Digital imaging - Definition and Overview

Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is the creation of digital images, typically from a physical object. The term is often assumed to imply or include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of such images.

A digital image may be created directly from a physical scene by a camera or similar device. Alternatively, it may be obtained from another image in an analog medium, like photographs, photographic film, or printed paper, by a scanner or similar device. Many technical images -- such as those acquired with tomographic equipment, side-looking radar, or radio telescopes -- are actually obtained by complex processing of non-image data. Finally, a digital image can also be computed from a geometric model or mathematical formula (however, in this case the name image synthesis is more appropriate).

See Also

• Image retrieval
• Digital image analysis
• Digital image processing
• Film recorder
• Graphics file format

External link

• Cornell University: Digital imaging tutorial (http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/contents.html)