(ASSIGNMENT TEMPLATE – ENGLISH VERSION) (COVER PAGE)

CBCT2203

BASIC CONCEPTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 TABLE OF CONTENT
Page
1.0 Introduction 3
1.1 The History of Camera
1.2 Usages of Digital Camera’s Technology
1.3 Advantages of Digital Camera’s Technology

2.0 Compact Camera and Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera 5

2.1 Comparison Criteria
2.1.1 Processor
a) What is Image Processor
b) Brands of Processor Types in Market
i. DIGIC
ii. Expeed
2.1.2 Image Resolution
2.1.3 Image Editing Features
2.1.4 Video Capture Capability

3.0 Digital Camera Storage Medium 7

3.1 Types of Memory Card
3.1.1 CompactFlash Card
3.1.2 Secure Digital Card
3.2 Memory Card Issues
3.2.1 Portability
3.2.2 Reliability
3.2.3 Accessibility

4.0 Cloud Storage Technology 10

4.1 Definition and Types of Cloud Storage
4.2 Cloud Storage Significances
4.2.1 Accessibility
4.2.2 Backup and Data Recovery
4.2.3 Security
4.3 Cloud Storage Solutions for Digital Camera
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 4.3.1 Storage Capacity
4.3.2 Improve the Performance of Live-Stream

5.0 References 14

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 Digital camera is one of the technology of input devices in today’s society. It has been
used widely in many aspects of our lives and has changed the ways of human livings. The
develop of camera assists us to record and preserve our memorable moments in lives. Camera
obscura is the first camera in the world used for photography. It is developed in the 16th
century as an aid to artists in their drawing and painting. Then, Nicéphore Niépce has made
the first camera that successfully to capture photograph in 1816. And his partner Louis
Daguerre contribute towards the invention of daguerreotype camera in 1839. In 1900s, Kodak
has become the pioneer in photography sector and the first digital camera was invented by
Steve Sasson, who worked as an engineer for Kodak in 1975 (History of the camera, n.d.).
While, the first digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) is Nikon SVC, invented by Nikon in
1986.

Camera Obscura
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_camera#Camera_obscura

Usages of Digital Camera’s Technology

1. Education
Nowadays, digital camera has been used as an aiding tool in education. Most of the
schools and universities are using digital camera for recording of virtual classroom
and pre-recorded lessons for online learning purpose. This has benefits those learners
who are unable to attend the face-to-face classes or with tight schedule to continue
their studies. The use of digital camera is also a great aid for students in creative
writing, oral presentation and multimedia projects. In addition, many of the
documentary video from National Geographic channel is used as an additional
resource for teaching purpose.

2. Communication

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 The technology of digital camera has change the ways of communication in people.
We take pictures and videos to share it on the social media platform. We can obtain
information and explore to the unseen world through the sharing of photographs in
social media. Reporters and photographers are also using the technology of digital
camera to raise the concerns of public to some of the issues in the society. Many of
the company is also using digital camera for commercial shooting and upload to their
website to promote their products and services. We can attain more information about
the product such as the quality, colour, or the condition of the actual product look like
through the technology of digital camera.

Advantages of Digital Camera’s Technology

1. Environment Friendly
The invention of digital camera has benefits to the earth and human environment. The
use of chemicals for film rolls can results the increase level of environmental
pollution. Traditional camera that uses film requires use of chemicals to produce into
pictures. And the use of battery of traditional camera which is not friendly to the
environment. By having the technology of digital camera, the impact on environment
can be reduce as digital camera do not need to rinse with chemicals to keep as a hard
copy. We can store the photos to computer or smartphone for viewing and sharing.

2. Cost Effective
The use of digital camera is much more cost-effective compare to traditional camera.
As traditional camera requires the cost to purchase roll films and battery, fees to wash
out the photos from film at photo studio. Digital camera does not need the use of roll
film for photograph and we can take as many photos as we like to get the best shoot.
And we cannot do so if using a traditional camera as film is very costly and wasted to
do so. Moreover, we can store the photos to computer, other electronic devices or
upload to social media platform such as Facebook as records of event which is free of
charge. While, traditional camera requires costs to print out the photos and purchase
of album books.

Comparison Between Compact Camera and Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera

1. Processor

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 The image processor is a digital signal processor (DSP) and control unit to process the
image in digital camera or other electronic devices (Image Processor, n.d.). It can
process vast amounts of data and high-speed computation during shooting. The image
processor also controls the image’s colour adjustment, aberrations correction and
reduce the noise of images with the increase of processing speed (DIGIC Image
Processor, n.d.). Image processor play an important role in compact camera than
DSLR camera as it can control the adjustment of lighting and some other settings that
can make the image look good. Whereas, DSLR camera can adjust the lighting issues
through external flash unit.

