1.
Nikon
–
Nikon Corporation, also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group, Nikons main competitors in camera and lens manufacturing include Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Pentax, and Olympus. Founded on July 25,1917 as Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha, Nikon is a member of the Mitsubishi group of companies. Nikon Corporation was established on 25 July 1917 when three leading optical manufacturers merged to form a comprehensive, fully integrated optical company known as Nippon Kōgaku Tōkyō K. K. Over the next sixty years, this company became a manufacturer of optical lenses and equipment used in cameras, binoculars, microscopes. During World War II the company operated thirty factories with 2,000 employees, manufacturing binoculars, lenses, bomb sights, after the war Nippon Kōgaku reverted to producing its civilian product range in a single factory. In 1948, the first Nikon-branded camera was released, the Nikon I, Nikon lenses were popularised by the American photojournalist David Douglas Duncan. Duncan was working in Tokyo when the Korean War began, Duncan had met a young Japanese photographer, Jun Miki, who introduced Duncan to Nikon lenses. From July 1950 to January 1951, Duncan covered the Korean War, fitting Nikon optics to his Leica rangefinder cameras produced high contrast negatives with very sharp resolution at the centre field. Founded in 1917 as Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha, the company was renamed Nikon Corporation, after its cameras, the name Nikon, which dates from 1946, is a merging of Nippon Kōgaku and Zeisss brand Ikon. This would cause some problems in Germany as Zeiss complained that Nikon violated its trademarked camera. From 1963 to 1968 the Nikon F in particular was therefore labeled Nikkor, the Nikkor brand was introduced in 1932, a westernised rendering of an earlier version Nikkō, an abbreviation of the companys original full name. Nikkor is the Nikon brand name for its lenses, another early brand used on microscopes was Joico, an abbreviation of Japan Optical Industries Co. Expeed is the brand Nikon uses for its processors since 2007. The Nikon SP and other 1950s and 1960s rangefinder cameras competed directly with models from Leica, however, the company quickly ceased developing its rangefinder line to focus its efforts on the Nikon F single-lens reflex line of cameras, which was successful upon its introduction in 1959. For nearly 30 years, Nikons F-series SLRs were the most widely used small-format cameras among professional photographers, however, as autofocus SLRs became available from Minolta and others in the mid-1980s, Nikons line of manual-focus cameras began to seem out of date. Canon introduced a new type of lens-camera interface with its entirely electronic Canon EOS cameras, the much faster lens performance permitted by Canons electronic focusing and aperture control prompted many professional photographers to switch to the Canon system through the 1990s. Nikon created some of the first digital SLRs for NASA, used in the Space Shuttle since 1991, after a 1990s partnership with Kodak to produce digital SLR cameras based on existing Nikon film bodies, Nikon released the Nikon D1 SLR under its own name in 1999
2.
Digital single-lens reflex camera
–
A digital single-lens reflex camera is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor, as opposed to photographic film. The reflex design scheme is the difference between a DSLR and other digital cameras. In the reflex design, light travels through the lens, then to a mirror that alternates to send the image to either the viewfinder or the image sensor, the alternative would be to have a viewfinder with its own lens, hence the term single lens for this design. By using only one lens, the viewfinder of a DSLR presents an image that will not perceptibly differ from what is captured by the cameras sensor, like SLRs DSLRs typically use interchangeable lenses with a proprietary lens mount. A movable mechanical mirror system is switched down to light from the lens over a matte focusing screen via a condenser lens. Most of the entry-level DSLRs use a instead of the traditional pentaprism. Focusing can be manual or automatic, activated by pressing half-way on the release or a dedicated AF button. DSLRs typically use autofocus based on phase detection and this method allows the optimal lens position to be calculated, rather than found, as would be the case with autofocus based on contrast maximisation. Phase-detection autofocus is typically faster than other passive techniques, as the phase sensor requires the same light going to the image sensor, it was previously only possible with an SLR design. Digital SLR cameras, along with most other cameras, generally have a mode dial to access standard camera settings or automatic scene-mode settings. Sometimes called a PASM dial, they typically provide such as program, aperture-priority, shutter-priority. Scene modes vary from camera to camera, and these modes are inherently less customizable and they often include landscape, portrait, action, macro, night, and silhouette, among others. However, these different settings and shooting styles that scene mode provides can be achieved by calibrating certain settings on the camera, professional DSLRs seldom contain automatic scene modes as professionals often do not require these and professionals know how to achieve the looks they want. A method to prevent dust entering the chamber, by using a dust cover filter right behind the mount, was used by Sigma in its first DSLR. Olympus used a built-in sensor cleaning mechanism in its first DSLR that had a sensor exposed to air, several Canon DSLR cameras rely on dust reduction systems based on vibrating the sensor at ultrasonic frequencies to remove dust from the sensor. Interchangeable lenses for SLRs and DSLRs are built to operate correctly with a lens mount that is generally unique to each brand. There are also lens adapters that allow a lens for one mount to be used on a camera body with a different lens mount. Many lenses are mountable, diaphragm-and-meter-compatible, on modern DSLRs and on older film SLRs that use the lens mount
3.
