Appendices

Appendix A Computer connection types

Lurking at the back of most computers or hidden beneath a front flap are a series of connections used to attach external devices to your machine:

• USB is the standard used for attaching most cameras, scanners and printers.

• Firewire is a faster scanner and camera connection than USB.

• Screen/video port connects the computer to the screen.

• Mouse port is color coded to match the mouse plug.

• Keyboard connects to the computer using a similar color-coded plug to the mouse.

• SCSI ports are sometimes used to connect scanners and external hard drives.

• Printer or parallel port connections are not used as much as they used to be. Most printers are now connected via USB.

• Serial used to be the connection port for mice and some digital cameras, but now is largely unused.

• Network connections are used to link several computers so that they can share files.

• Modem ports connect into the telephone socket, allowing you to dial up Internet access from your computer.

Appendix B Camera memory cards

Memory cards, or digital film, as they are sometimes referred to, are used to store your camera’s pictures. There are five main types, listed in Table B.1.

Appendix C Digital camera sensor sizes and resolution (megapixels)

Some cameras have chip resolution approaching 12.0 megapixels and, as you now know, the more pixels you have, the bigger you will be able to print the pictures. This said, cameras with fewer pixels are still capable of producing photographic prints of smaller sizes. Use Table C.1 to help give you an idea about what print sizes are possible with each resolution level.

Appendix D Suggested starting speeds/ apertures for difficult night scenes

Appendix E Scanner connections

The connection that links the scanner and computer is used to transfer the picture data between the two machines. Because digital photographs are made up of vast amounts of information, this connection needs to be very fast. Over the years, several different connection types have developed, each with their own merits. It is important to check that your computer has the same connection as the scanner before finalizing any purchase.

Table E.1 Scanner connections

Scanner connection	Merits	Speed rating
USB 1.0	• No need to turn computer off to connect (hot swappable) • Can link many devices • Standard on many recent computers • Can be added to older machines using an additional card	Fast (1.5 Mbytes per second)
USB 2.0	• Hot swappable • Can link many devices • Standard on some new models • No need to turn computer off to connect (hot swappable) • Can link many devices • Standard on many recent computers • Can be added to older machines using an additional card	Extremely fast (60 Mbytes per second)
Firewire	• Hot swappable • Can link many devices • Not generally standard on Windows machines but can be added using an additional card • Standard on newest Macintosh machines	Extremely fast (50 Mbytes per second)
SCSI-1	• Can link several devices • Standard on older Macintosh machines	Fast (5 Mbytes per second)
SCSI-2 (Fast SCSI)	• Not generally standard but can be added to machines using an additional card	Fast (10 Mbytes per second)
SCSI-3 (Ultra SCSI)	• Not generally standard but can be added to machines using an additional card	Very fast (20 Mbytes per second)
Parallel	• Standard on most Windows-based machines	Very slow (0.11 Mbytes per second)

Appendix F What resolution should I pick?

Knowing what is the best resolution, or scanning quality, for a particular task can be a daunting task. Some scanning software allows users to pick from a list of output options such as ‘web use’, ‘laser print’ and ‘photo quality print’. The program then selects the best resolution to suit the selection. For those of you without these choices, use Table F.1 as a guide.