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Posts Tagged ‘Video’

Nikon develops 1″-type square CMOS sensor that can capture HDR video at 1,000 fps

17 Feb

Nikon Japan has announced (machine-translated) it’s developed a 17.84-megapixel 1”-type multi-layer CMOS image sensor that can capture high dynamic range video at up to 1,000 frames per second.

Nikon is known to use Sony sensors in a number of its imaging products, but it also develops its own sensor technology. Case in point is this new 1”-type backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor, which offers high-speed capture with impressive dynamic range in a square capture format.

The stacked sensor uses 17.84 million 2.7?m pixels (4224×4224 pixels) to capture video at up to 1,000 frames per second with 110dB dynamic range. If dropped to 60fps, the dynamic range jumps to 134dB.

Nikon doesn’t specify what kind of products this sensor is destined for, but based on its square format and hint at its use in ‘industrial fields such as automobiles,’ it’s unlikely we’ll see this in a consumer camera anytime soon.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: Brendan Barry makes 20″ x 24″ wildflower image using camera obscura and color reversal process

12 Feb

UK-based photographer Brendan Barry has used his lockdown to grow closer to nature. He’s been taking regular neighborhood walks with his daughter and learning more about the area surrounding their home in Exeter and the city’s surprising nature. They have regularly picked wildflowers on the journey, which Barry has been photographing using a color reversal process he has been developing over the last few years.

Barry’s process is ‘long and laborious and the photographs hard to achieve.’ He tells us that it can take up to eight hours to create a successful exposure, and due to the nature of the toxic chemicals he uses, he often shoots at night to protect his toddler daughter. Plus, as he says, ‘it is so peaceful and quiet then.’

Barry shoots directly to 20″ x 24″ photographic paper using a camera obscura. He has been using a color reversal process that he’s developed over the last few years to make his images.

In a project commissioned by Maketank and filmed by Chen Liu (Lynd), we go behind the scenes with Brendan Barry as he creates a 20″ x 24″ color still life of wildflowers captured directly to photographic paper. Barry uses a camera obscura and his color reversal process, which he has been working on for the last few years. The image is from his series, ‘Wildflowers picked on walks with Bea.’

The ongoing photo series is a very personal project for Barry. The subjects are collected during walks with his daughter, and the images are time-consuming and difficult to make. The images are also a reflection of the times. The lockdown is very difficult for many, and the ongoing pandemic is even more challenging in and of itself. With that said, the lockdown has also given people like Brendan Barry the chance to connected differently with their neighborhoods.

Brendan Barry carefully arranges wildflowers for a new image. Each shot can take upwards of eight hours to create from start to finish.

For Barry, he feels it is ‘vital to capture and appreciate what is here, to remind ourselves of what we have all around us, literally on our doorsteps, in the hope that we may seek to retain some of this when normality, whatever form that will take, returns.’

If Brendan Barry’s name sounds familiar, there’s a good reason. He has created many fascinating cameras and photographic projects over the years, many of which we have featured. Last October, we shared how Barry was commissioned by the Exeter Canal and Quay Trust to convert an entire room into a camera obscura. If you’d like to learn how to do that, we also covered a tutorial from Barry about this topic last spring.

During the lockdown, Barry converted his backyard shed into a camera and darkroom, which he has used as part of his wildflower series.

In 2019, Barry transformed the 46th floor of the 101 Park Avenue skyscraper in New York City into a massive camera obscura. That same year, he also converted a shipping container into a camera, which he called ‘the world’s biggest, slowest, and most impractical Polaroid camera.’

If you’d like to see more of Brendan Barry’s work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram. He’s always up to something awesome.

Image credits: All images used with kind permission from Brendan Barry.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: Orbit around the moon for 4 hours in this real-time video

04 Feb

Seán Doran uses still images from organizations like NASA and JAXA to create stunning videos. His latest work is ‘MOON in Real Time I,’ which is the first video seen below. Doran denoised, graded, repaired and retimed footage from the JAXA/NHK Kaguya Orbiter archive.