Camera lens
–
A lens might be permanently fixed to a camera, or it might be interchangeable with lenses of different focal lengths, apertures, and other properties. While in principle a simple convex lens will suffice, in practice a compound made up of a number of optical lens elements is required to correct the many optical aberrations that arise. Some aberrations will be present in any lens system and it is the job of the lens designer to balance these and produce a design that is suitable for photographic use and possibly mass production. Typical rectilinear lenses can be thought of as improved pinhole lenses, as shown, a pinhole lens is simply a small aperture that blocks most rays of light, ideally selecting one ray to the object for each point on the image sensor. Here a pixel is the area of the detector exposed to light from a point on the object, making the pinhole smaller improves resolution, but reduces the amount of light captured. At a certain point, shrinking the hole does not improve the resolution because of the diffraction limit, beyond this limit, making the hole smaller makes the image blurrier as well as darker. Practical lenses can be thought of as an answer to the question how can a pinhole lens be modified to more light. A first step is to put a simple convex lens at the pinhole with a length equal to the distance to the film plane. The geometry is almost the same as with a pinhole lens. From the front of the camera, the hole, would be seen. If one were inside the camera, one would see the acting as a projector. The virtual image of the aperture from inside the camera is the exit pupil. Practical photographic lenses include more lens elements, a camera lens may be made from a number of elements, from one, as in the Box Brownies meniscus lens, to over 20 in the more complex zooms. These elements may themselves comprise a group of lenses cemented together, the front element is critical to the performance of the whole assembly. In all modern lenses the surface is coated to reduce abrasion, flare, and surface reflectance, to minimize aberration, the curvature is usually set so that the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction are equal. In a prime lens this is easy, but in a zoom there is always a compromise, the lens usually is focused by adjusting the distance from the lens assembly to the image plane, or by moving elements of the lens assembly. To improve performance, some lenses have a cam system that adjusts the distance between the groups as the lens is focused, manufacturers call this different things, Nikon calls it CRC, Canon calls it a floating system, and Hasselblad and Mamiya call it FLE. Glass is the most common used to construct lens elements, due to its good optical properties
4.
Nikon F-mount
–
The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35mm format Single-lens reflex cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a bayonet mount with a 44 mm throat. The company continues to use variations of the lens mount specification for its film. The large variety of F-mount compatible lenses makes it the largest system of interchangeable flange-mount photographic lenses in history, over 400 different Nikkor lenses are compatible with the system. The F-mount is also popular in scientific and industrial applications, most notably machine vision, the F-mount has been in production for over five decades, making it the only SLR lens mount which has been produced for over 50 years. F-mount cameras include current models from Nikon, Fujifilm, Sinar, JVC, Kenko, numerous other manufacturers employ the F-mount in non-photographic imaging applications. The F-mount has a significant degree of backward and forward compatibility. Incompatibilities do exist, however, and adventurous F-mount users should consult product documentation in order to avoid problems, many manual focus lenses can be converted to allow metering with consumer Nikon bodies by adding a Dandelion chip to the lens. DX lenses may produce vignetting when used on film and FX cameras, however, Nikon lenses designed for film cameras will work on Nikon digital system cameras with the limitations noted above. Unlike most other lens mounts, F-mount lenses lock by turning counter-clockwise, nearly all F-mount lenses have zoom and focus controls that rotate in the clockwise direction to increase focal length and focus distance respectively. This convention is used in Pentax K-mount and Sony A-mount lenses but is opposite of the direction normally used by Canon. F-mount lenses also typically have aperture rings that turn clockwise to close, Nikon has introduced many proprietary designations for F-mount Nikkor lenses, reflecting design variations and developments both in lenses and the F-mount itself. There are also unofficial designations used by collectors and dealers to differentiate similar lenses, a — Auto Nikkor — Designation for the first generation of F-mount lenses, introduced in 1959. These were all single-coated, and meter coupling was provided by a prong fixed to the aperture ring.6. Early versions are marked Nippon Kogaku Japan and have their focal lengths stated in centimetres, the Nippon Kogaku Japan engraving was replaced by Nikon from 1971 onwards. Warning, Mounting a non-AI lens can damage many modern Nikon camera bodies. AI-cameras that still may use non-AI lenses includes the Nikon F2A/F2AS with Photomic A or AS finder, Nikon EL2, as well as Nikon FM, in addition, the Nikon Df, a DSLR introduced in late 2013, can use non-AI lenses. The A lenses can be converted to the AI specification, see AId below. T, Q, P, H, S, O, N, UD, QD, PD — Appears immediately before or after the Nikkor name on F-type lenses, designating the number of optical elements in the design
5.
