How does a digital
camera work? By Eliza Gregory & Rebecca Halliwell
Whencomposing composing a photo: When a photo: When you look through the viewfinder to compose a photo, this is how you see what you do.
Lenses: THE LENS: The lens is in the main front part of the camera, it is made up of many glass elements that work together to focus the light that is coming in. Light enters through the front, the opening of the lens and travels through the glass lenses.
The glass elements rotate to form a sharp focus. This can be done manually or automatic. When done manually, you would twist the necessary section of the lens on the outer shell of the camera. Imprecisely focused light will result in a blurry scene.
TheMIRROR: mirror: THE
The light that comes in hits the mirror which reflects it up into the focusing screen above.
The FOCUSING focussing SCREEN: screen: THE
The PRISM: prism: THE
The light that comes out of th screen is sent up into the pri then gets reflected about and view finder.
he focusing ism which out of the
This is how you see the image you do when looking through the viewfinder to compose an image, inside all this is happening
Basically... Basically‌:
1.Light lenses. 1. Lightenters entersthe the lens:
2. The Light hitshit thethm 2. light mirror and trave and travels up
mirror
Theeye eye 5.5.The can cansee then the see the composed composed image image through through the the viewfinder: viewďŹ nder
4. Light Light is is 4. reflected reected about about the the prism prism:
3. Light the 3. Lightgoes goesthrough through the focusing screen: focusing screen
When you photo: When you take take aa photo: As you press the shutter button to take the photo, instead of light hitting the mirror, the mirror lifts up and the shutter lets light back to the digital sensor. This processes the light to produce the picture.
TheShutter/ shutter/ aperture: The Aperture: This is the shutter, it opens and closes quickly like the iris of an eye
The The digital Digital sensor: Sensor:
The digital sensor contains millions of light sensitive pixels which individually measure the light striking each of them. A colour filter sits atop the image sensor, which only allows certain colours of light waves.
Converting light: Converting light / how its
Each pixel converts the measured light into electrons. A pixel that measures a brighter light will contain more electrons, resulting in larger accumulated charge. Then an ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) chip converts the light signal at each pixel in to a digital value.
How it’s stored: stored: With the light from the scene now converted to digital value, the camera camera can move the data just as any computer chip moves it. Moving digital binary bits through circuitry on the circuit board. When the binary bits reach the memory card, the camera uses firmware to write the data onto the card.
Camerason on smart smart phones: Cameras phones:
The camera in any phone is very much like a traditional digital camera shown on the previous pages but much smaller. When taking the photo, a very small Shutter/ aperture will open for a split second allowing rays of light to flood into the sensor. The rays of light will then pass through several lenses as to make the picture more clearer, before the rays reach the sensor. The sensor will then take the rays and turn it into data, that then makes it easier to save the picture onto the phone.
How does a digital
camera work?