Search found 1653 matches

by DQE
Fri Jun 12, 2015 9:41 am
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Biomimetics: Lessons on optics from nature's school
Replies: 0
Views: 1958

Biomimetics: Lessons on optics from nature's school

I just read a very interesting new review article on this topic in "Physics Today", available for free online and as a PDF: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/article/68/6/10.1063/PT.3.2816 The Introduction follows: ---------------------------------- The spectacular colors of...
by DQE
Sat May 16, 2015 12:18 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: "Mysteries of the Unseen World" available on Netfl
Replies: 0
Views: 1867

"Mysteries of the Unseen World" available on Netfl

I believe this National Geographic movie would be enjoyed at various levels by macro and micro enthusiasts as well as the general public. Many of the images are SEM-based, and time-lapse photography is also used. Here's the link to the Nat Geo web page: http://movies.nationalgeographic.com/movies/my...
by DQE
Wed Apr 15, 2015 1:44 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Butterflies that trick ants with sound - Physics Today
Replies: 2
Views: 2470

Thanks for the links.

They show quite a large range in the use of sound!
by DQE
Sun Apr 12, 2015 12:17 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Butterflies that trick ants with sound - Physics Today
Replies: 2
Views: 2470

Butterflies that trick ants with sound - Physics Today

http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/article/68/4/10.1063/PT.3.2757?TRACK=RSS I found this article to be interesting, combining the physical sciences with biological sciences. I have long wondered if sound plays a bigger role in communications for bugs than is currently appreci...
by DQE
Mon Mar 30, 2015 5:04 pm
Forum: Macro and Micro Technique and Technical Discussions
Topic: New System Can Alter Focal Length from Single Exposure
Replies: 5
Views: 3527

johan wrote:This sentence in the article rather gives it away fellas :)
On condition of anonymity, Mr. Primeiro de Abril, a general partner at the Consortium's offices in Tolos
That should teach me not to skim-read past text in a language other than English!
by DQE
Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:16 pm
Forum: Macro and Micro Technique and Technical Discussions
Topic: New System Can Alter Focal Length from Single Exposure
Replies: 5
Views: 3527

Rik, You're correct - it *does* sound like an April Fool's joke! I wonder if the Lytro camera enthusiasts are active in this project, assuming it's not an intentional joke? Just a thought. It's surely more than a little improbable for a consortium allegedly involving major vendors to have zero Googl...
by DQE
Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:00 pm
Forum: Macro and Micro Technique and Technical Discussions
Topic: New System Can Alter Focal Length from Single Exposure
Replies: 5
Views: 3527

New System Can Alter Focal Length from Single Exposure

An interesting news item, provoking my personal skepticism as well as my curiosity: http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/new-focal-field-system-alter-focal-length-later-single-exposure.html Does anyone have any information about this system? I couldn't find anything on Google about the "Focal Le...
by DQE
Fri Mar 20, 2015 6:33 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Smithsonian butterflies and moths paintings
Replies: 0
Views: 1972

Smithsonian butterflies and moths paintings

I just came across a set of Smithsonian pages on butterflies and moths that I was not familiar with. I assume that modern techniques for identification have rendered old paintings obsolete for such purposes. Many of these paintings seemed especially beautiful. Here's a link to the butterflies and mo...
by DQE
Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:34 pm
Forum: Nature Photography -- Macro and Close-up
Topic: Arachnids
Replies: 2
Views: 2164

Remarkable photographs, and remarkable skill and courage obtaining them!

I especially loved the wraparound spider photo, but the scorpions are very dramatic and astonishing.

Were these mostly taken at night?
by DQE
Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:10 pm
Forum: Macro and Micro Technique and Technical Discussions
Topic: Flash: prevent overheating, no flash: avoid motion blur?
Replies: 18
Views: 4948

There are professional grade flash units that allegedly will not overheat. Wedding photographers use them too. A brand that I have some familiarity with is the Quantum brand. I've used their external auxiliary flash batteries with no issues for several years, with good performance. Here's a link to ...
by DQE
Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:26 pm
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Focus stack acquisition on an iPad or iPhone
Replies: 3
Views: 3365

Rik, Thanks for the info. I see that they charge a fee for each stack of photos, with no charge if they can't create a stack, etc. However, since it allows one to export to Zerene (presumably without a fee), it might be worth using here and there. While they say it's of most benefit for macro, I fin...
by DQE
Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:23 am
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: The new 50MP cameras Ok for macro?
Replies: 25
Views: 12083

Here's the camera sensor you want: 3.2 gigapixels:

http://www.bnl.gov/lsst/CCD.php

TANSTATMP = "There Ain't No Such Thing As Too Many Pixels" (grins)

EDIT: a typo - I corrected "3200 gigapixels" to "3.2 gigapixels"
by DQE
Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:36 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: The new 50MP cameras Ok for macro?
Replies: 25
Views: 12083

My personal opinion, based in part on my pre-retirement career working in the objective measurement of radiographic image quality and image quality metrics, is that the various single number image quality parameters advocated by DxO are at best oversimplifications. At worst, I believe they obscure a...
by DQE
Fri Feb 06, 2015 3:50 pm
Forum: Equipment Discussions
Topic: The new 50MP cameras Ok for macro?
Replies: 25
Views: 12083

I see that it has some possibly new shutter vibration reduction modes, too. dpreview.com has several mini-reviews and photos, with specs and feature lists provided by Canon: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/7433724324/canon-eos-5ds-and-5ds-r-announced-with-50mp-full-frame-sensors "In support of such...
by DQE
Wed Dec 24, 2014 9:13 am
Forum: General Discussion Forum and Community Announcements
Topic: Zinc fireworks when egg meets sperm
Replies: 1
Views: 2175

Thanks for posting this interesting article and imagery.

It's truly amazing how the newest imaging tools can be combined to create such visually remarkable scientific information.