Tutorial Two

Tutorial Two: Digital Camera use and applications

A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature”. Briefly discuss this statement in relation to digital camera technology. What would you consider to be some of the pluses and minuses digital camera technology holds in relation to more traditional film based cameras? Digit Cameras come with a lot more feature compared to the old film camera. The positive features are that it can store a lot more images at one go, you can view pictures as soon as they have been taken and delete any you don’t like; you choose which photos you print, you don’t have to print them all at once; you can photo shop or edit your photos, i.e. crop them, get rid of red eye, make them black and white, add writing or frames etc; photos quality is clearer and you can put photos straight from your camera on the computer or television. Negative features are that the camera comes with extra cords and they need to be compatible with your computer; computers require printers, ink, cables, software etc; you have to spend more time to get your photo images and you have to go through each one unlike film when someone else does it for you; people don’t print many photos anymore and try to show everyone on the tiny screen on the camera.

List some of the ways that digital images can be stored transferred and manipulated using other communications technology. Photos on the camera are stored on a memory card and can be transfer on your computer by either additional cable or some fancy computers you can put your memory card straight onto the computer. The images and then uploaded on to the computer using special software and from there you can manipulate your images.

Given the prevalence of image capturing devices, and thinking about the issues discussed in tutorial one, consider what sort of ethical issues may arise with their use. The same ethical issues any camera would have, obtaining consent of individuals before taking their photograph. But I would say it could be easier to abuse photographs as the photos can be put on the internet faster.

Briefly discuss some of the ways that digital images could, or are, being used in occupational therapy practice. Digital images could be used in practice to take photos of an individual home environment or an individual’s posture for the OT to consult someone else. Pictures are worth a thousand words, a picture could aid a description.

Provide a brief summary of the services offered by Flickr.com Flickr is a photo networking site that allows people to share photos, stay in touch, upload, organise, make stuff and explore.

Name one other photo storage website which offers a service similar to Flickr.com Snap fish http://www.snapfish.com/helpstorage

Explain what the difference is between a digital and an optical zoom Optical zoom is when focal length and magnification changes before a photo is taken. Digital zoom happens after the photo has been taken and it crops the picture. Optical zoom gives you a clear image than digital zoom.

Explain what is meant by the term mega pixel A pixel is one of millions of tiny coloured squares that make up a digital image, like a mosaic.