available Test chart for resolution sharpness

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:23 am

Photographing banknotes is a serious criminal offence.

I am told, by someone who tried it, that even an internet search for images of banknotes can get you a stern warning.

I have a large, folding (complext) chart on glossy paper, sponsored by Vivitar (70-210 mm zoom anniversary?) and issued as a freebie by an amateur photography magazine (Practical Photography?) several years ago. It covers astigmatism as well as resolution.

Harold

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:40 am

I think photographing bank notes is only a no-no if you do the whole thing. If you were to take a macro photo of a small piece of a bank note I believe that is not against the law, at least in the UK... (But probably worth double checking before you post any!!)

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:52 am

lauriek wrote:I think photographing bank notes is only a no-no if you do the whole thing. If you were to take a macro photo of a small piece of a bank note I believe that is not against the law, at least in the UK... (But probably worth double checking before you post any!!)

And let's have no horizontal stacking!

Harold

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:24 am

Hehehe yes you could do a nicely detailed 2d panorama couldn't you!

Try to load up that panorama in most modern image processing software like Photoshop and it will not allow you to load the image, although I think you can get round that by using GIMP (which for those not in the know is a free open source image processor under the GNU license, originally for Linux but now available for Windows and other OS')

However the UK banknotes have the dashed metal strip, and certain other less known anti-piracy features, which I believe are virtually impossible or at least extremely difficult to replicate.

dmillard · Post by **dmillard** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:32 am

Harold Gough wrote:Photographing banknotes is a serious criminal offence.

I am told, by someone who tried it, that even an internet search for images of banknotes can get you a stern warning.

Harold

I regularly use a crisply ironed $50 bill, along with a D200 attached to the back of my 23 Technikardan, to test the performance of large format lenses. This is quicker, cheaper, and more informative than using film with a 10X loupe or a scanner, and I can use rear shift and rise to assess edge as well as center performance. Photoshop CS (PS 8) refuses to open the images, and also warns about the illegality of the attempt. For whatever reason, CS3 opens them with no problem. I've never posted even parts of these images online, so have no idea about any possible legal repercussions.

David

g4lab · Post by **g4lab** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:32 am

I think you can shoot them if you magnify or minify them to the point where
they are clearly not for counterfeiting. At least I have heard that.

How does CS4 know what it is looking at????? I would be willing to bet if it know not to open it then it probably also phones home. Scary to have a snitch in your own computer. (I use Win2K pro for that reason)

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:38 am

dmillard wrote: I regularly use a crisply ironed $50 bill,

Isn't ironing part of the process of laundering?

Harold