Page 48 - NyghtVision Boot Camp One Fill Edition

8. How the Camera Works
The Art of Seeing through the Lens
The mechanics of the camera is rather simple: Light
enters the camera through the lens. Once the shutter
is opened, light then strikes the camera’s sensor and
that creates an image. Then the digital circuitry on the
camera converts what the camera saw to a format a
comuputer can understand.
The image created by the sensor is called a RAW im-
age. It contains everything the sensor “saw”. Saving
an image to a JPG in the camera deletes up to 80% of
what the camera actually saw. So, it is best to have the
camera save the image in its RAW format and then
convert that image to a TIF or JPG in the computer.
By the way, it is best to save the converted RAW im-
age as a TIF since that format maintains all the data.
48 Boot Camp, Part 1
Every time you open a JPG, data is lost. Over time,
that loss of data can have a significant impact on the
image. Yes, RAW images take more space on your
memory card, but in the end, your images will look
much better.
Before we talk in more detail about how the camera
works, there are a couple of things we need to review:
1. However similar in principle, a digital camera is not
like a film camera. There are significant differences.
2. It is important to think in terms of how a digital
camera works in order to get the best images possible.