Digital Camera's are a form of information technology. The digital camera is a great tool we can use everyday to capture moments, memories and information. Digital photos and video's can be used and stored in a variety of ways. In class we discussed the use and applications of the digital camera and the place they could have in the OT practice." A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature". This statement could be true in relation to Digital camera's. There are great pluses when it comes to using digital cameras as opposed to the old film camera's but there are features that are unique to the old film cameras that we sometimes miss. For example the feeling of excitement you got, when you picked your photos up from the print shop and opened the packet to see your photos for the first time. They were glossy and fresh and there was always a feeling of novelty attached to them. When we used the old film camera's, all we need was the camera and the film where as with digital camera's we have to have other pieces of technology to process the photo's e.g. cables, computer, photo shop software, memory stick,CD's,USB etc...
With digital photo's all it takes is a flick of the wrong button and they are gone!
But I think its fear to say, that all the great features of the digital camera far out weigh these few little snags. There are many things we can do with digital photos. We can manipulate, store and transfer them using technology without being an expert.We can upload the photo's on to the computer and store them in files, upload them on the internet(flickr, facebook etc). We can crop photo's, change the colors and add special features.There are issues that arise when using digital camera's and processing the photo's. For example privacy, consent.
There is a place for digital camera's in the OT practice- a tool to measure the progress of a clients functional abilities, a teaching tool for the client or a student,visual cues etc..
Features of the digital camera: There are two types of zoom a camera can have digital/optical. Optical zoom is when the lens of the camera physically move to bring you closer to the subject without the photographer having to move. It is the best type of zoom and will produce the best quality. The higher the number of optical zoom the further away from the subject the photographer can be and still get great results. Digital zoom crops the image and then magnifies the cropped image. This produces low quality results(Kodak, 2010).http://www.kodak.com
Megapixel- is equal to 1 million pixels. Digital pictures are made up of tiny tile like elements joined together to made one complete image. The higher the pixel count the higher the quality.(Digicamhelp, 2010)http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/camera-parts/megapixels/
