Why Digital?

Chapter 1 Overview

This chapter addresses why we want to capture digital images and discusses several of the advantages offered by new digital capture technology.

The Evolution of Photographic Processes

To begin, we might ask, “Why is the photographic industry changing to digital imaging?” First, though, let us consider how this technology has evolved. History has shown us that when a new technology emerges we can expect resistance from providers of established technologies who are concerned about their products being displaced. In this case, digital imaging technology is the new technology, and silver halide photography is the older one. Advocates for a technology already in place tend to put up an energetic defense of the economic and social status that has been gained by the existing technology over time and will argue against adoption of the new innovation. For this reason, we will examine here the struggle for supremacy that is currently taking place between digital imaging and film-based photography.

Silver halide photography Method used for film-based photography (both color and black and white) that utilizes silver halide crystals as the light-capturing element.

Digital imaging Using digital computing devices and processes for producing photographs.

This struggle for position is a difficult one that will result in a winner and a loser—no ties allowed. One competitor will become the dominant technology, and the other will have to adapt or disappear altogether. In looking at the histories of technological changes, we can see that the newer technologies always win the battle to eventually displace the older ones. Today, we are witnessing the final battle of digital versus film-based photography, and it is clear that digital imaging will come out on top and that the role of film within photography will change.

How quickly we switch to a newer technology is influenced by its rate of development. Like other innovations made possible by developments in microcircuitry, digital imaging has evolved rapidly. Gordon Moore, CEO Emeritus of Intel, said that computing power doubles every year and a half, while the cost of the technology stays the same. Digital imaging is dependent on microcircuits, and “Moore’s law” applies. We have witnessed rapid improvements in the size and image-gathering abilities of digital sensors, in the functions that are facilitated by digital imaging technology, and in the changes in workflow resulting from the new technologies. Within this changing environment, several change agents have been at work, accelerating the adoption of digital imaging technologies. The following discussion does not provide an exhaustive list of all the factors affecting adoption of digital imaging technologies, but it does highlight the most significant ones.

The development of computers not only provided the technology for digital imaging but also created new and intensive applications of these images. Development of the World Wide Web and digital prepress software, for example, has made it easier to incorporate images in areas of communication where they previously could not have been included. The portability of images is an important factor that has had a significant effect throughout the imaging world, as images in digital form can travel on any carrier that can carry digital data.

A digital image can be manipulated in myriad ways by a wide variety of digital tools, a feature that is especially important in the field of publishing. Digital photography has allowed photojournalists to provide almost instantaneous images for immediate use anywhere in the world. It has also allowed photographers in the field to work more closely with editors and art directors back in the office; for example, an art director can approve a layout before the photographer shoots the final exposure. The digital format has also provided more consistent and accurate reproduction of images in printed materials.

From an image processing perspective, the production of digital images is simpler than film processing and production. In the silver halide photographic system, a series of chemically complex steps is required before the final print is obtained, whereas with digital imaging a print can be produced directly from the camera. When corrections are required, they are less time consuming for digital images than those produced from film. Moreover, the printing of digital halftones is more efficient and provides results that are closer to the original image and less cumbersome to obtain.

For many, the ability to manipulate an image is the greatest reason for using pictures in a digital format. Numerous software packages offer the ability to alter many aspects of an image to obtain a particular effect with far less effort than is required for images produced by traditional film-based methods.

It is no longer a question of if digital capture will become the major photographic capture process; that will come to pass in the near future. Since the photographic process was first used in 1839, there been a constant march toward development of a more convenient picture-making method. Photography evolved from the dangerous and slow daguerreotype to the modern Polaroid^® dye migration process. Negative processes could be duplicated, but the direct processes were not convenient for making duplicates or prints.

Daguerreotype The first successful photographic process, introduced in 1839, in which an image is exposed directly onto a highly polished silver plate; the image is developed using a vapor of mercury that condenses on the plate to form an amalgam producing an image.

Polaroid^® dye migration process Process in which dyes that form the print migrate from within the processing film to create an image on the print surface (i.e., “instant print”).