Image sensor
–
An image sensor or imaging sensor is a sensor that detects and conveys the information that constitutes an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves into signals, the waves can be light or other electromagnetic radiation. As technology changes, digital imaging tends to replace analog imaging, early analog sensors for visible light were video camera tubes. Currently, used types are semiconductor charge-coupled devices or active pixel sensors in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor or N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor technologies, analog sensors for invisible radiation tend to involve vacuum tubes of various kinds. Digital sensors include flat panel detectors, today, most digital cameras use a CMOS sensor, because CMOS sensors perform better than CCDs. An example is the fact that they incorporate an integrated circuit, CCD is still in use for cheap low entry cameras, but weak in burst mode. Both types of sensor accomplish the task of capturing light. Each cell of a CCD image sensor is an analog device, when light strikes the chip it is held as a small electrical charge in each photo sensor. This process is repeated until all the lines of pixels have had their charge amplified. A CMOS image sensor has an amplifier for each compared to the few amplifiers of a CCD. Some CMOS imaging sensors also use Back-side illumination to increase the number of photons that hit the photodiode, CMOS sensors can potentially be implemented with fewer components, use less power, and/or provide faster readout than CCD sensors. They are also vulnerable to static electricity discharges. Another approach is to utilize the very fine dimensions available in modern CMOS technology to implement a CCD like structure entirely in CMOS technology and this can be achieved by separating individual poly-silicon gates by a very small gap. These hybrid sensors are still in the phase and can potentially harness the benefits of both CCD and CMOS imagers. There are many parameters that can be used to evaluate the performance of a sensor, including dynamic range, signal-to-noise ratio. For sensors of comparable types, the ratio and dynamic range improve as the size increases. In order to avoid interpolated color information, techniques like color co-site sampling use a mechanism to shift the color sensor in pixel steps. 3CCD, using three discrete image sensors, with the color separation done by a dichroic prism, while in general digital cameras use a flat sensor, Sony prototyped a curved sensor in 2014 to reduce/eliminate Petzval field curvature that occurs with a flat sensor
6.
Charge-coupled device
–
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by shifting the signals between stages within the one at a time. CCDs move charge between capacitive bins in the device, with the shift allowing for the transfer of charge between bins, in recent years CCD has become a major technology for digital imaging. In a CCD image sensor, pixels are represented by p-doped metal-oxide-semiconductors capacitors, the charge-coupled device was invented in 1969 at AT&T Bell Labs by Willard Boyle and George E. Smith. The lab was working on bubble memory when Boyle and Smith conceived of the design of what they termed, in their notebook. The device could be used as a shift register, the essence of the design was the ability to transfer charge along the surface of a semiconductor from one storage capacitor to the next. The concept was similar in principle to the device, which was developed at Philips Research Labs during the late 1960s. The first patent on the application of CCDs to imaging was assigned to Michael Tompsett, the initial paper describing the concept listed possible uses as a memory, a delay line, and an imaging device. The first experimental device demonstrating the principle was a row of closely spaced metal squares on a silicon surface electrically accessed by wire bonds. The first working CCD made with integrated circuit technology was a simple 8-bit shift register and this device had input and output circuits and was used to demonstrate its use as a shift register and as a crude eight pixel linear imaging device. Development of the device progressed at a rapid rate, by 1971, Bell researchers led by Michael Tompsett were able to capture images with simple linear devices. Several companies, including Fairchild Semiconductor, RCA and Texas Instruments, picked up on the invention, fairchilds effort, led by ex-Bell researcher Gil Amelio, was the first with commercial devices, and by 1974 had a linear 500-element device and a 2-D100 x 100 pixel device. Steven Sasson, an engineer working for Kodak, invented the first digital still camera using a Fairchild 100 x 100 CCD in 1975. The first KH-11 KENNAN reconnaissance satellite equipped with charge-coupled device array technology for imaging was launched in December 1976, under the leadership of Kazuo Iwama, Sony also started a large development effort on CCDs involving a significant investment. Eventually, Sony managed to mass-produce CCDs for their camcorders, before this happened, Iwama died in August 1982, subsequently, a CCD chip was placed on his tombstone to acknowledge his contribution. He was also awarded the 2012 IEEE Edison Medal For pioneering contributions to imaging devices including CCD Imagers, cameras, in a CCD for capturing images, there is a photoactive region, and a transmission region made out of a shift register. An image is projected through a lens onto the capacitor array, once the array has been exposed to the image, a control circuit causes each capacitor to transfer its contents to its neighbor. The last capacitor in the array dumps its charge into a charge amplifier, by repeating this process, the controlling circuit converts the entire contents of the array in the semiconductor to a sequence of voltages