The Kaguya spacecraft, officially known as SELENE, was first launched in September 2007 from the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC). The Kaguya mission’s primary objective is to collect data to help scientists better understand the moon’s origin and evolutionary history. Kaguya comprises a primary orbiting satellite, which orbits at an altitude of just over 60 mi (100 km), and a pair of smaller satellites, the Relay Satellite and the VRAD Satellite. The smaller satellites are in polar orbit. The orbiters carry various instruments to investigate the moon, including spectrometers, imagers, altimeters and more.

Doran’s retooled and recompiled footage can be seen below. The video is four hours long and is almost hypnotic.

Doran has created a lot of space videos for his YouTube channel. He has hundreds of videos featuring Earth, the Moon, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and more. I’ve selected a few to highlight, but if you’re interested in space, you must visit his YouTube channel.

The 8K video below features music by Phaeleh and follows the International Space Station from Central Africa to Japan in real-time. For this video, Doran converted still images into real-time video.

Sticking with Earth, using the ESRSU image archive, Seán Doran created the ‘Orbit’ trilogy. The first part is seen below. You can view the other parts at the following links: Part 2 and Part 3. Like the previous video, ‘Orbit’ is a journey around Earth using ISS time-lapse photography. Likewise, the video is backed by music from Phaeleh. The 4K video below is simply stunning.

‘Lúnasa^171– One Month of Sun’ is an 8K video that Doran built by repairing and processing 78,846 frames captured by NASA/SDO/AIA/EVE/HMI in August 2014. The video is accompanied by the song ‘Spirit of Fire’ by Jesse Gallagher.

The video below, ‘Mars in Color – Crater in Tyrrhena Terra,’ is compiled using media from NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. The data came from HiRISE, which we wrote about last month.

To view more from Seán Doran, be sure to visit his YouTube channel.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Which Green Screen for Video Conferencing?

18 Dec

Oh, dear! You just remembered you have a Zoom call in 5 minutes! Thankfully, you remembered in time, but unfortunately, your house is a mess. With everyone home so much lately, the cleanliness of your house has slowly backslid until somehow a certain amount of clutter has become the norm. But, piles of laundry and toys scattered across the floor Continue Reading

The post Which Green Screen for Video Conferencing? appeared first on Photodoto.


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Video: How to safely make a 35mm daguerreotype at home

05 Dec

In the latest episode of ‘Darkroom Magic,’the George Eastman Museum’s historic photographic process specialist, Nick Brandreth, teaches viewers how to make a 35mm daguerreotype at home without the use of dangerous or expensive chemicals.

The daguerreotype gets its namesake from its creator, Louis Daguerre. The daguerreotype was introduced to the masses in 1839, becoming the first commercially viable photographic process. Although it fell out of favor about a decade later, the process has distinct characteristics that made it the process of choice for some specialists throughout the 20th century.

Nick Brandreth with some of his 35mm daguerreotypes

As Brandreth says, the at-home daguerreotype process is quite simple. In addition to a 35mm camera, you need a silver plate, or in his case, a piece of copper with silver plating. Orange or red glass is required in lieu of using mercury, which is part of the traditional daguerreotype process. You need iodine fuming materials and a glass vessel. Additionally, polishing materials are required to give your silver plate a mirror-like finish. The full ingredients are shown in the video below.

After you have gathered your materials, you must first buff and polish the silver plate. The first step requires a buff, olive oil, and rottenstone compound. This step removes any big scratches. Be sure to wash the plate with soap and water in between steps. The next stage is to polish the plate using lampblack, bringing the plate to a mirrored finish.

You’ll need a variety of materials to do this project, but they’re all safe, unlike the mercury used in the traditional daguerreotype process.

With the polished plate ready, the next stage is fuming. Combining silica gel beads and pure elemental iodine in a glass, you create a fuming material and place the polished plate above it, creating a photosensitive surface. The surface is sensitive to ultraviolet, violet and blue light, so you’ll want to expose it with natural light or a suitable artificial light source.

Orange or red glass is used to develop the plate. It takes between 30 and 45 minutes to fully develop the plate. It will then require fixing and a finishing stage.

