Digital Photography Glossary: D

defraction: The breaking up of a ray of light into dark and light bands or into the colors of the spectrum, caused by the interference of one part of a beam with another.

depth of field: The zone of sharp focus in a photograph.

diffusion screen: A thin screen-like material that diffuses or softens a light source’s illumination.

digital zoom: A feature offered on most digital cameras; crops the perimeter of the image and then enlarges the area at the center. Results in reduced image quality.

diopter adjustment: A viewfinder feature that corrects for common eyeglass prescriptions so eyeglass wearers can use the viewfinder without wearing their glasses.

downsample: Remove pixels from a digital image.

DPOF: Stands for digital print order format. A feature offered by some digital cameras that enables you to add print instructions to the image file; some photo printers can read that information when printing your pictures directly from a memory card.

drive mode: Setting that determines whether a camera takes a single picture or a series of pictures.

driver: Software that enables a computer to interact with a digital camera, printer, or other device.

DVD: Digital video disc. A high-density compact disc for storing large amounts of data, especially high-resolution audio/video material.

DVD burner: A device that allows you to copy (or burn) information onto a DVD.

DVD player: A device that displays the information contained on a DVD.

DVI interface: Digital Video Interface. A specification to accommodate analog and digital monitors with the same cable.

dye-sublimation printer: A type of printer that uses a printing technique in which inks are heated and transferred to a polyester substrate to form an image.