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Chapter 12: Taking Great Pictures
Microsoft Digital Image Standard User’s Manual
About Digital Cameras
If you’re new to using digital cameras, several camera features might seem for-
eign to you. Some of these features, such as digital zoom and compression, do
not exist with film camera. But it’s important to understand what these features
do and when it’s appropriate to use them.
Photo Quality
A digital photograph is composed of tiny colored squares called pixels (short
for picture elements). Like a mosaic, the pixels blend together to form a picture.
Each digital picture consists of a set number of pixels, ranging from a few
thousand to millions. When a digital camera takes a photo, it creates a digital
file that includes some number of pixels, each with a precise color.
Pixels are not a set size, so they can shrink or enlarge depending on the size at
which the picture is printed or displayed. When a photo is enlarged too much,
the individual pixels become visible, making a jagged looking, poor-quality
photo.
The original photo on the left was saved at high resolution, and you can see sharp detail. The
photo on the right has been saved at such low resolution that you can see the individual pixels.
The number of pixels that make up a picture is the resolution. Resolution and
compression are key factors in determining the quality of a digital photo. The
following sections explain resolution and compression.