Photography

The art or process of producing images by the action of light on surfaces sensitized by chemical processes.

 

Sir John Herschel, first used the term "photography" in 1839, the year the photographic process became public. The word itself is derived from the Greek words for light and writing.

 

Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light. Light patterns reflected or emitted from objects are recorded onto a sensitive medium or storage chip through a timed exposure. The process is done through mechanical, chemical or digital devices known as cameras.

 

There is debate over which of the two formats, digital or film, is superior. It cannot be said that either of the formats is superior to the other in every way. Rather, each of the formats has its own specific advantages

There are numerous measures which can be used to assess the quality of still photographs. The most discussed of these is spatial resolution, i.e. the number of separate points in the photograph. This is measured by how many millions of picture cells make up the photo.

 

The comparison of resolution between film and digital photography is a complex issue indeed. Measuring the resolution of both film and digital photographs depends on numerous issues. For film, this issue depends on the size of film used (35mm, Medium format or Large format), the speed of the film used and the quality of lenses in the camera. Additionally, since film is an analogue medium, it does not have pixels so its resolution measured in pixels can only be an estimate.