Brands for Types of Image Processor in Market

i. DIGIC
DIGIC is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) invented by Canon
in 1996 to perform high speed signal processing and act as the control
operations in their digital products (DIGIC, n.d.). PowerShot G7 X Mark II,
the latest compact camera released by Canon with DIGIC 7. With the fast
processor of DIGIC 7, you can take ideal image for fast moving people or
objects. And the new dual sensing image stabilisation (IS) feature can reduce
the camera shake in low light or night shooting (DIGIC 7 Gives Excellent
Performance and Image Quality to Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II, n.d.).

ii. Expeed
Expeed is the image processor and control unit developed by Nikon for their
digital cameras. The processor controls of Bayer filtering, demosaicing, image
sharpening, transmission of data and many more tasks in digital camera. The
latest version of image processor for Nikon is Expeed 6A and it was planned
to release with three of the DL series of premium compact camera that are able
to capture 4k video (Expeed, n.d.). However, the release has been cancelled
due to the issues of image processor according to the announcement made by
Nikon on March 2017 (Cancellation of release of the DL Series of premium
compact cameras, n.d.).

2. Image Resolution

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 The image resolution refers to the sensor’s capability to capture the clearer of small
objects in the image with different boundaries. The higher the image resolution for
camera, the more details the small objects in the image (Image Resolution, n.d.).
DSLR camera tend to have greater megapixel compare to normal compact camera.
Normal compact camera approximately has around 20 megapixels but DSLR camera
can have up to 30 megapixels for image resolution. For examples, the latest model of
compact camera for Canon - PowerShot G7 X Mark II have 20.1 megapixels but it is
incomparable to their DSLR camera - EOS 5D Mark IV which have 30.4 megapixels.

3. Image Editing Features

The basics of image editing features for digital camera normally consists of cropping,
resize and adjustment for brightness, contrast and sharpness of the photos. Compact
camera now has the features of filter effects that allows the users to take photo in
vivid, sepia or black and white setting. While, DSLR camera has much more image
editing features such as selective color in black and white image, miniature effect,
color sketch, distortion control and more. You can also use photo editing software for
noise reduction, softening of images, colour adjustment, remove of unwanted
elements in image, and special effects (D3200, n.d.).

4. Video Capture Capability

The first DSLR camera with video recording capability is Nikon D90 which released
on 2008. Although compact camera process video recording feature but the image
quality cannot compare to the professional DSLR camera. Generally, compact camera
video capture capability is up to full high definition only unless you are getting a
high-end compact camera. Whereas, DSLR camera can support for 4k video shooting
and full high definition. And DSLR camera have longer continuous shooting time
compare to compact camera.

Following that, we will be discussing about the storage medium used for digital
camera and the issues of using it. There are two types of memory card are used in digital
camera for storage, which is CompactFlash card and Secure Digital card.

CompactFlash (CF) Card

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A CompactFlash card is a flash memory card first developed by SanDisk in 1994 that were
mainly used in digital single lens reflex camera (CompactFlash, n.d.). The approximate size
of a CompactFlash card is 43mm by 36mm. And there are two types of CompactFlash card
which is in different thicknesses. Type I CompactFlash card with 3.3mm thickness and type
II CompactFlash card with 5.0mm for thickness. CompactFlash card is bigger and have
greater resistance to breakage compare to a Secure Digital (SD) card. Hence, the percentage
of lost, breakage and damage of CompactFlash card will be much lower. SanDisk, the
manufacturer of flash memory products has released a new high-capacity CompactFlash
memory card optimized for professional-grade video capture on September 2013. This
CompactFlash memory card supports VPG-65, the video performance guarantee that ensure
minimum sustained write speed for video recording at 65 megabytes per second for full high-
definition video and with transfer speed up to 160 megabytes per second for storage and
editing of photos (SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card, n.d.).

SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card

Source: https://www.sandisk.in/home/memory-cards/compact-flash/extremepro-compactflash

However, the CompactFlash card is getting replace by the new type of memory card – XQD
card which is announced in 2011. XQD card is a memory card designed for high-definition
digital and video cameras. It has huge storage capacity which is more than 2 terabytes and the
transfer speeds for latest version of XQD card are up to 8 gigabytes per second (XQD Card,
n.d.).

