PictBridge

PictBridge is the standard for direct USB printing from digital cameras to inkjet and dye sub photo printers without the use of a computer. Almost all new digital cameras are PictBridge compatible.

Thumbnail

A small, low-resolution version of a larger image file that is used for quick identification or speedy editing choices.

RGB

Means Red, Green and Blue – the primary colours from which all other colours are derived. The additive reproduction process mixes various amounts of red, green and blue to produce other colours. Combining one of these additive colours primary colours with another produces the additive secondary colours cyan, magenta and yellow. Combining all three produces white.

Red-Eye

An effect caused by an electronic flash reflecting off of the human eye and making it look red. Compact cameras with the flash located close to the lens suffer the worst from this problem. Pro photographers use a bracket to hold an external flash unit above and off to the side of the lens to eliminate red-eye. There are also software options to remove red-eye.

Prosumer

Refers to more expensive semi-professional digital cameras costing $1,000 and up. The average digital camera is made for the consumer market and costs well under $1,000.

PPI

Pixels Per Inch – A measurement to describe the size of a printed image. The higher the number the more detailed the print will be.

OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer. Means that the piece of equipment is made by one company but labeled for and sold by another company.

Megapixel

CCD resolution of one million pixels. digital cameras are commonly rated by Megapixels. You multiply the horizontal resolution by the vertical resolution to get the total pixel count:

1280 x 960 pixels = 1 Megapixel
1600 x 1200 pixels = 2 Megapixels
2048 x 1536 pixels = 3 Megapixels
2272 x 1704 pixels = 4 Megapixels
2560 x 1920 pixels = 5 Megapixels … and so on

Jaggies

Slang term for the stair-stepped appearance of a curved or angled line in digital imaging. The smaller the pixels, and the greater their number the less apparent the “jaggies”. Also known as pixelisation.

Histogram

A bar graph analysis tool that can be used to identify contrast and dynamic range of an image. Histograms are found in the more advanced digital cameras and software programs (graphic editors) used to manipulate digital images. The histogram shows a scale of 0 – 255 (left to right) with 0 being black and 255 being white.