Digital cameras have now  taking over the camera industry. Digital cameras have a lens or many of lenses that let light go through them to focus on a CCD (a sensor that collects the light) , rather than film. The sensor transfers the image information to the chips in the camera, where it is changed into a digital form of information, and stored onto electronic memory for viewing or printing later.

During the conversion, light is separted into the three colors, which are combined to create a full spectrum light. Better quality digital cameras use three different sensors to do this. Sensors contain a filters for  different colors, allowing it to read just the light that matches.

Aperture (the size of the opening that allows light in) and shutter speed are used to control the amount of light that gets to the sensor. In most cameras the aperture setting is automatic, but some cameras also manual control. Professional photographers and enthusiasts prefer this. The shutter, can be set electronically or overridden by manual control. The faster the shutter speed the less effect of movement, but the less effect from the amount of light. Indoors or on cloudy days the shutter may stay open longer, so the less movement the better.

There are four common lenses for cameras: fixed focus, replaceable lens systems, fixed zoom, and digital zoom( Digital zoom is really not the lens, but electronic manipulation). Digital zoom lenses have a way of enlarging the pixels from the middle of the image, instead of zooming in on an object in the distance. They make images grainier or fuzzy. The much more clean zoom is an optical zoom lens can produce.

Digital cameras come with an LCD screen to view,  preview, and edit images or file information. LCD screens are small, because the size of the camera is small. For better viewing, put the image on a computer. Quality images, the biggest factor is the resolution, which is measured in mega pixels. The higher the resolution, the better the image quality.

For printing photos, resolution of the original image is important. A low quality camera like those found in  cell phones will create images that are not great for printing. Five mega pixels will create nice 6 x 8 inch images, but with falling prices on most digital cameras, if you enjoy photography and enlarging photos, buy seven mega pixels or more.

Today, removable memory storage is very affordable, as the flexibility and convenience of the camera is enhanced. Reusable memory means you can enlarge the amount of data you can have in the camera, more pictures and higher resolution pictures. You can change memory cards and get unlimited pictures. Removable memory is stored on various devices such as Compact Flash cards, SmartMedia cards, and memory sticks. Having a digital camera is fun, and frees you from the costs of film.

Cameras are affordable for everyone today and digital cameras make taking pictures fun, convenient, and enjoyable.