The plate is now ready to be exposed. Place it inside your 35mm camera and the camera’s pressure plate should keep it stable. After exposure, it’s time for the ‘magic to happen,’ as Brandreth says. Place your exposed plate under a piece of red or orange glass and hit it with sunlight or a strong work light. You can watch the plate develop over the next 30 to 40 minutes. After this, give it a smooth, consistent fix and then wash the plate. To watch the finishing stage, be sure to watch the video above, as it requires a few steps.

If you’re interested in the science and art of photography, you can learn more about workshops at the George Eastman Museum’s website. Many more interesting videos can be viewed on its YouTube channel.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: One man’s quest to watercool a Canon R5 into an 8K video powerhouse

04 Dec

This July, Canon released a media advisory clarifying the overheating concerns of early Canon EOS R5 and R6 users. After Lensrentals took apart the R5, we better understood the thermal constraints of the design. The camera is very tightly sealed, which is great when you want to keep water out, but not so great when you want heat to escape.

In its media release, Canon stated the approximate recording time for 8K 30p video with the R5 before the camera overheated is about 20 minutes. After letting the camera cool for 10 minutes, users can expect to record another 3 minutes of 8K footage before the camera overheats again. It’s a better, albeit similar, situation when recording 4K 60p and 4K 30p (8.2K oversampling) video. The feature set of the R5 and its performance is impressive, but in many settings, overheating is problematic.

Matt from the YouTube channel DIY Perks wanted to prevent his own Canon R5 from overheating, so he dismantled it and modified the camera’s internals. Should you feel inspired, it is worth pointing out the obvious. Dismantling your camera and modifying it will void your warranty and comes with significant risks. However, for the adventurous among you, you can see how Matt modified his camera in the video below.

Matt used some standard liquid cooling components you might find in a performance-oriented PC. He also installed thermal paste, which he believes is much better than the thermal pads that the R5 has between the main processors and a metal plate. To try to remove heat from the main processing area, he also installed copper, as it’s a good conductor of heat.

Matt used PC liquid cooling components to water cool his Canon R5. As you can see, it’s not a compact solution. However, it is remarkably effective, allowing for unlimited 8K recording times.

After making these mods, would the R5 record 8K video for longer than 20 minutes? No. Even though the camera was staying much cooler than it did before it was modified, it still shut down after 20 minutes of recording due to a timer-based heat management solution baked into the camera’s firmware.

Matt updated to a recent firmware version, which changes how the camera manages overheating, and tried the test again. This time, with firmware version 1.1.1 installed on the R5, the water-cooled R5 breezed past the 20 minute mark and Matt speculates that the camera should theoretically be able to record indefinitely. It’s worth noting that in certain situations, such as Matt’s testing area, the firmware update alone can increase 8K recording time limit. In this case, it added about six minutes of 8K recording time before overheating.

With custom-fabricated copper, the R5 becomes a much better high-end video camera.

Of course, the liquid cooling solution is not very practical or elegant. It requires tubing, a water reservoir, a pump, radiator and you must have the back of the R5 remain detached. Matt wanted to devise an improved heatsink solution and reassemble the camera completely.

Using copper, improved thermal paste, and thermal padding, he was able to get nearly 40 minutes of uninterrupted 8K recording, a significant improvement over the production camera. A five minute break allowed an additional half an hour of recording. This is a very impressive passive cooling solution and a big step up over an unmodified R5.

Combining modified internal components with copper heatsinks and an external heatsink results in unlimited recording time. It adds bulk to the camera, but the rear heatsink is removable, allowing the camera to retain its original form factor.

If you require even longer record times, coupling the passive cooling modification with a copper heatsink mounted to the back of the camera does the trick. While a heatsink adds bulk, it is also easily removed when not needed, quickly returning the camera to its original form factor. Matt also designed a 3D-printable base for the camera that includes room for a fan and batteries. The base works in tandem with the internal copper plate modification. The files for the base have not been uploaded yet, but the link will be added to the video’s description when available. To view more videos from DIY Perks, click here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Qualcomm unveils new Snapdragon 888 SoC with 3 ISPs capable of 8K video, 120fps still shooting, 960fps slo-mo and more

02 Dec

Today, Qualcomm revealed details of the Snapdragon 888, its next-generation flagship mobile chipset, showing what kind of features, functionality and performance we can expect to see in flagship Android mobile devices in the coming year.

