Input Devices

Mouse

A mouse is an input device. The mouse is controlled by the movement of your hand. It will sense two dimensional motions. This motion will move the pointer in the direction you move the mouse. The mouse usually has two buttons (the left click and the right click button) and a scroll wheel. However it is not uncommon to see a mouse with more features than this. The mouse is a very useful piece of hardware to create and manipulate digital graphics. It is an essential tool. The mouse will allow the user to control the software by giving the user control. The mouse will allow the user to use tools such as crop or the brush tool to manipulate the image in the way the user wants.

Scanner

A digital scanner is a device that will optically scan text, handwriting or an object and convert it into a digital image. A modern scanner will typically use a charged coupled device which is also known as a CDD. Older drum scanners use a photomultiplier tube as an image sensor. A scanner is a useful piece of hardware in relation to creating and manipulating digital graphics because it allows the graphic designer to copy images of paper and convert it into a digital image that the graphic designer can then edit. Digital scanners can scan in different modes such as different colour schemes. The resolution of the scanner can impact how the image appears on screen. The higher the resolution the better the quality the image will appear on screen.

Digital camera

A digital camera is a device that allows the user to capture still photos using an electric image sensor. Digital cameras vary in price from as little as £20 up to £2000. The camera quality is measured in megapixels. Unlike a film camera a digital camera allows you to view the camera immediately after you have captured it. Digital cameras allow graphic designers to take a picture of something and upload it onto their computer so that they can edit the photo. Some digital cameras allow you to edit photos using only the camera. They only allow you to use basic tools to edit the photo and if you want to edit the photo in a more advanced way then you would have to use an image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop on the computer.

Graphics Tablet

A graphics tablet is also known as a drawing tablet or a digitalizer. It is an imput device and allows users such as graphic designers to draw an image freehandedly and convert it into a digital image. The mouse is a very inaccurate device when drawing an image free handed on screen. The graphics tablet however is a lot more accurate when drawing images on screen and you can even trace over photos on paper to make the image on screen look more realistic and artistic.