COMPUTERS For photographers who want to expand their horizons from photo albums and light box, the computer is essential. It allows viewing, storing, manipulation and printing of your favourite conventional photos or digital images. A computer system comprises of Hardware and Software. The hardware is the computer and all it's peripherals - scanner, printer, monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers. The software supplies the computer with the necessary information to carry out a huge range of tasks. (see the Software section) Computers are divided into two categories, desktop (or PC) and laptop. A desktop is hardware designed to be used in homes or offices while the laptop is a portable 'all-in-one' machine. The desktops are bulkier than their counterparts but their screens are larger and brighter and are therefore preferable when photography is your priority. Computers may be constructed differently but the components used are all similar. What Makes it Work? The Motherboard contains the circuits which are the crucial elements to keep the machine going. At the back will be a power unit which converts the mains power into a manner usable by the various drives and chips within the machine. The brain of the computer is the CPU chip which is the central processing unit - it carries out all computing tasks and the faster the unit the better the computer performs. Another important chip is the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) which is programmed with all the instructions the machine needs. It also makes sure that all parts of the computer 'talk' with each other. The Hard Drive is a magnetic covered disk where most data is permanently stored while the RAM (Random Access Memory) temporarily stores data and programmes you are working on or using. Information should be saved to hard drive at regular intervals because if the power fails all data in RAM will be lost while that on hard drive will not. The more Megabytes of hard drive a computer has, the faster it carries out commands. The final part of a computer is the Modem, a device that allows computers to use a phone by converting electronic signals into audible ones. It is this device that allows connection to the Internet and the sending of Emails (Electronic Messages) between computers. It is at this point it is worthwhile talking about MONEY! As with all equipment, the costs involved in setting up a computer system (whether it be basic or complex, PC or laptop) will vary enormously and it is important to ascertain from the outset what your requirements will be and take professional advice accordingly. Often costly mistakes are made by under or over estimating a package for your needs. If you want a system to be used primarily for photographic work you will need a storage capacity of 64 to 128 GB or more. This should be adequate to ensure that your computer operates well and does not struggle under the weight of information needed to carry out tasks at speed and store data. In this respect, it is advisable to use the various 'compression' methods available - TIFF, JPEG, GIFF, etc. Compression: Whether you scan images or graphics or download from digital camera or the Web, there are certain standard procedures that can be employed when saving material to reduce file sizes and thereby not use up essential disk space. They work by 'compressing' files - with or without loss of quality. TIFF is a 'lossless' compression which, as it suggests, reduces file sizes without loss of quality. GIFF and JPEG however, reduce file sizes but with varying degrees of quality loss. TIFF is useful when storing or printing images whereas the other two methods compress files so small that images cannot be printed with any degree of quality. They are, however, suitable for 'viewing' on screen and are essential for transferring to web images due to their fast download times. The software packages now on the market will have the means and information on the various methods of saving your images. Floppy Disk, CD Rom & DVD: There will be various slots in the computer to accommodate accessories such as Expansion Cards (these allow you to increase the PC's capabilities) and Drivers for Floppy, CD and DVD (items to store,read or play information from.) A Floppy is a plastic disk while a CD Rom is like a Compact Disc except it contains information (games, tutorials, etc.) - they are both read by their respective drivers. Floppy's and blank CD Rom's allow information to be stored on them - a floppy will store 1.44MB of memory while an average CD Rom will hold up to 640MB of data. To store information yourself on a CD Rom, a CD Writer attached to your computer is necessary - this piece of equipment is a valuable asset if you want long term storage of your photographs or digital images. You can, however, have your film processed and transferred directly onto a CD Rom either at the time of developing or after, but the latter method can prove more expensive to do. The majority of good labs now offer this service. Remaining Hardware: The last essential items to complete your set up are the Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard and Speakers (optional). The Monitor is the means to view your subject matter and these can range from screens 14" and upwards. For photographic work a 17" model is a minimum requirement for ease of viewing. The Mouse is a device used to control the 'cursor' (the on-screen pointer indicating the text position or command functions). No computer system is complete without the Keyboard - the ergonomically designed ones are more user friendly and are worth thinking about if you intend to use commands via keyboard and not mouse. Speakers usually come with the package and are obviously essential for DVD's and interactive CD's but not a hardware necessary. The other add-on pieces of equipment you will need are a Scanner and/or Printer if you want to transfer your film image into digital form on screen or paper. (see Scanners and Printers) Of course none of the hardware described above will be of any use until it has been 'fed' with the software packages of your choice and as you will discover, there is a programme available for just about every photographer's need!