New phenomena of tablet computer cameras with LF-sized viewing

[Vick Ko]

I've been at a couple of my son's school events and seeing parents beside me, using tablet computers to shoot their kids. What struck me was seeing the "better than LF" huge viewing, with tablet computer cameras.

It sure makes an impression, to see an almost 8x10 live view of the image that you are going to take, with none of the inconvenience, and, dimness, of a LF with hood and tripod and all that LF stuff.

And made standing there with my M9 and viewfinder, "small".

Have you run across this?

[cowanw]

I thought the tablet would make a great polaroid proof of my portrait lighting,before shooting the film, but found the modeling lights to low for the "Blackberry Pad" camera; too much grain to really be a good evaluation of lighting.

[uphereinmytree]

Seems to me to be only immediate gratification for images that will never be printed. A print from a tablet vs. an 8x10 contact print? There has always been consumer grade and high quality. I don't post 8x10 scans to facebook. There are view camera apps to simulate all the care that goes into a big negative. Time to sell all the gear and film!?

[E. von Hoegh]

I've been at a couple of my son's school events and seeing parents beside me, using tablet computers to shoot their kids. What struck me was seeing the "better than LF" huge viewing, with tablet computer cameras.

It sure makes an impression, to see an almost 8x10 live view of the image that you are going to take, with none of the inconvenience, and, dimness, of a LF with hood and tripod and all that LF stuff.

And made standing there with my M9 and viewfinder, "small".

Have you run across this?

I've seen the tablet cameras, but I don't see how the preview on a tablet screen can be compared with the view on an 8x10 GG. What do you see when you put an 8 to 10 power loupe on the tablet screen? Does the tablet have movements?

[William Whitaker]

Nice idea, but the image is right-side-up. Too confusing.
;)

[Richard Wasserman]

Will, you beat me to it! :rolleyes:



Nice idea, but the image is right-side-up. Too confusing.
;)

[Vick Ko]

Of course, that is why it looked so weird.

:-)


Nice idea, but the image is right-side-up. Too confusing.
;)

[jp]

Quickest way to get the photos/video from capture to facebook. It means they don't have a smartphone or would rather show off their ipad than their smartphone.

[Lachlan 717]

Seeing the faces pulled by those using a tablet in this way AND suffering Hyperopia makes suffering their [the tablets'] use bearable.

88764

[Jody_S]

I thought it was just a passive-aggressive trick to block other peoples' view.

[polyglot]

I was discussing "the future of digital photography" the other day with a friend (in light of the metabones anti-teleconverter release); my hypothesis is that we will soon see high quality (35mm DSLR) cameras integrated with a relatively open software platform like Android and that when that occurs, it will cause a huge boom in creativity. Samsung has announced P&S cameras running droid, it's an obvious next step to do such integration on a body with a decent sensor and a widely-supported electronic mount. Assuming they make a camera API available to developers, it will mean a flood of both creative applications and hardware integration:
- auto-stitching from video or stills (like some iPhones do)
- automatically shot and assembled macro focus-stacks
- computed-focus modes
- far better focus tracking filters with good kinematic models
- integration with external displays, e.g. the 8x10 LCD preview of a shot with tilt/shift lens (loupes are irrelevant when you can do a 100% zoom by just touch)
- sophisticated wireless flash control
- sophisticated image-recognition and focus-trap triggering modes
- separability of capture from control (small modular cameras)
- physical network integration (internet-tethered shooting, i.e. shoot-to-flickr, internet remote trigger)
- functional network integration (crackbook, facial recognition, etc)

And that's just what occurs to me off the top of my head; the changes will be sweeping and imaginative once a crowd of filthy proles gets their hands on an open interface.

[JoeV]

I do like the screen size of the iPad for photos, though the camera (at least on the iPad2) is of marginal quality only. But the convenience of the numerous photo apps is neat. I will often import photos from my Lumix G5 micro-4/3 into the iPad and process them in Filterstorm, then upload to Flickr. Pretty good for Internet-quality photos.

What I'd like to see is a DSLR-quality Bluetooth camera that can directly input to the iPad, including live view.

But it's not a view camera. Though, in all fairness, there are things you can do with iphoneography that you can't do with a view camera, so you have to choose the right tools for the right job.

~Joe

[SergeiR]

I thought the tablet would make a great polaroid proof of my portrait lighting,before shooting the film, but found the modeling lights to low for the "Blackberry Pad" camera; too much grain to really be a good evaluation of lighting.

alien bees?

