Eclipse

 Soon an annular eclipse of the sun will  be seen in many area of the world.  If it isn't obscured by clouds, I will see it May.21in my area.
 As for Eclipse,　Mitsubishi motor company had discontinued it's coupe "Eclipse" last year. I can't understand why it had such the name. But Mitsubishi motor company was eclipsed. Probably,it maybe means "supersede". Three Diamond Mitsubishi were famous for "Zero Fighter WWⅡ". Mitsubishi is a weapon maker too. Eclipse might be a solar weapon. Legendary Ancient Queen "Himiko" fell from power because of  a total eclipse. It is thought that traitors devised this ultimate weapon. Since then, Eclipse happens by this mystic weapon.
 Of course this story contains a joke. Joking aside,  an eclipse would be associated with supernatural power by ancient peoples. it is true that an annular eclipse will be visible soon. Don't see  the sun directly  without eye protections.

Let's Try "How many megapixels?"Negative Film

"Maybe 5or6 megapixel digital camera, 135 film equals to"We often heard and listened to such the review or a sales promotion for digital cameras . To say the fact, I had no interest in photograph until a few years ago,  I didn't know in practice how resolution a camera film has.
 Having been bored with digital camera, (digital camera photography don't need the skill so much, mastering PC imaging aside.) I began to use film cameras. I have no film scanner, but I got to substitute digital cameras for a film scanner.  And I found negative film have far more performance than what digital camera promoters had said.

 This film is Kodak PORTRA160.(135 negative film)  Lens ; Cosina Zeiss PLANAR *T 50mm
Can you see the black rectangle line? This area became to the next image.

This image's resolution is far better than  a common flat head scanner.  This image has less area than one hundredth of original. One line equals to 2 pixels. This image seize is 487×328, and depending on lines in the image. Perhaps this image maybe equals to 200,000pixels.

 In conclusion, This trial shows 35mm negative film's resolution estimated 20 megapixels or more over. .

 Left image is a set for microscope digital photo made by myself. (Nikon Pronea Lens and Canon S95, light box, anti-newton ring acrylic plate, so on)












I didn't know how small detail a film can capture.  When I knew the real performance of negative film, it was due to be dismissed in any place I went.　And now digital camera are getting superiority of the resolution to a film.
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   This blog is not always camera topics. Perhaps camera topics are few in usual.  My interests and aptitudes mainly are based on a cultural science or philosophy. Miscellany about Politics will sometimes be uploaded..

The more pixels, the less business

For many photographers, as a matter of fact, digital camera performance might not be so important topics. Day by day, new digital cameras show up and implemented higher performance we have never seen before.

 But unfortunately, many pro cameramen are losing their jobs in Japan. Especially, publishing and advertising business are reducing needs of photograph and can't afford to pay cameramen. How about web business? It's almost child errands. I have not heard "Web business is lucrative"at all. Digital camera enable us to take photo easily, and client often do without extra cameraman.

 I got a nice idea! How about being paid from a cameraman? Nowadays even many girls want to be a camera(man or girl?). They should pay clients to take photo. Do you know a self publishing? Photo publishing will do same as it.

 In a used camera shop, I often convince that some cameraman closed their business. Tools of his trade is on sale together.
 May the glory of 80's  come back to photograph business ?

Amazing new Nikons ?

Nikonians might have been surprised at "36.3 megapixel new D800".  I wonder why not a few Nikon users praise "high megapixel model".  Until now, many Nikon users have critical opinion against "high megapixel race "among digital camera makers at least in Japan.
For example ,SONY has already released 24megapixel α SLR and Canon surpassed over Nikon at high megapixel race. But oddly,Nikon users used to say  "High pixels don't always have high resolution." 
 This is the very amateur camera collector(not photographer )opinion. Why digital cameras for professional need to have huge pixels? The Answer is very simple. Offset gravure (175 Lpi) needs far more pixels than amateur hobby printing on the condition of same resolution.  Even D800, it just only satisfy needs of B３(364mm×515mm) seize poster. If You want to get print fitted camera, a medium format film camera is still cheap and useful. I recommend you to take negative photo print. If you want to issue many copies, you can upload it as a sample with the original negative film to a print service provider.　Even 135 film, it can satisfy A3 seize printing.

The future of film photography

 After a incandescent dispute, film photography are losing it's superiority to the digital imagining at any performance. High performance digital camera become cheaper and cheaper day by day. Even the cheapest new SLR model surpass over two or three yeaｒs old expensive types. It may be taboo for camera shop concerned that the cheapest new model has high ability than a little bit old "flagship"in the digital SLR camera world. And, almost new digital SLR cameras have higher performance than film cameras nowadays. For example, the latest Canon kiss X4 is surpass Nikon D300 for the resolution, and you can buy four Canon X4s at the same cost as D300. Off course, D300 was already stopped it's production. Digital SLR camera market is enormously competitive, so basic units of imaging become unified. As a result, Price of high grade type is only the difference of sub gear or body design. Digital camera enable us to make high resolution photograph easily, and the gap between professionals and amateurs become little day by day.Professional cameraman might disappear.

 Yet, film photography seems to survive for the time being.  Film photographers don't always need high resolution for their works. All they should do is embodying the artistic motive. Moreover, without electricity, we can use film camera and develop.Still now, Negative film and Photographic paper surpass far over the usual digital printing in the saturation and gradation. But these elaborated prints is useless as a commercial use. Film photograph has already become an unprofitable work.

 One famous Japanese university has a photography department. and this department has two courses : film and digital. Almost students take the digital course. There are so few students in the film course that they can almost occupy the facilities for developing. They seems to enjoy the complicated way of film developing and get to live for the analog cozy world.
 But their way to the future is too dark to make blue prints.

A Year After The Tsunami

Many cars and houses were swept away by the huge tsunami. I felt like I was dreaming at that time. The quake was so powerful and my town quaked strong too. Nobody forget the devastating power of nature.
 Many Japanese might begin to feel a crisis of the social regime, and there are no constructive opinion about a future among the young generation. And many aged people died of this disaster.
 Demographic tsunami are now coming. but politics is impotence in the face of decreasing birthrate.
All people implicitly know that the modern age values don't deserve to resolve this problem. Tsunami swept the veil over the hopeless toil against demographic catastrophe. Forcing young women to be married without preconditions and bear the child, would it nothing but Fascism?

Negative Film Digital Camera Scanning 2

Supplement of the last posting may be needed. Acrylic plate is easy to get, but anti-Newton ring type might be difficult to procure. I made it by the method of following process.
1 prepare a piece of acrylic plate and lacquer thinner (organic solvent) and rubbing compound for plastic model kit(fine, super fine)
2 spread thinner on the surface of the plate until the surface become translucent
3 polish the surface of the plate until recovering it's transparency using the compound.

To be short, making the surface irregular, the interference between the plate and the film can be avoided. Surprisingly, Newton ring will disappear.
 As for a close-up lens, Top lens of 70mm-300mm zoom lens is available. I recommend you to procure the junk, and disassemble the top lens of it. It is easy to be removed.

I show my sample of the photo transformed from negative again.

This photo is a part of the original image.
 
  Original image
twitpic.com/8dkurw/full