An Introduction to the Modern DSLR Camera

Abstract

Unlike the cameras of old, which relied on a photochemical reaction to create an image on film, today’s modern DSLR cameras use silicon chips to create images. These solid state chips are based on two basic technologies, the CCD or Charged Coupled Device, or the Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS). CCDs are somewhat more sensitive to light than their CMOS cousins (though this gap is closing), they are also slightly more expensive to construct and their use is generally restricted to high end expensive cameras. As a result, CMOS sensors are more commonly used in today’s DSLR cameras.