Instead of employing silver and light-sensitive dyes like film, integrated circuits that are sensitive to light store images as a grid of pixels in digital photography. CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensors or CCDs are the names given to these integrated circuits (charge-coupled devices). These circuits serve as the foundation of digital cameras. To put it another way, everything revolves around these "chips," which record light and then convert it into ones and zeros. When a CCD is charged with energy, the sensors inside the CCD become light sensitive. The CCD chip is composed of millions of detectors that can record light in the same way traditional film does (Albright, 2017).
In 1969, two Bell Labs scientists devised the CCD (Albright, 2017). Bell Labs experimented with it for a few years before abandoning it. The Japanese (particularly Sony) were among the first to experiment with the technology and build an industry around it. Most professional photographers have already made the switch to modern chip-based cameras. It took these determined researchers more than thirty years to attain their objectives!
One of the advantages of digital film is that it focuses on speed. You can make a print seconds after shooting a picture. The days of waiting a week or even just an hour for your images to be ready are over. The quickest and least expensive way to get started with digital photography doesn't even require a computer or a sophisticated color printer. In other circumstances, you don’t even need a digital camera! There are now more options for aspiring photographers than ever.
If you've recently acquired or inherited your first digital camera, you're ready to join the digital revolution. If you don't already own a camera, you can now find one for less than $100.