AG Photo luxury

Introduction

This chapter will not be a discussion of information technology but serves to explain quickly and simply the nature of a file that, in photography, happens to be an image. The computer “thinks” using binary code which is made up of various digits comprised of 1’s and 0’s. There are two digits because an electronic circuit permits the passage of current or does not permit it; it does not have any other alternative.  Therefore, the passage of current is indicated by a 1, and the blocking of the current by a 0.  Making use of these two digits, the computer has to represent numbers, letters, and programs and so on. Operating systems work through graphic interfaces that allow us to visualize these 0’s and 1’s using icons, buttons, letters, and numbers and so on. But everything that is displayed on the computer monitor has been translated from a code made up of millions of 1’s and 0’s.

The files that we open (music, photos, and written documents) consist solely of 0’s and 1’s to form code.  The hard disk that memorizes our files is a group of rotating disks whose surface contains millions of microscopic magnets that are oriented towards “1” or its opposite, “0”. The magnetic heads read the orientation of these magnets and translates them into an electric signal that the processor then processes and visualizes on the monitor.

A file is therefore nothing more than a code made up of many 1’s and 0’s.

Software possesses a legend that attributes a meaning to every combination, long or short, that is made up of these two digits. For example, a letter of the alphabet that we see on the screen is made up of a fragment of code that is comprised of 8 different 1’s and 0’s in various combinations. Also, the numbers from 1 to 10 are represented by a fragment of code made up of only 1’s and 0’s.  

But in a file, besides the information contained, there is also information used to classify, interpret and read itself. In a way, man has copied what nature has been doing for quite some time with DNA.

In the end, what distinguishes a music file from an image file? In the file’s code, there exists sequences that identify the file type, the format, and the information necessary for decoding in addition to the audio, visual and other types of metadata necessary to display the contents.

File types

Many file types exist, and here we will address those that are relevant to images.  Image files can be native or compressed; among the first ones, I will list the file types most utilized:

.raw, .png, .tiff, .bmp

Of the second type, the most utilized are:

.jpg, .tiff (compressed), .gif

Usually in reflex cameras, the formats utilized are the raw and jpeg file formats while in compact digital cameras only the jpeg file format is utilized.