Digital image
In a digital image , image content is represented and stored by whole numbers . In most cases the images are two-dimensional , and in order to keep the memory requirement low, the data is often binary- coded and, if necessary, also compressed .
Digital images can be generated in different ways . A basic distinction is made between two types of digital images:
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Raster graphics : the image information is stored in an even grid . These graphics show blurring or steps at the edges of objects if the magnification is too high. With these raster graphics, a distinction can be made on the basis of the image acquisition:
- Optically generated images of real objects that are captured photographically with digital cameras or scanners through digitization .
- Computed images generated by a computer and software using algorithms .
- Vector graphics : the image information is defined by geometric objects, such as points , lines or areas . These graphics can be scaled as required during image reproduction through computational transformation without blurring or steps occurring at the object edges.
Digital images can be processed , edited and reproduced using computers and software , and converted into standardized data formats such as JPEG , Portable Network Graphics (PNG) or Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) . In many file formats it is possible to enrich the image data with diverse metadata .
Digital images are invisible to humans per se, but can be visualized with suitable display devices such as computer monitors , projectors or printers .
history
One of the first computers that could process digital images back in the 1950s was the SEAC at the National Institute of Standards and Technology .
In order to research the phenomenon of the digital image in theory and practice, the DFG approved an interdisciplinary priority program in 2018, which is coordinated by the Institute for Art History at LMU Munich .
Web links
- Definition: digital image, image processing , photography information
- Digital image , lexicon of cartography and geomatics
- Digital image , geospatial service, lexicon
Individual evidence
- ↑ What is a digital image? , University of Fine Arts Braunschweig, accessed on July 26, 2016
- ↑ The digital image. Draft for a DFG priority program