You can shoot video with tracking light from Elinchroms and Hensels ;)

[SergeiR]

I do like the screen size of the iPad for photos, though the camera (at least on the iPad2) is of marginal quality only. But the convenience of the numerous photo apps is neat. I will often import photos from my Lumix G5 micro-4/3 into the iPad and process them in Filterstorm, then upload to Flickr. Pretty good for Internet-quality photos.

What I'd like to see is a DSLR-quality Bluetooth camera that can directly input to the iPad, including live view.

But it's not a view camera. Though, in all fairness, there are things you can do with iphoneography that you can't do with a view camera, so you have to choose the right tools for the right job.

~Joe

You can shoot Phase One/Leaf and use Capture One Pilot to tether results to iPad.. and i am sure new Nikons with WiFi can do same..

however it all falls short of what you get/doing with LF, sorry.

[E. von Hoegh]

... Though, in all fairness, there are things you can do with iphoneography that you can't do with a view camera, ...

~Joe

Yes, it's very difficult to upload images from my 4x5 to ratemypoo dotcom.:D

[Lachlan 717]

Yes, it's very difficult to upload images from my 4x5 to ratemypoo dotcom.:D

Ha! Kinda redefines what "shithouse" photos are...

You worry me, not as you know this, but as you only rate it as "very difficult", implying you've had past success!!

[erie patsellis]

You can shoot Phase One/Leaf and use Capture One Pilot to tether results to iPad.. and i am sure new Nikons with WiFi .......

Old ones as well. My ancient D2X still is a wonderful camera for portraits and the like, an inexpensive used WT2A wireless transmitter allows me to immediately sit down with the subject and review pictures using Shuttersnitch. That transmitter is the best $100 I've spent on digital anything in a long time.

[Steven Scanner]

I find it very annoying when someone is blocking the view with an I-pad. Beyond that, it is easy for pickpockets to spot the expensive stuff, walk by and grab the loot. Also, I don't see the added value of taking pictures with an I-pad rather than a proper camera or a smartphone for all that matters. It's convenient, yes. You don't have to haul a camera, a cellphone and a laptop around, but I'd rather photograph with a DSLR than with an I-pad.
Sadly, I don't think there will be a modern version of a large format camera, unless there is a reason for it. Perhaps some day there will be a need for something more than a full frame DSLR. Perhaps for giga-pictures?
What I would like to see is a complete digital version of the old large format photography. A plate with a 4x5 sensor. A digital darkroom where you can virtually do what you would regularly do with real film. That said, there would be a small market for that. It's to convenient to take a picture with an I-pad, edit it and send it all over the internet.

[E. von Hoegh]

Ha! Kinda redefines what " @#!*% " photos are...

You worry me, not as you know this, but as you only rate it as "very difficult", implying you've had past success!!

Thank you, you started my morning off with a good laugh.:)

[Jody_S]

What I'd like to see is a DSLR-quality Bluetooth camera that can directly input to the iPad, including live view.



~Joe

This is the one that got me laughing. So if you have a dSLR-type camera, otherwise known as a dSLR (pretty sure all the high-end ones have Bluetooth or WiFi and can communicate with an iPhone), why did you need that iPad? Chimping not good enough? Or the dSLR can't upload directly to Facebook? Come to think of it, that's a great idea for a new view camera, we could put Bluetooth on them and a cell-phone quality camera....

[Mike Anderson]

What I'd like to see is a DSLR-quality Bluetooth camera that can directly input to the iPad, including live view.


Ever since the iPad came out I thought this, using an iPad as a viewfinder, had promise. Imagine putting an iPad on its own support (tripod) at "picture height" and being able to take a few steps back to view it, view it from an angle, view it from the side of your eyes - a great aid those of us with imperfect pre-visualization skills.

[John Rodriguez]

- integration with external displays, e.g. the 8x10 LCD preview of a shot with tilt/shift lens (loupes are irrelevant when you can do a 100% zoom by just touch)



I've seen several people using tablets or field monitors tethered to the HDMI output of DSLRs already for composition and focusing tilt/shift lenses. I'm going to be testing one myself soon.

[Drew Wiley]

Do you need to buy a different darkcloth each time the software requires an upgrade?

[David Lobato]

I'm hosed, can't meter for Zone i :confused:

[Brian C. Miller]

What I would like to see is a complete digital version of the old large format photography. A plate with a 4x5 sensor. A digital darkroom where you can virtually do what you would regularly do with real film.

Oh, yeah. I can just see it:

A control to "rack the bellows" for focusing. (Accessory: Bluetooth controlled motorized bellows on the front) You have to manually set the aperture and shutter. Oh, and there's a motion for the darkslide, too.

