Today's cameras and printers: Fully digitalized

Today's cameras and printers: Fully digitalized

By Megy Magdalena Contributor Jakarta

Compact, quick and practical. These are only some of the superior features of today's digital cameras. One does not have to waste time for the entire process of printing photos. Connecting a digital camera to the computer is all it takes to view and send pictures by e-mail. With your own printer, of course, the printing can be processed in the comfort of your home.

Indeed, until now some professional photographers still doubt the wide range of capabilities of digital cameras, as, in their opinion, the end result is not as good as that of a conventional camera using celluloid film. Even with the existence of digital cameras that can produce pictures with four megapixels, their doubts still linger as to the entire details of the visual or its depth or range of color. However, this argument may subside with the coming of the Foveon X3 microchip manufactured by Carver Mead, USA, as it will replace the current Charged-coupling device (CCD), which is now used to register images in the available digital cameras.

Compared to CCD, which is capable of only registering one color -- red, green or blue -- in each pixel, hence its picture sensor is unable to fully register all the colors, the Foveon X3 has increased relevant capability without altering its pixel capacity. This means a savings in the storage space for pictures, which also brings the price down, because, again comparably, enhancing quality in the CCD technology has to be done by increasing the number of pixels leading to higher manufacturing costs and inevitably the sales price.

The prices of the digital cameras available on the market are based on the brand as well as its capabilities, which include the capacity of its sensor chips.

One of the leading manufacturers, Fuji, markets digital cameras both for amateurs and professionals. Among its quality products is the FinePix 4700 with 4.3 megapixel resolution, a highly sensitive pentagon shaped Super CCD sensor.

Another choice in the market is the Sony DSC-P1. This camera, weighing only nine ounces, has a 3 megapixel resolution and an 8 MB memory capacity. Its other unique feature is it can be used to take underwater pictures to a depth of 30 meters. It also functions as a camcorder and a video camera as it can record pictures for the duration of 15 seconds (15 frames per second) with 320 pixel resolution.

Last year, Canon launched its high speed camera, the Canon EOS-1D, which is capable of taking pictures at eight frames per second (8 fps). With its 4.15 megapixel CCD sensor and High Speed Image engine, it produces sharper and finer reproductions and better grades of colors.

Another world-renowned brand in the competition of digital cameras is Nikon. Among its dependable cameras is the Coolpix 990, which has a 2,048 x 1,538 pixel resolution and comes with the famous Nikkor 38 - 115 mm zoom lens. In the Coolpix series, there is Nikon Coolpix 3500 with 3.2 million pixel resolution and a 3X Optical Nikkor zoom lens. With its preprogrammed 12-scene mode, taking pictures in any light condition is much faster and easier. It is also equipped with the EXIF Print Format for printing by using printers such as Epson Stylus 915 or 1290. Nikon has also launched its Nikon series: the digital Nikon E3 (1,280 x 1,000 pixel) and the digital Nikon D1 (2,000 x 1,312 pixel).

Other well known names that have entered this market segment with most of their digital cameras being pocket-sized cameras are: Panasonic, Polaroid, Sanyo, Hewlett Packard, Konica, Agfa, Epson, Ricoh, Toshiba, Minolta, Yashica and Samsung.

Due to its rising popularity, millions of digital cameras have flooded the market. According to a 2001 survey conducted by the Info Trends Research Group sales of these products reached a staggering figure of 17.6 million, which is 21 percent of the total number of camera sales. It is estimated that by 2006 the figure will be still higher: 63 percent.

The huge "population" of digital cameras has spurred the need for software related to digital imaging and digital printers. Image editing software is also vital for photographers who need to manipulate, enhance or modify their pictures.

One of the companies that have produced the related software is Intel Corporation, which last year launched three sophisticated chipsets for desktop computers to enhance their capabilities in digital media processing, games and broadband Internet.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation has recently launched a brand-new image editing software, the Digital Image Pro 7.0, which is quite simple in its operation that even amateur photographers can use it. This software also includes the newest picture processing tools, templates and wizards.

For digital printing, a number of camera and computer manufacturers have come up with high-tech digital printing machines and even conventional printer manufacturers -- such as Heidelber, Indigo and Xerox -- have also jumped on the bandwagon.

Canon Incorporated, for instance, has launched several printers, like Canon CP-10, CP-100 and XNU 1320. XNU 1320 is a printer in the same class as photo printers due to its high 2100 x 1200 dpi resolution. It can be used both on the Windows (Me, 98, XP, 2000) as well as Macintosh (OS 8.8 - 9.x, OS X v 10.1) systems. Its price tag is a mere US$ 85.

For digital photo printing, Fuji Photo Film Corporation has come up with the Digital Minilab Frontier 350, which needs only one person to operate and is capable of processing various film formats. It is sold for US$ 80,000.

Another producer in this category is Sanyo Corporation. Its Digital Photo Printer Megapixel II has the capability of single printing in 14 seconds, while its price is comparably competitive, about 10 percent of the Frontier 350.

The availability of affordable digital photo printers make it possible for those who wish to set up business dealing with these. The increasing popularity of digital cameras also opens up great opportunities in this business. Major players, such as Fuji Image Plaza and Rapico, both with numerous retail outlets, do exist, but still it is a promising market and one that is rapidly growing.