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Digital cameras became popular during the end of the 1990s, when digital technology had progressed to a level that allowed small, relatively-inexpensive image-capture devices to be put on the market. Though similar to the older, film-based cameras popular throughout most of the 20th century, they operate using much different technology. Whereas older cameras use light-sensitive film to record images, digital cameras translate an image into digital information, which is then stored on a hard drive, data stick, or DVD.
The advantages and disadvantages of this process are subtle. On the plus side, translating an image into, basically, a series of ones and zeroes (the essential form of all digital information) allows users to manipulate it much more easily. A digital image can be cropped, edited, and tinkered with using only a computer and the right software. To manipulate a film image, on the other hand, is a much more labor-intensive process.
On the other hand, digital technology has some downsides. For one, experts and purists both maintain that the images produced by even the most sophisticated digital camera are of a lower quality than film-based photographs. Also, achieving a final, visible printout of a digital image often requires access to powerful digital printers.
However, consumers have almost unanimously been able to forgive the technology this fault. Digital cameras have swamped the market, with models ranging in size from just bigger than your hand, to smaller than a pack of cards. Even many cellular phones now come with a built in camera, which makes it possible for users to take small, lower-quality photographs whenever they feel like it.
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