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 Comparison of Burst Shooting for Camera with XQD Card and CompactFlash Card
Source: http://www.sony.com.sg/electronics/xqd-memory-cards/xqd-g-serie

Comparison of Transfer Speeds to Computer

Source: http://www.sony.com.sg/electronics/xqd-memory-cards/xqd-g-serie

Secure Digital (SD) Card

Secure Digital (SD) is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card
Association (SDA) which is established by Panasonic, SanDisk and Toshiba in 1999 (Secure
Digital, n.d.). Secure Digital card is designed to compete with Sony’s brand of memory card
called Memory Stick that is widely used by music suppliers. Secure Digital card is smaller in
size, light weight and more cost-effective compare to other flash memory devices. Thus,
Secure Digital card is slowly taking over CompactFlash card and become the memory card
format that is widely used in many application and portable devices. The market share of
Secure Digital card is more than 90% by 2010 and most of the digital camera manufacturers
such as Canon, Nikon, and Konica Minolta support the use of Secure Digital card in their
products. There are three types of Secure Digital card, Secure Digital Standard Capacity
(SDSC), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) and Secure Digital Extended Capacity
(SDXC) in three different sizes, which is SD card, miniSD card and microSD card (SD,
SDHC and SDXC Card Capacity Choices, n.d.). Besides that, SD Association has set the

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standard speed class for Secure Digital card that represents the minimum read and write
speeds of it.

Speed Class Rating for Secure Digital Card

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital

Issues on Memory Cards

1. Portability
The develop of memory cards is to support the storage for portable devices. Users can
take the memory card with them whenever they go. It can be used in mobile phones,
cameras, video recorder, and many more electronic devices. We can use the adapter or
connecter to read, edit or transfer the information that are store in the memory card by
computer such as photos taken by camera or sharing video that recorded by
camcorder without having the needs of network connection. Although the portability
of memory card is very high but the users may require to purchase the adapter or
connecter to read the information store in it as most of the adapter are not included
when you purchase for memory card.

2. Reliability
Memory card able to withstand wear and designed to resist damage when dropped or
knocked. Some of the memory cards have lifetime warranty from the manufacturer.
The lifespan for memory card may up to 10 years or more and can stand for 100,000
times of erase cycles thanks to the wear leveling technology in it. Generally, the
damage for memory card is caused by human negligence such as smashed by heavy
items or being spilled by water. Besides that, Secure Digital card also have about 5
years for data retention time. Thus, user does not need to worry about the maintain of
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 data information that are store in the memory card. In addition, some manufacturers
will program their memory card to back up the data to avoid corruption. And the
write-protection notch of Secure Digital card allows the users to give access to the
reader to read-only and cannot write the information in card (Secure Digital, n.d.).

Write-protection Notch
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital

3. Accessibility
According to Section 508 of the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
the design of electronic products and information technology have to be accessible to
people with disabilities (Accessibility, n.d.). The enforce of Section 508 enables the
disabled person to enjoy the technology we have and would not be left behind of it.
And memory card is one of the product that are able to access by everyone regardless
you have a physical or mental condition that limits your movements, senses, or
activities. The design of memory card adapter or card reader allows us to insert and
remove from the computer easily in just a press. Hence, people with mobility
impaired does not have to worry about the using of the small size of memory card.

On the other hand, cloud storage is another new technology or option that are
designed for mass storage than flash memory devices. Cloud storage is a cloud computing
model that allows you to store, share and access data information in host server by using
internet connection. There are three types of cloud storage services, which is private, public
and hybrid cloud storage services with three storage options – block storage, file storage and
object storage (What is Cloud Storage, n.d.). Dropbox, Google Drive and Amazon Web
Services are few of the widely known cloud storage service provider nowadays.

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 Types of Cloud Deployment Models
Source: https://cloudstorageadvice.com/what-is-cloud-storage/

The Significances of Cloud Storage

1. Accessibility
Users of cloud storage are able to access to data stored on the cloud anytime and
anywhere with internet connection whether you are using smartphone, tablet,
computer or other devices. You can upload, share, view, and edit the documents with
your co-worker or business partner in different country and time zone to increase the
productivity and efficiency level. You can drag and drop the files to the Dropbox or
Google Drive share folder and it will automatically sync to the cloud for centralized
management. Also, you can access to the data information needed without having to
consider about the endure of temperature or humidity level which may affects the
access to memory card.

2. Backup and Data Recovery

According to Amazon Web Services, cloud storage brings low cost, high durability
and extreme scale to backup and recovery solutions (What is Cloud Storage, n.d.).
This can benefit those medium to big-size companies or industries that need to
maintain and keep record of huge volumes of data in a longer period and achieve cost
efficient storage. Many of the smartphone manufacturers are using cloud storage
technology to help the consumers to backup and transfer all the data from an existing
smartphone to a new purchase smartphone. The backup and recovery has speed up the
process and hassle to setting up all applications in smartphone one by one. You can
also recovery the data within a certain period by using cloud storage too. For example,
Dropbox allows the users to restore the deleted files within 30 days and 120 days for
business users (Security, n.d.).

