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Thread: A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

  1. #1
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    Here is the abstract of:

    UBC ScanCam: an inexpensive 122-million pixel scan camera
    by
    Shuzhen Wang and Wolfgang Heidrich, UBC:

    "In this work we present the design of a low-cost, very high resolution scan camera which can be used in image-based modeling and rendering, cultural heritage applications, and professional digital photography. The camera can take color/near-infrared images with the resolution of 122 million pixels while the camera itself can be built from off-the-shelf components for only $1200. We discuss the issues in constructing the hardware setup and the calibration process of the camera. Finally, We compare the image quatlity of this camera with a commercial SLR digital camera, and obtain a quantative measurement of the actual light sensitivity and the optical resolution."



    If you already have the 8x10 (they use a $400 bender) and lenses (they use a $600 Nikkor 300M),
    your cost in parts would be $200 ?

  2. #2

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    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    Great imagequality for an 80 €uro "Scanback". The only bad thing is the color in the highlights; would it reduce, if they remove the glassscreen from the scanner?

  3. #3
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
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    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    I've thought of trying such a thing. I presume you need to disconnect or black out the scanner bulb. I could imagine that getting the focus right might be tricky.

    I'm not sure why they are using a three-pass method rather than a single pass. A three-pass scan should have more subtle tonal gradation, but I suspect the registration problems may not be worth the trouble.

  4. #4

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    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    If that is "large format", then perhaps this image is too. Perhaps soon we will need to re-define what is meant by the term "large format".



    See Breaking the Gigapixel Barrier. This person stiched together 196 6-megapixel images of Bryce Canyon, to create something that would print quite sharply at 90 x 136 inches.

  5. #5
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    Scanning backs were always considered to be in the real of LF photography, as they use normal cameras and lenses. The last issue of VC had an update about the "Better Light" backs which was interesting to me in that it showed that prices have already dropped to the point that they are now competitive with MF digital backs (and even some 35mm digital cameras). However, after seeing in the article I linked what you can do with a $100 back, I think there is still room for prices to go down a lot.

  6. #6

    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    So the inevitable question is: If I put a good enlarging lens or similar optic on this instead (Polaroid Ysaron, El-Nikkor), and aim it at a negative on a light table, how will it compare to a pre-built Epson 3200 or similar scanner?

    Would it be better to simply project an enlarged image onto the scanning area, or is the quality difference caused by the underlying scanner such that it won't result in any significan improvment?

  7. #7
    Whatever David A. Goldfarb's Avatar
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    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    On that principle, if you could turn off the scanner bulb without preventing the scanner from scanning, I suppose you could put a scanner under an enlarger and work that way.

  8. #8

    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    I'm sorry to burst the bubble of the good folks at UBC, but that wheel's already been invented.

    Go to http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/cockpit/8296/tech/scanner.htm

    The concept is clever, and the UBC folks - presumably with a much larger budget - have done a very creditable job.

    Ciao.

    Alan

  9. #9
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    Thanks for the interesting link, Alan. Should be:

    http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/cockpit/8296/tech/scanner.html

    What the UBC folks have done is making a cheap scanning LF back, while in this
    link, what he built was a scanning camera with mobile (35mm) lens. There is nothing
    revolutionary about the UBC project, after all scanning backs have been available
    commercially for many years, but what's interesting is that you can make one yourself
    for a budget which is actually very small (if you already own the photo gear).

  10. #10

    A $1200 digital scanning 120Mp camera

    Did anyone else take the time to actually download the high res versions of the images on the UBC site? I did (I have a T1 connection), and they were VERY underwhelming for a supposed 122 Megapixel image. The image of the Chinese wall ornament was very soft. The details in the red ropes and the green medallion (for lack of a better word) were very unsharp. To my eye, images taken with a $1000 Canon DSLR look sharper (but still nowhere near as sharp as a 4x5, or ecen medium format transparency).

    Now the Gigapixel image of Bryce Canyon (and the 800 Megapixel image of the Library of Congress on teh same site) were much more impressive. I think this technique holds more promise, but will need more CPU MIPS to become practical (check out how many DAYS it took to stitch and proces the final image).

    Kerry

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