Digicam glossary

CCD: Charged Coupled Device. A wafer-thin rectangle (about 15 mm x 22 mm) that acts as the film in a digital camera.

CompactFlash: One of several, non-interchangeable forms of removable memory used in digital cameras.

Resolution: Generally considered to be the number of pixels stored in a processed image, following "capture" on the CCD and interpolation inside the camera. This is often several times larger than the pixel size of the CCD itself (a 2 megapixel CCD may create a 6 MB image file in the camera).

SLR: Single Lens Reflex. When you look through the viewfinder, you are actually looking through the camera's lens, so composition and focusing are made easier than otherwise.

USB: Universal Serial Bus. A relatively new method of connecting peripherals (such as a digital camera) to computers. It is much easier and faster in operation than the alternative "serial" port connection method