Digital Cameras In Libraries

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First published in Library Technology 2(1) February 1997
Increasingly affordable and easy to use, digital cameras provide a simple, if limited, solution for libraries needing electronic images. Mark Kerr reports.

Librarians are becoming multimedia publishers as never before. Web documents or printed materials may contain staff photographs, book illustrations (and illustrations of books), building layouts and images of the many services and facilities available to the technology-hungry users. Presentations, to conferences, to colleagues or to senior management, are increasingly expected to include electronic illustrations or slide shows.

Whether in an academic, public or special library, the potential uses of digital images are limited (so the saying goes) only by your imagination:

visual database of staff or users, photos for ID cards or administrative records

a digital catalogue of images for quick reference, perhaps of your map or poster collection

images to add to publicity, promotional and user support documentation, whether on the Web or on printed materials

adding screen images to reports, to OHPs for training, and to Powerpoint presentations

converting archive or database material to CD-Rom format To meet this demand for images, there is a range of options: images bought in as clip art on disk; 'ordinary' photographs scanned by a bureau or inhouse scanning service; images 'grabbed' using video capture software; photographs converted to PhotoCD for mat, thus made available for electronic manipulation and use; and images taken by digital cameras. Although all these options require financial and physical resources at some level, digital cameras offer an imaging solution that is comparatively cheap and simple.

Digital cameras are certainly playing an increasingly important part in multimedia publishing - each month new models are released by a growing number of manufacturers. Now that prices have fallen to the level where they can be considered for domestic use , do digital cameras have anything to offer the library on a limited budget? This topic has been limited to still images, leaving video technology for another time. Kodak and Casio provided Library Technology with cameras for evaluation and review. Top of Page

Digital photography
Digital cameras combine some features of traditional cameras with some of scanners. The lens, aperture and shutter focus the image, but on to a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) instead of light-sensitive silver halide film. Digital data is compressed and reco rded either on to the integral memory chip or on to a removable PCMCIA memory card. This can then be downloaded to a PC running the relevant software, manipulated and output as needed, to screen or printer, or saved to disk, stored or sent as an e-mail at tachment.

In practical terms, at this level at least, the cameras are 'autofocus', with distance and light calculated by the camera itself - no need for fiddling with controls. This automatic adjustment causes a slight time-delay between the pressing of the shutter button and the recording of the image, as the camera alters its settings. This has implications for photographing moving images.

Once taken, there is another few seconds delay as the image is converted to digital form and compressed, then written to the memory, again with implications for those wanting 'rapid-fire' sequences of images. Some high-end cameras can record images at the rate of over two per second - as ever it is a question of setting price against performance.Top of Page

Formats
Digital cameras save images in a range of formats. The Casio reviewed here, for example, initally saves images in Cam format, but the supplied QV-Link software supports conversion to BMP, Tiff and JPeg. Using standard graphics software, such as Adobe Phot oshop or Paint Shop Pro, these can be converted to any desired format.

Like many digital cameras, the Kodak DC20 is supplied with a Twain driver; the Twain standard allows images to be imported directly into Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or similar compatible programs, allowing the camera to be used almost as though it were a sc anner.Top of Page

Quality issues
Digital cameras produce images with lower resolution than those from scanners, meaning smaller file sizes, but at a cost in quality. If the images are for screen display, however, on Web pages or Powerpoint presentations for example, then the VGA standard of cameras like the Casio QV-100 is enough for most needs. High resolution images from the Casio were 45-55K of file space, with low resolution images about one-third of that.

Low-light conditions where a flash cannot be used may favour the higher-end digital camera over SLRs, due to the consistent performance of pixel resolution in all conditions, compared with the reaction of film to exposure times and settings. SLR cameras c an compensate by using longer exposure times, but this then may need a tripod to avoid camera motion. Using a flash, where available, improves the overall colour and contrast of digital images, while post-transfer enhancement using the software allows fo r improvements to pictures taken without flash in surprisingly dark conditions.

Digital cameras have a clear advantage over other technologies when it comes to ease of use, portability, equipment cost, and the ability to capture real-life images. Incidentally, they are also fun to use, with the benefit of immediate feedback rather th an waiting for the film to be developed.Top of Page

Conclusion
Low-cost digital cameras have some way to go before they replace a 35mm camera and scanner for quality output. However, for simple images they are a real solution for the library seeking quick and easy graphics. High quality digital cameras play a vital role in library-related digitisation projects, but at a significantly higher financial cost.

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Cameras in review
Most camera manufacturers now have digital versions in their range. Prices vary from £69 (the monochrome Connectix QuickCam) to £24,950 and up (Kodak DCS-460). A growing number of companies supply digital cameras priced below £500, a semi-a rbitrary point below which it may be worth buying equipment for experimental or even personal use. Suppliers in this price band include Canon, Agfa, Sanyo, Kodak, Casio and others. We review two popular examples, the Kodak DC20 and the Casio QV-100.

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For additional information please contact:Mark Kerr
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