The Snapdragon 888 is a System on a Chip (SoC) that consists of multiple processors atop a single substrate. These include multiple CPU and GPU cores, as well as additional mobile and AI components for powering all of the features we’ve come to expect from flagship mobile devices.

At the heart of the Snapdragon 888 is Qualcomm’s Kryo 680 CPU, which is the first to use ARM’s new Cortex-X1 architecture for its 2.84GHz core, alongside three Cortex A78 performance cores (2.4GHz) and four A55 efficiency cores (1.8GHz). Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon 888 performs 25% better while using 25% less power, compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 865.

For the GPU, Qualcomm is using its new Adreno 660 GPU, which it says offers 35% faster graphics rendering performance while using 20% less power. This new chip is said to be the best increase in year-over-year performance and should pave the way for better display technology, including better support for 120Hz screens and improved OLED display uniformity.

On the photography front, Qualcommm has made drastic improvements to the image signal processors (ISPs) seen onboard previous Snapdragon chips. The Snapdragon 888 will feature three separate Spectra 580 ISPs. Now, with these three individual ISPs, Android smartphones that offer three cameras — most often a standard, ultra-wide and telephoto — will be able to capture full-resolution photos and video (up to 28MP per camera for stills and 4K HDR video per camera for video), with a maximum bandwidth of 2.7 Gigapixels per second.

Beyond using up to three cameras at the same time, this triple-ISP array also allows for a number of firsts in Android smartphones. If not limited by onboard storage and caching, the Snapdragon 888 technically enables 12MP photo capture at up to 120 fps, as well as a maximum single-image capture of up to 200MP.

The chip can also be able to capture 10-bit HEIF stills, capture 4K HDR10 video (while simultaneously capturing 64MP stills), support 8K video capture and feature no-limit slow-mo video capture at up to 960 fps. 4K video will also be able to be captured and played back at 120 fps on the same device.

Moving onto connectivity, the Snapdragon 888 will feature Wi-Fi 6 speeds up to 3.6Gbps, Bluetooth 5.2 (dual antennas), and Qualcomm’s new X60 5G MOdem-RF system. This new 5G modem supports both sub-6Ghz 5G with carrier aggregation as well as mmWave 5G with speeds up to 7.5Gbps. Battery performance while using its 5G capabilities should also be improved thanks to its new integrated design.

Other features include a new Hexagon 780 processor for AI and computational performance, as well an on-device Qualcomm Secure Processing unit. In addition to improved security within the operating system, this new Secure Processing unit also creates cryptographically sealed photos making it the first Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) compliant smartphone camera for ensuring image integrity in a world of increasing misinformation and deepfakes. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Qualcomm is working with Truepic, who is a CAI partner alongside Adobe, Twitter The New York Times and others.

You can watch the full Snapdragon 888 unveil on Qualcomm’s Day 2 Keynote from its Snapdragon Tech Summit, below:

Qualcomm hasn’t set a specific date for when the Snapdragon 888 will be available, but it expects the first devices with it at their core to be released in Q1 2021, with commitments from Oppo, Motorola and others having already been made.

As we’ve seen with past Snapdragon SoCs and the smartphones that use them, it’s possible not all of these features will be seen in a single device. Some flagship smartphones that use the new Snapdragon 888 might choose to make the most of certain photo and video features, based on the accompanying hardware they put inside their device. While Snapdragon is offering plenty of computational functionality, it’s ultimately up to the smartphone manufacturers to extract the most from it with equally-capable storage, camera systems and more.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: The ‘surprising’ origin story of Kodak Aerochrome film

30 Nov

Todd Dominey has published a video no his Youtube channel that dives into the interesting history of a film stock ‘with an origin story unlike any other,’ Kodak Aerochrome.

The 11-minute video, which is part one of a two-part series, walks through why the infrared film was developed by Kodak and what the United States military had to do with its inception. From there, Dominey talks about the film’s significance in pop culture — most notably in the late 1960s and early 70s — as well as the film’s discontinuation announcement in 2009 and the striking Aerochrome works of photographer Richard Mosse.