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 3. Security
Many of the cloud storage service provider have extra layers of protection and secure
infrastructure for data transfer and encryption. Some of the cloud storage require a
2nd Factor Authentication (2FA) – a security code for sign in to cloud storage as
second step of verification to access the data stored in cloud (Dropbox Security, n.d.).
The administrator of cloud storage can also control the sharing of files in cloud to be
visible to certain group of members or defaults the permissions of users as read only
for shared documents. Cisco Umbrella, the cloud security platform that provides the
first line of defense against threats on the internet enables the visibility to internet
activity across all devices and protect your data by stopping the ransomware
encryption (Cisco Umbrella, n.d.).

With the new technology of cloud storage, the issues on size of storage on digital
camera can be overcome. Today, most of the latest digital camera has the ability to connect to
Wi-Fi network that enables you to uploads photos and videos to cloud storage site. For
example, the Nikon Image Space is a cloud based image storage offered by Nikon for
storage, manage and sharing purposes. Your photos will be automatically uploads to the
cloud directly from the camera. And the capacity for storage of Nikon Image Space is up to
20 gigabytes for Nikon users (Nikon Image Space, n.d.). You can continue with your
shooting without having the needs to change the memory card due to insufficient of storage
space. And you can access the photos in cloud using smartphone, tablet or computer.

Furthermore, the use of cloud storage can improve the overall performance of live-
stream. You can upload your video instantly to cloud and share it real-time with your viewers
in any online platforms without compatibility issues. The Mariinsky Theatre, a historic
theatre of opera and ballet in Russia using the cloud solution for live-stream performances
over the internet for their audience around the world and achieved an improvement of 30%
on their overall performance. (Mariinsky Theatre, n.d.)

In my opinions, the evolved of digital camera’s technology has brings us lots of

benefits in our lives. We used it in education, communication, fight for civil rights, media and
entertainments, and many more aspects in our daily lives. The advance development in the
image processor, resolution, in-camera editing features, and video capability enables us to
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capture our very own stories regardless you are using compact camera or DSLR camera.
Everyone can enjoy the convenience of recording your stories and share it with your love
ones through the storage medium we have now such as flash memory devices and cloud
storage platform. It was reported that the storage software requirement may reach 44
zettabytes by 2020 (Chen, 2016). Hence, the reliability and security of storage medium is
critical as challenges and threats is getting increase in the internet.

(2895 Words)

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 References

Accessibility. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility#International_standards_and_guidelines
Cancellation of release of the DL Series of premium compact cameras. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Nikon: http://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/premium-compact-
cameras/premium-compact-cameras.page
Chen, A. (2016, January 20). Thought Leadership. Retrieved from SD Association:
https://www.sdcard.org/press/thoughtleadership/160118why_the_sd_market_continue
s_to_focus_on_capacity_security_and_reliability.html
Cisco Umbrella. (n.d.). Retrieved from Cisco: https://umbrella.cisco.com/products/features
CompactFlash. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompactFlash
D3200. (n.d.). Retrieved from Nikon:
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d3200/features06.htm
DIGIC. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIGIC
DIGIC 7 Gives Excellent Performance and Image Quality to Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark
II. (n.d.). Retrieved from Canon:
http://www.canon.com.sg/personal/news/detail/excellent-performance-and-image-
quality?languageCode=EN
DIGIC Image Processor. (n.d.). Retrieved from Canon: http://www.canon-
asia.com/cplus/en/digic-image-processor/
Dropbox Security. (n.d.). Retrieved from Dropbox Business:
https://www.dropbox.com/business/trust/security
Expeed. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expeed
History of the camera. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_camera
Image Processor. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_processor
Image Resolution. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_resolution
Mariinsky Theatre. (n.d.). Retrieved from IBM: https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-
bin/ssialias?subtype=AB&infotype=PM&htmlfid=WUC12442USEN&attachment=W
UC12442USEN.PDF?cm_sp=IBM+Cloud-Bluemix+MediaandEntertainment-_-WW-
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 English-C-suite-Discover-CloudSolutions-_-
MediaandEntertainmentCloudSolutionsland
Nikon Image Space. (n.d.). Retrieved from Nikon: https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-
products/nikon-image-space.page
SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash Memory Card. (n.d.). Retrieved from SanDIsk:
https://www.sandisk.in/home/memory-cards/compact-flash/extremepro-compactflash
SD, SDHC and SDXC Card Capacity Choices. (n.d.). Retrieved from SD Association:
https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/choices/file_system/index.html
Secure Digital. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital
Security. (n.d.). Retrieved from Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/security
What is Cloud Storage. (n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon Web Services:
https://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-storage/
XQD Card. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XQD_card

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