Line pairs are used to measure resolution. A line pair is a pair of adjacent dark and light lines. A resolution of 10 lines per millimeter is equivalent to 5 dark lines alternating with 5 light lines (or 5 line pairs per millimeter). For example, a 640 x 480 image would have 307,200 pixels, or approximately 3.1 megapixels; a 3872 x 2592 image would have a10,036,224 pixels, or approximately 10 megapixels. The more pixels an image has, the higher the resolution.

Below is an illustration of how the same image might appear at different pixel resolutions.

Image at different pixel resolutions

The number of megapixels is not an absolute measure, but only indicates the potential image resolution. Important factors that affect resolution include sensor design, the lens quality, focus (distance and length), aperture, position in the image field, orientation (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal), scene contrast, and vibration.

There is a wide misconception about the resolving power of digicams. For instance, my 12-megapixel digital camera does not have twice the resolving power of a 6-megapixel camera. It only has twice that of a 3-megapixel camera. Why? Because images are two-dimensional objects. When we double the resolving power, there is a fourfold increase in pixels (of equal quality) and not just a twofold increase!

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How often does it happen with you that when on a trip to an exotic place, you click amazing pictures of the scenery and want to share it immediately with your near and dear ones? For such photo enthusiasts, Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-G3 digital camera is heaven sent.The world’s first Wi-Fi digital camera with a web browser, it allows you to upload photos and videos to popular photo and video sharing sites like Shutterfly and Picasa, and YouTube, for which it has direct links. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 Wi-Fi camera comes with complimentary AT&T Wi-Fi access to Sony’s Easy Upload Home Page,till the end of 2012 and gives you Wi-Fi access at a number of AT&T hotspots,including hotels, airports, and coffee shops, across the United States. You can even send email notifications from the sharing websites so that your loved ones know your latest postings. You can view the uploaded images on its high-resolution 3.5″ LCD screen. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 Camera supports DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) guidelines, so that you can connect to other DLNA-compatible devices like Sony BRAVIA televisions and Sony VAIO PCs to view the photos in high-definition quality.

The Sony DSC-G3 10-megapixel Digital Camera is quite slim measuring just about three-fourths of an inch. It comes with a 4x optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and features the latest technology so that you can get the best pictures and save them for posterity. Some of its notable features are Sony’s Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology, Intelligent Scene Recognition and Sony’s Double Anti-blur feature, and anti-blink function. You can store and easily organize the high-resolution photos in its 4 GB internal memory.

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The camera got its name from camera obscura, the predecessor of the modern day camera. It is a Latin term which means “dark chamber,” and it refers to the early mechanism of projecting images and using an entire room as a real-time imaging system. Camera obscura consisted of a darkened chamber or a box that allowed light into the box through a convex lens. The image of the object was then formed on a surface of paper or glass, which was placed at the focus of the lens. The credit of inventing this gadget goes to an Iraqi scientist, Ibn al-Haytham. He described it as early as the 11th century in his Book of Optics (1015-1021).

But the first camera that was both portable as well as practical for photography was built by Johann Zahn in 1685. It included more advanced technology and features like sliding boxes for focusing and the placement of a sensitized plate in front of the viewing screen to capture an image. The process for capturing an image underwent a lot of development and so did the plate. From copper plates and paper to finally the glass plate, which was used in the popular wet plate process.

Modern day cameras capture light on a photographic film or photographic plate, whereas digital cameras use a charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) to capture images, which can then be transferred and stored in the camera’s internal memory for later playback or processing.

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The Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera features an advanced DIGIC 4 image processor that helps in faster processing of fine details, color reproduction, and reduced image noise. It also lets the camera handle large 14-bit RAW images at a speed of 3.9 frames per second. It also boasts of a new 21.1-megapixel CMOS sensor. This feature will definitely be a boon for professional photographers. It has a vast ISO sensitivity setting range of 100-6400, which is expandable, enabling you to take pictures in near-dark conditions. The large 3.0-inch LCD display is covered with anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings. This provides better clarity and also prevents smudging. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera is the first EOS camera with full high definition video capability. It can record video clips at 1920 x 1080 resolution for nearly 30 minutes.

This Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera has two control dials. The first dial is mounted conveniently on the top of the grip, while the second larger dial is on the back of the camera. With twin control dials, it is much faster and easier to make independent shutter speed and aperture adjustments.

With such amazing features, it is no wonder that more and more professional photographers are opting for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera.

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ISO setting is one of the most basic ways of controlling the light. Traditionally, ISO referred to film speed. As digital cameras no longer use film but instead use image sensors, the ISO equivalent is given. It primarily determines how sensitive the image sensor is to light. The common ISO settings are 100, 200, 300, and 400. Advanced models of digital cameras have ISO settings of 800, 1600, and sometimes even 3200 and 6400. To put it in simpler terms, a lower ISO number means better defined photos in low light whereas a higher ISO number means grainier ones.

Some useful tips:

• Use the lowest ISO setting to obtain the best image quality. You can easily set it from the default “Auto ISO” in the menu.

• For taking pictures where there is sufficient light, like on a sunny day, choose a low ISO setting, preferably 100 or 200.

• For indoor photography, low-light situations, or on cloudy days, you have to choose a higher ISO.

All this information regarding ISO should definitely help you take better pictures. So good luck!

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These days, digital cameras come with so many cool features. I’ve listed a few of my favorites.

Framed Up: Many digital cameras come with face detection technology. This feature of detects faces while composing an image and then adjusts the focus and exposure accordingly. This is very useful when taking a picture of large groups or when the subject is at a distance.

Say cheese! Sony was the first to introduce smile detection in digital cameras. With the DSC-T300, featuring Sony’s “smile shutter” technology, you will never fail to miss the unexpected smiles. Once it detects a smile, it automatically activates the shooting mode. You can also choose from three smile detection levels, namely smile, grin, and great grin. You are assured of great looking pictures with many big smiles every time.

No more sleepy looks: GE Electronics is well known for digital cameras featuring blink detection facilities. Its E1050 model, with advanced blink detection technology, informs you that a picture has to be retaken, if the original has blinking subjects.

Get Closer: Fujifilm’s FinePix Z200fd features “Couple Timer”. Along with face detection, this new feature helps to determine how close the faces are before clicking the picture. You can preset the menu to “Near”, “Close-up” or “Super-Close”. Now the camera detects whether you are close enough as per the settings and snaps the picture automatically. So be it your spouse, sibling, parent, or child, cuddle up!

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