Digital Camera Terms

Common terms to decode the lingo

AE/ Auto Exposure - A process available in most digital cameras which automatically determines the the proper exposure settings according to the environmental conditions.

AF/ Auto Focus - A system which automatically focuses the camera lens 

AVI - A common compressed video file-type used in Digital Cameras and Digital Camcorders.

Burst Mode - A setting that captures a series of pictures at a chosen interval

Card Reader - Card Readers are common Digital Camera accessories which allow the user to transfer pictures from the Digital Camera's memory card to their computer. 

CCD - Charged Coupled Device, the light-sensitive component of a Digital Camera, used to gather an image for capturing.

Compact Flash - A type of memory used to store images. Commonly used by Cannon and Nikon Digital Cameras

Digital Zoom - Magnification of an image by enlarging the pixels instead of a camera's optical lens. This is used to extend the zoom capability of a Digital Camera, allowing for a smaller lens at the expense of resolution

IEEE-1394 - Commonly called "FireWire," a type of cable which allows for connectivity between a computer and an electronic device, such as a Digital Camera

Image Noise - Incorrectly colored pixels, usually found in low-light situations, caused by the camera's light sensor registering an incorrect value. High quality light sensors, found in professional Digital Cameras, record very little noise.

ISO - The measurement of sensitivity for a Digital Camera's imaging sensor

JPEG - The most commonly used file-type for recording images

LCD - Liquid Crystal Display, the view screen found on many Digital Cameras

Macro Mode - A setting that allows for photographs of objects extremely close to the lens

Microdrive - Developed by IBM/Hitatchi, the microdrive is a mini-hardrive housed in a Compact Flash card, allowing for greater capacity of storage

Megabyte - A megabyte is the unit of data used to measure the size of a digital file and the capacity of storage and memory devices

Megapixel - The common measurement of a Digital Camera's resolution and the ability to record detail. The more megapixels a camera is rated at, the better quality pictures it can record

Memory Stick/ Memory Stick Pro - A type of memory used to store images. Commonly used by Sony Digital Cameras

NiCd - Nickel-Cadmium, a type of rechargeable digital camcorder battery

NiMH - Nickel-Metal Hydride, a type of rechargeable digital camera battery

Optical Viewfinder - An eye-level viewfinder that allows the user to frame and compose a photograph

Optical Zoom - A type of physical magnification which uses the Digital Camera's optical lens to allow for closer images from a distance

Redeye - An effect caused by a camera's flash reflecting off the back of the eye, causing the eyes to look red. Some cameras and photo editing programs have redeye reduction features which eliminate the effect

Resolution - The quality of a digital image, usually measured in megapixels

SD - A type of memory used to store images. Commonly used by Kodak and Panasonic Digital Cameras

TIFF - An uncompressed digital image file-type

xD-Picture Card - A type of memory used to store images. Commonly used by Olympus and Fuji Digital Cameras

More information on digital cameras