Common Digital Terms | Glossary

Common Digital Terms | Glossary

Unclear about megabytes and kilobytes? Can't remember the difference between memory cards and MultiMedia cards? Is confusion about battery types draining you of energy? Then let our glossary of common digital terms help unravel the mysteries and jumpstart your digital education!

Bit

A "bit" is a condensed combination of the two words binary + digit. It is the smallest unit of memory in a computer.

Card reader

A card reader is a dedicated drive into which you can insert your camera’s memory card. A card reader transfers the images from the memory card in your camera to your computer. You can choose from cards that accept Compact Flash readers, Secure Digital (SD) cards, or multi-card readers that accept several different types of cards.

Digital zoom

A digital zoom magnifies just a portion of the image as opposed to an optical zoom that lets you actually change the focal length of your lens and enlarge the whole image. With a digital zoom, the image loses its sharpness as it gets bigger.

Digital SLR (DSLR)

A DSLR camera is a digital camera that allows you to change the lenses. It’s used mostly by professionals and comes with lots of advanced manual and automatic features. SLR “Single-Lens-Reflex” means that you are looking at your image through the lens before you take the picture.

Digitize

To digitize an image refers to converting analog information into digital format so it can be used on a computer. People can digitize old photos by scanning them with a scanner.

Docking station

A docking station is a device that you can attach your camera to facilitate download and sometimes perform rechargeable functions. The docking station is connected to the computer full-time and acts as an intermediary between the camera and the computer.

DPI (Dots Per Inch)

DPI refers to the number of dots a printer or device (like a monitor) can display per linear inch. For example, a laser printer with a resolution of 300 dpi makes prints with 300 dots per square inch. The higher the DPI, the better the resolution.

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File format)

EXIF refers to the information about each picture you take, such as date and time, resolution, orientation, etc., The information is “recorded with” the images when you take the picture.

Flash memory

Flash memory refers to the removable memory cards that record images in a digital camera. When the power is turned off, flash memory retains the images and memory space can be continually erased and used again. Compact Flash, Secure Digital and Memory Stick are the most popular types of flash memory.

Image sensor

The image sensor is the light sensitive chip in your camera that records exposure data when you take the picture.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

JPEG is a standardized file format used to compress and store digital images of natural, real-world scenes (as opposed to illustrations or drawings). This format is also commonly used for images you see on the Web and for images attached to e-mails.

Kilobyte

A kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes and refers to computer memory, disk space, or document size.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)

An LCD is a full-color display screen on a digital camera that lets you preview and review pictures. On many models, it will also allow you to view information, such as menu options and camera settings.

Lithium battery

Lithium batteries are batteries that use lithium in the process of creating power. Lithium batteries are standard disposable batteries while lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable. They are very efficient and powerful batteries and usually perform better than Alkaline or NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries.

Megabyte

A megabyte is an amount of computer memory consisting of about one million bytes. (The actual value is 1,048,576 bytes or 1024 KB.)

Megapixel

A megapixel is equal to 1 million pixels. The more pixels in an image, the higher the pictures fidelity and detail and the greater the print quality will be.

Memory

Memory is what digital cameras need instead of film to store images. Some digital cameras have a certain amount of memory which stores a limited number of images depending on how large the memory capacity is. You can add memory to most digital cameras by using a memory card.

Memory cards

Memory cards are devices that provide extra storage for digital media such as pictures, sound and movie files. They come in a variety of capacities. Typical memory capacities are 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, etc. The higher the capacity the more images can be stored.

MMC (MultiMedia cards)

MultiMedia cards are one type of removable memory card.

NiMH

NiMH stands for Nickel-Metal Hydride and refers to a type of rechargeable batteries used in most digital cameras. NiMH rechargeable batteries do not need to be depleted of power before being recharged.

Photo kiosk

A photo-kiosk is a computer-driven device that allows users to edit and print pictures from negatives, prints, or digital files on a picture card, CD, or disk. Kiosks can usually be found in retail stores.

Pixel

A pixel is a condensed combination of the words PICture ELement. It refers to the smallest element, or dot, that makes up a digitized image. The number of pixels determines the resolution.

PPI (Pixels Per Inch)

PPI refers to the number of pixels per linear inch used to describe image resolution. A higher ppi means your images will have more detail which, in turn, means higher image fidelity.

Resolution

Resolution refers to the number of units in a whole, pixels in an image, dots in a print, etc. A high-resolution image means the image fidelity/detail will be higher. It's expressed as horizontal pixels times vertical pixels, such as 800 x 600, 1600 x 1200, or 2048 x 1536.

SD (Secure Digital) memory card

An SD memory card is an extremely small type of removable memory card used in most of the newer digital cameras.

USB Port (universal serial bus)

A USB port is a connection point on the back of the computer where you plug in your digital camera or card reader or other USB devices. When you connect to the USB port, you can download your photos from your camera to your computer.

Source: Pentax