THE ADVANTAGE OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

DIGITAL REVOLUTIONISED THREE AREAS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

BUT FIRST ... WHAT IS DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY?

LET’S EXAMINE THE

DIFFERENCES

ANALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHY

• Images are:

• captured and recorded to film

• developed and processed in the darkroom

• printed chemically or projected

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

• Images are:

• captured by a sensor and recorded to a memory card

• developed and processed in software like Photoshop

• rarely printed but often shared on the internet

THREE AREAS WERE REVOLUTIONISED

1.CAPTURE

2.PROCESSING

3.OUTPUT

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT DIGITAL?

DIGITAL PROCESSING IS POWERED BY INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

THESE ARE

THE MOTORS OF THE DIGITAL

AGE

MOORE’S LAW

GORDON MOORE, INTEL CO-FOUNDER

1965

THE NUMBER OF COMPONENTS IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DOUBLES EVERY TWO YEARS

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

THE NUMBER OF COMPONENTS ≈

THE PROCESSING POWER

MORE COMPONENTS ≈

SMALLER COMPONENTS

SMALL COMPONENTS ≈

SMALLER PROCESSORS

SMALLER PROCESSORS ≈

FASTER PROCESSORS AND

CHEAPER PROCESSORS

DOUBLES EVERY TWO

YEARS?

THE PROCESSOR YOU CAN BUY IN TWO YEARS WILL BE

TWICE AS FAST

THE PROCESSOR YOU CAN BUY IN FOUR YEARS WILL BE

FOUR TIMES AS FAST

THE PROCESSOR YOU CAN BUY IN SIX YEARS WILL BE EIGHT

TIMES AS FAST

THE PROCESSOR YOU CAN BUY IN EIGHT YEARS WILL BE SIXTEEN TIMES AS FAST

EXPONENTIAL IMPROVEMENT

Components

Time

THIS IS EXPONENTIAL

IMPROVEMENT THAT AFFECTS EVERYTHING DIGITAL

THE THREE PHOTOGRAPHIC AREAS

1.CAPTURE

2.PROCESSING

3.OUTPUT

IMPROVING

EXPONENTIALLY

CAPTURE

• More megapixels

• Greater dynamic range

• Greater ISO sensitivity

• Less noise

PROCESSING

• Faster computers

• Cheaper computers

• More powerful software

• Cheaper software

OUTPUT

• Better screens - approaching print DPI

• Easier to share images

• Millions of pictures uploaded to the internet each day

RECENT HISTORY

FLICKR’S MOST POPULAR CAMERA 2006

• Canon 350D

• Released: 2005

• Cost: €1099 RRP

• 8 megapixel stills

• Capture Only

FLICKR’S MOST POPULAR CAMERA 2012

• Apple iPhone 4

• Released: 2011

• Cost: £424.68

• 5 megapixel stills, HDR

• HD (720p) video

• Capture, Process, Output

ONE YEAR OF IMPROVEMENT…

• Apple iPhone 4S

• Released: 2012

• Cost: £424.68

• 8 megapixel stills, HDR

• HD (1080p) video

• Capture, Process, Output

CANON 600D

• Canon 600D

• Released: 2011

• Cost: €749 RRP

• 18 megapixel stills

• HD (1080p) video

• Capture Only

CAMERAS GET BETTER AND BETTER

AS TIME PASSES

CAMERAS GET SMALLER AND SMALLER

AS TIME PASSES

CAMERAS GET CHEAPER AND CHEAPER

AS TIME PASSES

CAMERAS ARE EVERYWHERE

EVERYONE HAS A CAMERA

• High quality cameras now come free with mobile phones

• People can process their images without using a computer

• People can instantly share their images with their friends

PEOPLE TAKE MORE PHOTOGRAPHS THAN EVER BEFORE

• Everything is documented - not just special occasions

• 250 million photographs are uploaded to Facebook every day

• Out of the estimated 3.5 trillion photos ever taken a whole 10% of them were taken in the past 12 months

CAMERAS ARE GETTING BETTER

SMALLER AND CHEAPER

THE NEAR FUTURE

IMPROVEMENTS IN CAPTURE

LIGHT FIELD CAMERAS

LYTRO

RECORDS LIGHT AND INTENSITY

IMAGES ARE FOCUSED ONTO THE FILM PLANE

USING THE FOCUS RING BEFORE CAPTURE

RECORDS LIGHT, INTENSITY AND DIRECTION

WITH DIRECTION FOCUS CAN BE MADE AFTER

CAPTURE

LET’S SEE THAT AGAIN

CURRENT DISADVANTAGES

• The image is interactive, cannot be printed

• Capturing the direction of light requires a more complex and larger sensor

• Images currently limited to 1.2 megapixels

IMPROVEMENTS IN PROCESSING

CONTENT AWARE MOVE PHOTOSHOP CS6

View video demo from Adobe at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrlsnQ32YhY

IMPROVEMENTS IN OUTPUT

RETINA DISPLAY

• Super high resolution screens

• More pixels than a 1080p HD television on a 9.7 inch display

• 264 pixels per inch, almost print like

SOCIAL NETWORKS

• Facebook - 100 billion photos

• Flickr - 6 billion photos

• Instagram - 150 million photos

THE ADVANTAGE OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY?

MOORE’S LAW

THE THREE AREAS OF EXPONENTIAL IMPROVEMENT

1.CAPTURE

2.PROCESSING

3.OUTPUT

QUESTIONS?