What Is Optical Storage and how Is it Used in Photography?

Optical storage is a storage medium where information is stored on a material that is able to be read optically. Information is stored by marking the optically readable material, and can then be read by shining a laser onto the previously recorded areas. Measurement of whether the light is reflected of absorbed allows a digital readout to be produced which can then be converted back into the original data. Examples of optical storage are CDs and DVDs which you might use to store digital images. Optical storage formats are traditionally used as portable storage solutions rather than being contained within computer systems like solid-state and magnetic storage devices.