The charge-coupled device (CCD) was developed at the Bell Labs in 1969, which began to make its mark in imaging in the 1970s. At the same time, the commercial world began to make great advances in the area of color electronic prepress systems (CEPS).Electronic imaging was used for television and scientific imaging for many years before it was applied to the field of commercial still photography, because for quite some time the resolution of still video was not acceptable and could not compete with film—at least not until the introduction of the Sony^® Mavica^TM. By the end of the 1980s, low-cost personal computers were commonplace, a variety of imaging software had been released, and a new generation of printers and cameras was readily available, all of which led the way toward a new era of digital photography.

Charge-coupled device (CCD) An electronic device made up of lightsensitive sites arranged to process the output in a linear process. The charges recorded and output from each site are proportional to the light intensity at each site.

Color electronic prepress system (CEPS) or digital prepress The process of using computers or other electronic equipment to prepare plates for the printing press.

The complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) was developed in 1963, but it was not until the 1990s that it was repurposed for use as an imaging sensor in cameras. Initially, the use of electronic still imaging (digital capture and scanned images) was limited to scientific and governmental/military applications, which took advantage of the portability of digital images, the ability to record spectral areas beyond film, and the short acquisition times.

Fine artists were also early adopters of digital imaging. It was not uncommon for artists to use stills from video cameras and copy machines as image sources to be incorporated in their work. While these were generally low-quality images, they allowed artists to experiment and move in new directions.

Early uses of digital images in professional photography occurred primarily in the realm of photojournalism, and by the early 1990s some newspapers had closed down their darkrooms entirely. Because newsprint is highly absorbent, images cannot be printed in as fine a detail as on other paper stocks; thus, the somewhat lesser quality of digital images at the time was not a factor for newspaper production. Also, newspapers have always had a need for timely images, and the digital transmission of images offered them a method for acquiring and placing images rapidly. In 1988, Leaf Systems introduced LeafaxTM, a portable electronic device that included a scanner and allowed photojournalists to send their images around the world; it quickly became an essential component of the photojournalist’s arsenal.

As the digital technology continued to improve, more areas of photography began to accept the use of digital imaging. The introduction of Photoshop® increased the interest in digital imaging and remains important in the field today. Digital cameras and scanners at lower prices but of higher quality essentially guarantee that the film-based photographic process that has matured over the last 165 years will eventually disappear. The greatest growth in digital photography today is occurring in the amateur photographer market, while commercial applications of digital photography are also expanding.

In 2004, more fixed-lens digital camera devices were manufactured than conventional fixed-lens film cameras. Single-use digital cameras are growing in popularity, and the variety of e-mail images, digital minilabs, and desktop output devices are having an effect on the digital market. The addition of digital photography technology to mobile phones is yet another important development.

Before imaging software can work its magic, we must have an image, and having an image in a digital format opens up unlimited possibilities. It would be nice to know where digital imaging will take us in the near future, but, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, “It is risky to make predictions, particularly about the future.” There are, however, several things we can say about the future with some certainty. First, we can expect that digital technology will continue to evolve, although it is difficult to predict exactly the results of these inevitable changes. Next, we can be sure that these changes will be rapid. Finally, we need to be flexible enough to adopt these innovations and put them to use in our everyday lives.

Summary

• Digital imaging is a new technology will displace the old—silver halide (filmbased)—photography.
• Several innovations have encouraged the switch to digital imaging. These include the portability of images, the wide range of applications, and the availability of software to manipulate the images.
• Digital imaging has become a major source of input for many applications throughout all phases of photography.
• Digital imaging has established itself as the major commercial method for producing images and will soon become the same for the consumer.
• New developments in imaging technology will increase into the foreseeable future at a rapid rate.

Glossary of Terms

Charge-coupled device (CCD) An electronic device made up of light-sensitive sites arranged to process the output in a linear process. The charges recorded and output from each site are proportional to the light intensity at each site.

Color electronic prepress system (CEPS) or digital prepress The process of using computers or other electronic equipment to prepare plates for the printing press.

Daguerreotype The first successful photographic process, introduced in 1839, in which an image is exposed directly onto a highly polished silver plate; the image is developed using a vapor of mercury that condenses on the plate forming an amalgam producing an image.

Digital imaging Using digital computing devices and processes for producing photographs.

Polaroid^® dye migration process Process in which dyes that form the print migrate from within the processing film to create an image on the print surface (i.e., “instant print”).

Silver halide photography Method used for film-based photography (both color and black and white) that utilizes silver halide crystals as the light-capturing element.