 2: How Digital Cameras Capture Images 22
Chapter 3 How Lenses Work 26
How Light Works 28
How a Lens Bends Light 30
How We Perceive Detail 32
How a Lens Focuses an Image 34
The Magnifying Glass Effect 36
How Lenses Don't Focus 38
How Active Autofocus Makes Pictures Sharp 40
How Passive Autofocus Sees Sharp and Fuzzy 42
How a High-Tech Motor Moves the Lens 44
How the Eye Controls Autofocus 46
Chapter 4 How Light Plays Tricks on Perception 48
How Viewfinders Frame Your Pictures 50
How Lenses See Far and Wide 52
How Digital Lenses Manipulate Space 54
How Optical Zooms Zoom 56
How Digital Zoom Fakes It 58
How Perception Creates Depth of Field 60
Chapter 5 How Digital Exposure Sifts, Measures, and Slices Light 62
How a Diaphragm Controls Light 64
How a Shutter Slices Time 66
How a Camera Measures Light 68
How Light Meters See the World 70
How Digicams Juggle Exposure and Creativity 72
How Exposure Systems Balance Aperture and Shutter 74
How Digital Photographers Remain Masters of Their Domains 76
How Digital Cameras Create a Whiter Shade of White 78
How Speed Creates Noisy Pictures 80
How Histograms Run the Gamut 82
Chapter 6 How Technology Lets There Be Light 84
How Electronic Flash Works 86
How the Flash Knows When to Quit 88
How Shutter and Flash Sync 90
How a Flash Turns Eyes Red 92
How Fill Flash Works 93
How Studio Lighting Works 94
How Photographers Control Light and Shadow 96
Chapter 7 How Light Becomes Data 98
How Film Photography Captures an Image 100
How a Microchip Catches a Picture 102
How Image Sensors Differ 104
How the Foveon Image Sensor Stacks It On 106
How an Image Becomes Data 108
How Algorithms Smooth Out a Picture's Rough Spots 110
How Software Compresses Pictures for Storage 112
How Pictures Are Stored on a Chip 114
How a Digital Camera Squeezes Video Down to Size 116
Chapter 8 How New Tech Changes Photography 118
How Digital Tech Changes the Way Lenses Work 120
How Four Thirds Digital Cameras Create a New Standard 122
How Digital Cameras Cure the Shakes 124
Electronic Image Stabilization 126
Vari-Angle Prism System 127
Piezoelectric Supersonic Linear Actuator Stabilization 128
Shift Image Stabilizer 129
How Lenses Tilt with Images 130
How Two Lenses Work As One 132
How a Light Field Camera Can Focus Anything 134
How Digital Cameras Tidy Up 136
Part 3: How the Digital Darkroom Works 138
Chapter 9 How Software Changes Pixels by the Numbers 142
How Software Manipulates Images on the Pixel Level 144
How the Digital Darkroom Focuses Pictures After They're Taken 146
How Blurred Becomes Better 148
How Software Changes Exposure After the Shot 150
How Software Corrects Bad Lighting 152
How Bigger Pictures Preserve Little Details 154
How a Digital Darkroom Improves Even Correctly Exposed Photos 156
How Photoshop Multiplies a Photo's Dynamic Range 158
How Layers Serve and Protect Photos 160
Chapter 10 How Digital Retouching Rescues Family Heirlooms 162
How Software Removes Dust and Tears 164
How the Digital Darkroom Revives Your Ancestors 166
How Darkroom Software Brings Pictures Back to Life 168
Chapter 11 How the Digital Darkroom Makes Good Photos into Great Fantasies 170
How to Change a Red Rose to Blue 172
How Digital Photos Make Fun of You 174
How Software Makes One Photo Out of Many 176
How Panorama Programs Stitch Several Photos into One Superwide 178
Part 4: How Digital Print-Making Works 180
Chapter 12 How Computers and Printers Create Photographs 184
How a Camera's LCD Displays Photos 186
How Colors Are Created 188
How Color Calibration Works 190
Chapter 13 How Photo-Quality Printers Work 192
How a Printer Rains Ink to Create a Picture 194
How Photo Inkjet Printers Work 196
How Dye-Sublimation Printers Work 198
Glossary 200
Index 214