Technicolor just released a new Picture Profile for Canon DSLRs, and recommended that ISO be used in multiples of 160. Andrew Schär decided to test this using his Canon 60D, and found that in terms of the amount of noise present in the footage, ISO numbers that are multiples of 160 are best (i.e. least noise), followed by multiples of 100, and finally multiples of 125 being worst.
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Did you know that 1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some kind of color vision deficiency? X-Rite has an interesting online “Color IQ” test that helps you find out how well your eyes see colors. You’re given four strips with color chip squares, and are tasked with arranging them in order by hue, starting from the fixed chip on the left side and ending with the fixed one on the right. It’s an online version of the Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue test, which has been used by the government and in industry for more than 40 years to test color vision aptitude. If you finish the test, leave a comment letting us know what you got!
One of the features that Nikon emphasized when they announced the D3100 was HD video with continuous autofocus, the first of its kind in DSLRs. Sure it sounded great on paper, but how well does it work in the real world? Here are a couple videos showing the D3100′s continuous autofocus in action, created by Oscar Cheng.
I don’t know about you, but my impression is that the focus hunts too much, is too slow, and is too loud. Maybe (hopefully) this is due to using a bad lens in low light?
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Here’s an interesting clip of a color film test done by Kodak in 1922, years before color movies started appearing. This is 13 years before the first full-length color film appeared, and 7 years before the first Oscar was awarded. You can read more about this clip on the Kodak blog.
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This video, created by PhotoErrant, shows a Canon 7D shooting at 8 frames per second on high-speed continuous mode. This definitely isn’t something you should try yourself, since it whacks hundreds of shutter actuations off the lifespan of your camera and exposes the sensor to dust. Luckily for us, there’s people willing to do these experiments and upload them to YouTube.
The Impossible Project’s new instant film for Polaroid cameras will go on sale later this week, but the British Journal of Photography has already gotten their hands on a pack of PX100. They were mailed a comprehensive press kit that included a box of the black and white film, and promptly exposed the film with a SX-70, publishing the results on their blog.
Of the eight exposures they had to play around with, only a few of them produced semi-recognizable images. Olivier Laurent writes,
But my initial impressions are that PX100 behaves like a expired pack of 669 or Time-Zero. You’re never sure of what you will get. To be fair, Impossible did warn us about this during its press conference yesterday. A slight change in temperature or pressure can ruin or enhance your image. One thing is sure, do NOT use this film outside in the winter or early spring, when there is still a cold breeze. Also, in some situations, you will need to keep your ND filter on.
Apart from some disappointing results (especially when shooting outside), it feels good to load a SX-70 with some new film.
$21 a pack means this is some seriously expensive experimentation. However, lets wait until the film is in the hands of the masses before coming to a verdict on this new film. Here’s to hoping the film is a success!
Image credit: Photographs by 1854.