One of a few albums from the late 1960s and early 1970s that used images captured on Kodak Aerochrome film.

It’s a fantastic watch for those unfamiliar with the discontinued film and still worth a watch for those familiar with it. Dominey says the second video will focus on digitally recreating the aesthetic of Aerochrome film — something that’s been attempted a few times before in the form of presets.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: ‘One Shot’ shows what it takes to capture an iconic image at the Olympic games

25 Nov

A thread on Reddit has brought a neat photography documentary from 2017 to our attention. ‘One Shot: Photographing the Olympic Games’ is a behind the scenes look at how photographers capture the iconic images of the Olympics, including a special focus on photographers setting up to capture the 100m men’s final in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 summer games.

Featured photographers include multi-awarded photographers such as Lucy Nicholson, Dave Burnett, Bob Martin, Tim de Waele, and Tsuyoshi Matsumoto. Nicholson had a very specific image in mind for the 100m men’s final in Rio. As she sets up her gear, nine hours ahead of the starting gun kicking off what is one of the most exciting 10 seconds in sports, Nicholson talks about how she wants a tight shot of the winner with other sprinters on either side of the winner. ‘You only get one chance to take the key shot,’ Nicholson says.

A chart showing Sports Illustrated’s plans for photographing the 100m men’s final in Rio. Click to enlarge.

The documentary, seen below, was awarded the Candido Cannavo Award at the World Final of the Milan Sport Film Festival in 2018. About 150 iconic images from nearly 100 different photographers over the last 50 years of Olympic games are featured. An iconic image tells a story for years to come. Long after the medals have been awarded to the victors, and even long after the photographer has passed, the images and the stories they tell remain. Presenter Jonathan Edwards, Olympic gold medalist triple jumper, says it well, ‘A story that’s taken a lifetime to create, told in one shot. One freeze frame.’

Years of planning are required to create iconic images, and in under a minute, an iconic photo can be sent halfway around the globe. The technology on display in 2016 during the summer games was incredible. Reuters was able to get the first photo of Usain Bolt winning the 100m men’s final out to its customers in 58 seconds. It’s safe to assume that the technology will have advanced even further when photographers head to Tokyo in 2021. And while the equipment and tools photographers use continue to evolve, photography’s importance when telling a story remains unchanged.

‘One Shot’ was directed and written by Peter Davies and presented by Jonathan Edwards. As pointed out by PetaPixel, the documentary can also be viewed on the Olympic Channel. It’s hosted on YouTube by Anthony Edgar, the Head of Media Operations for the International Olympic Committee. Edgar also appears in the video. His channel, linked above, includes a lot of interesting Olympics-related video content.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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LumaFusion gets 10-bit HDR video editing, exporting and more in its 2.4 update

18 Nov

LumaFusion, one of the most powerful video editing apps for iOS and iPadOS devices, has received a major 2.4 update that adds support for editing and exporting 10-bit HDR video, including footage captured with Apple’s new iPhone 12 Pro devices.

The version 2.4 update for LumaFusion, which is free for existing customers, now makes it possible to create projects for HLG, PQ P3 and Rec-709 10-bit color spaces. In addition to creating an end-to-end workflow for Apple’s new HDR-capable iPhone 12 Pro devices, this also opens the door for editing and exporting HDR footage captured on cameras such as Canon’s R5, Panasonic’s Lumix GH5, Sony’s a7S III and others.

The new color space options reside in the project settings menu and can be turned on by default so future projects start in whatever color space you tend to use. Exporting 10-bit footage is as simple as selecting it as the color space while going through the export dialog box.

LumaFusion has also added the option to export H.265 video with transparency if you’re making custom title cards or animations and a new automated project settings feature that will define the frame rate, aspect ratio and color space of the project based on the first clip imported into the timeline. Other features include an improved color picker, a new Chroma Keyer with automated key color detection and a new Luma Keyer the offers adjustments for luma range, roll-off, erosion distance and edge blur radius for fine-tuned edits.

LumaFusion version 2.4 is available to download in the iOS App Store for $ 30.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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