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7. The Impact
of Changing Technology ___________________________________________________________________________ During the 1990s the general field of digital/photo
imaging blossomed, as millions of consumers and business users increasingly embraced a variety of technologies in
this general area. They did this largely in response to a combination of
increasing performance and falling prices of digital cameras – both still and video. (Their price/performance
characteristics had previously hampered widespread adoption.) Another driver of change was more affordable
multimedia-enabled personal and laptop computers – along with new easy-to-use software for image
manipulation, desktop publishing and Web-authoring and interactive Web-viewing
innovations – which
armed users with the tools to put their images to immediate practical use. Low-cost scanners and affordable, photo-quality printers
also underpinned the viability of non-commercial/in-the-office/at-home
digitising and printing of images. On the commercial side, a variety of digital
printing and photo-processing options are beginning to offer alternatives to
hardcopy output of high-resolution digital images. And the Internet offers other possibilities – from large, online libraries of non-commercial and
commercially available images and personal online image-archiving services to
new imaging service paradigms and Web-based alternatives to supplement
traditional film processing. These emerging trends now see small and large businesses
alike pondering how best to deploy their digital imaging capabilities for
maximum leverage of growing inventories of valuable digital image assets. One
obstacle is standards: the challenge is for industry players to co-operate in
providing seamless 'end-to-end' processes which users will value (but which also
allow industry participants to be winners, as well) or risk
is more innovative 'dead
ends' that characterised the
past (see box). Key
Attributes of a Good Imaging Infrastructure The primary objectives
of a truly comprehensive imaging infrastructure must include: Ø
providing an easy and reliable method for linking
devices without imposing unnecessary techno-barriers on the users Ø
ensuring wide acceptance and availability of all
the underlying standards to facilitate interoperability and portability of both
devices and applications Ø
delivering fast performance across a full range
of device types Ø
keeping colours consistent across the various
image viewing and output devices used throughout the workflow process – from
image capture through viewing and printing Ø
preserving the full richness of the image (eg
resolution, audio, Metadata, etc.) for use by any application as well as for
transmission across the Internet, attachment to email, output to printers, etc Ø
providing an easy-to-implement standard for
developers of devices, software and media Ø establishing
agreed-upon and reliable methods for implementing image security, copyright and
licensing objectives. Source: The Digital Imaging Group, 1999 When
it comes to photography and related products, Australia is a microcosm of other
industrialised countries – in other words it is a typical first-world market of
considerable sophistication and accepting of the latest technological
developments. Since its early inception, the photo/digital imaging
market has been characterised by considerable innovation and by the convergence
of technologies. Unlike the traditional photography industry, which tended to
look toward a few vertically integrated companies for technology leadership, the
early digital imaging market enjoyed both the benefits and the drawbacks of
many different pockets of innovation. As meeting point of photographic and
computer technologies, the imaging market is driven by competition between the
large traditional camera manufacturers and new participants from other
industries, such as computer and other consumer electronics manufacturers, as
well as many specialised 'start-up' companies trying to carve out particular
market niches. Additionally, underlying technology drivers of the
market – such as optical semiconductor innovations, microprocessors, memories,
computer interfaces, media devices, and software to facilitate commercial and
consumer manipulation of images – have experienced explosive development amid
fierce competition between second-level suppliers to the market. Such an environment of convergent technologies and
competitive innovation has resulted in the rapid evolution of user-friendly
interfaces and higher resolutions that are seeing digital photography progressively
overcoming its initial phase of frustrated buyers and disappointing results.
Thus many early digital cameras were simply image-capture devices that had to
upload their stored pictures to a personal computer before they could be viewed
and culled. However, the simple incorporation of LCD screens into contemporary
cameras has literally transformed them into highly versatile, easy-to-use,
capture-and-review devices which provide for immediate review of the results so
that unsatisfactory ones can be immediately erased and (hopefully) substituted
for by satisfactory which adequately record the moment or event – resulting in
much higher user satisfaction overall. In addition, where early digital cameras had limited
resolution, small storage capacities, and were relatively expensive, today's
cameras routinely deliver high resolution for a much more modest outlay. Today
most mid-range digital cameras operate at or above the 2 million pixels range,
with higher end professional cameras offering resolutions in the 6-10 million
pixel resolution. Concurrently, on-board camera storage capacity has progressed
from around 8 MB to 64 MB and more. In addition to digital cameras, advances in other
image-capturing devices – such as low-cost scanners and commercial digitisation
services – are also contributing to overall growth in the imaging market (both
consumer and commercial). By providing easy-to-use and affordable options for
converting conventional film-based photography into digital results, these
technologies and services are helping to fuel the widespread use of digital
imaging applications, without requiring users to purchase a digital camera or
learn new photography methods. Like
other technologically based markets, the market for photography and related
products in Australia is evolving rapidly. For example, as the capabilities of digital cameras has increased at the same time
prices have fallen with increased demand, the practicality of digital
photography has increasingly been put to use to boost productivity in a wide
range of business applications – so that almost any existing application that
makes use of conventional (film-based) has become a prime candidate for
converting to digital. Thus, the real estate market has long depended upon
instant cameras as the mainstay tool to provide maximum convenience in the
field for documenting appraisals, capturing images for marketing purposes, etc.
Because invariably these pictures now end up being incorporated into other
documents by digitally scanning them, it makes sense to capture them digitally
in the first place. Similarly, other field photography applications – such as
insurance claim processing, law enforcement investigations, journalism, public
relations, etc – are all rapidly turning to digital photography as a much more
effective and efficient technology. In many ways, the previous revolution in desktop
publishing sowed the seeds for today's rapid adoption of digital imaging. Over
the past decade increasingly powerful desktop publishing software combined with
low-cost colour output options have armed many firms with capabilities that can
rival those they had to rely on others to supply. Even line staff and managers
throughout most organisations have developed the habit of routinely including
digital images in their documents and presentations. Thus in both small and large companies, digital scanners
have gone from high-priced rarities to fairly inexpensive ubiquitous tools for
importing hardcopy photos into sales/marketing documents, newsletters, product
specifications, proposals, media releases, departmental reports, customer
quotes, and on and on. Now digital photography has effectively stepped in to
make the interim step of scanning redundant, allowing mainstream business users
to take the picture they need and import it straight into their application. In addition to benefiting from the desktop publishing revolution, digital imaging techniques have been increasingly integral to a much bigger revolution which characterises the information economy – the Internet. With millions of Australians already surfing the net, a web presence has become a corporate necessity for firms of all sizes and every kind of business. Any an effective web content revolves around images, so that designers are eagerly embracing digital photography as the most efficient and flexible means of quickly capturing the right image for insertion in the right place at the right time (including updating them as required or desired). |