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THE CAMERA CONNECTION

The most common method used to move images from a digital camera to a PC or server is via the use of a mini-cable usually provided with the camera. The Minolta Dimage V used by this author included a mini-cable with a round 8-pin connector on one end and a standard DB-9 connector on the other end. The 8-pin connector plugs directly into a digital I/O port on the camera, while the DB-9 connector plugs into a serial port. Since many desktop computers use DB-25 connectors for their serial port, a DB-25 to DB-9 connector, which can usually be obtained for a few dollars, becomes necessary.

CAMERA ACCESS SOFTWARE

Most digital cameras are bundled with several software programs that facilitate the use of images. One type of program which is standard across all digital camera products is a camera access program. The camera access program included with the Minolta Dimage V permits images to be downloaded to a computer, and you can even upload images into the camera through the use of this program.

The camera access program includes a viewer panel which lets a computer user examine previously camera-stored images as thumbnails on their computer. Here the term thumbnail represents a copy of an image formed by using a small subset of its actual horizontal and vertical resolution. Exhibit 1 illustrates the downloading of a series of thumbnail images from the author’s digital camera attached to his organization’s Windows NT server. In Exhibit 1 note the pulldown of the camera menu option. Through this menu you can download or copy all images to a disk on the server or delete all images currently stored in the camera’s memory. Once the thumbnail download process is completed you can select specific images and copy them to disk or delete them from the camera’s memory. Exhibit 2 illustrates a continuance of the download process, showing the progress bar which indicates the status of the download of the thumbnail currently being downloaded onto the server.

Once you complete a download of thumbnails, you can select one or more images for retrieval. Exhibit 3 illustrates two images this author decided to work with as they represent common types of images that are being incorporated into a variety of network based applications. The image on the left represents a Commemorative plate which was captured using the “micro” lens setting of the author’s digital camera. This type of image is being used by on-line auction firms to provide Web bidders with pictures of household decorative items. The second image, which shows a contemporary home, represents the type of images being captured by real estate agents for inclusion on internal LANs as well as corporate real estate Web sites. Concerning the former, some real estate agents are creating visual database entries for their listings, enabling potential purchasers to visit their office and view exteriors and interiors of homes and apartments to facilitate their house or apartment search effort. In addition, the use of a visual database enhances the productivity of the agent as it enables clients to narrow their search, allowing a realtor to skip properties of no or little interest and focus their efforts upon showing clients those properties that better appeal to their selection criteria. Now that we have a general appreciation for the method by which images are stored in a digital camera and transferred into a computer, let’s turn our attention to how they can be stored in a computer along with the effect of different storage methods upon the use of network bandwidth.


Exhibit 1.  Viewing Digital Camera Images as Thumbnails when a PC is Connected to a Camera.


Exhibit 2.  Showing the Status of a Thumbnail Being Downloaded onto a Server.


Exhibit 3.  Downloading Two Images Using the Minolta Camera Access Program.

IMAGE STORAGE

Today there are over 50 file formats that can be used to store images. However, a core set of four represent the vast majority of methods by which images are stored. Those file formats include JPEG, CompuServe’s Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), Microsoft’s Windows Bit Mapped (BMP), and the Aldus Corporation and Microsoft’s jointly developed Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). Support for GIF, BMP and JPEG is built into many browsers, while TIFF is commonly supported by document publishing applications.

Returning to our investigation of the use of a digital camera and its bundled software, Exhibit 4 illustrates the Save As dialog box from the Camera Access program bundled with the Minolta camera. Note that this program only supports the storage of images in TIFF, BMP, or JPEG format as indicated by the pull down of the “Save as type” options in the dialog box. Although the image file options may appear to provide a reasonable set of choices for many applications, it omits the support of GIF which many older browsers are limited to supporting. In addition, the TIFF file format supports six compression methods while the camera access program limits its support to one TIFF compression method.


Exhibit 4.  Saving Files as TIFF, BMP, or JPEG with the Minolta Digital Camera’s Bundled Software.


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