And once you've made the exposure, you have to lay the iPad flat and make a rocking motion to "develop" the image. And you get a negative. Then you have to make the print, including burning and dodging movements made by waving your hands above the screen.

Wow, would people be giving you funny looks!

[RussellLittle]

I've been at a couple of my son's school events and seeing parents beside me, using tablet computers to shoot their kids. What struck me was seeing the "better than LF" huge viewing, with tablet computer cameras.

It sure makes an impression, to see an almost 8x10 live view of the image that you are going to take, with none of the inconvenience, and, dimness, of a LF with hood and tripod and all that LF stuff.

And made standing there with my M9 and viewfinder, "small".

Have you run across this?

Those tablet cameras are too good. It is awesome feature I have not used but seen many times

[paulr]

What I'd like to see is a DSLR-quality Bluetooth camera that can directly input to the iPad, including live view.


http://www.camranger.com/

[Andrew O'Neill]

Oh, yeah. I can just see it:

A control to "rack the bellows" for focusing. (Accessory: Bluetooth controlled motorized bellows on the front) You have to manually set the aperture and shutter. Oh, and there's a motion for the darkslide, too.

And once you've made the exposure, you have to lay the iPad flat and make a rocking motion to "develop" the image. And you get a negative. Then you have to make the print, including burning and dodging movements made by waving your hands above the screen.

Wow, would people be giving you funny looks!

:D

[dsphotog]

Oh, yeah. I can just see it:

A control to "rack the bellows" for focusing. (Accessory: Bluetooth controlled motorized bellows on the front) You have to manually set the aperture and shutter. Oh, and there's a motion for the darkslide, too.

And once you've made the exposure, you have to lay the iPad flat and make a rocking motion to "develop" the image. And you get a negative. Then you have to make the print, including burning and dodging movements made by waving your hands above the screen.

Wow, would people be giving you funny looks!

Coat
screen
with
collodian
now...

[RussellLittle]

Those tablet (http://www.robustbuy.com/laptops-tablets-android-tablets-c-551_1107.html) cameras are too good. It is awesome feature I have not used but seen many times

Which tablet you use guys?

[patrickjames]

I am waiting for a tablet that will project a hologram in front of me so I don't have to look at the tablet to take a picture, and the holograms will mean I also don't have to engage with the real world ever again....

[Brian Ellis]

Which tablet you use guys?

I use an iPad III though not very often for photography. Apple upgraded the viewing screen from the II to the III and it is indeed a great viewing system. I don't know about prints from them, I haven't done that. I made the pictures for my daughter and sent them to her on a thumb drive. One reason I haven't used it very often is that I hate the method of composing (i.e. zooming in and out) on the III as opposed to the II which to me seemed much easier. Don't have a IV so I don't know what that's like. I'm sure people who are more serious or knowledgeable about this kind of photography could provide more and better information.

[Dominik Schulthess]

Isn't Phase One about to sell a new series of digital camera backs with wireless connection ?

Like that one could imagin that you mount your tablet computer above your camera and the display actually shows what the digital back is recording in life view. that would give an electronic viewfinder the size of your tablet and a digital sensor with up to 80 megapixel...

[Drew Wiley]

I'm working on a patent for a digital darkcloth ... Ain't it fun to make life ninety times more complicated and expensive than
it needs to be?

[joho]

just a note - the quality from the tablets just "sucks" ...
but on the out side it is impressive, but that is about it !
the image is crapy did a test run - just had to -- I was 2 months ago
some where here in the city [Athens ] with the Linhoff 4x5 taking some photos, well, at some point a tourist from China
was standing next to me copying the shoot I was doing with a Tablet [whatsyou callit]
at first I was Laughing .... then I got to thinking what a f$#%ing show off this person was...well
anyway went to some store asked if I try one out [try out the whatsyou callit] DID the photos are only low res and crappy.
But if you look at one person that holds it you say Hey WoW!! thats where B.S. starts.

just had to say these few words on this or I would have burst !

cheers

[Drew Wiley]

One of many evolutionary dead ends, no doubt.... but somewhere along the line somebody will hit the nail on the head.
Whether a smart patent ever gets past the marketing monkeys is a different story.

[algarzai]

what loupe magnification do you recommend with it??

[Bob Salomon]

Oh, yeah. I can just see it:

A control to "rack the bellows" for focusing. (Accessory: Bluetooth controlled motorized bellows on the front) You have to manually set the aperture and shutter. Oh, and there's a motion for the darkslide, too.

And once you've made the exposure, you have to lay the iPad flat and make a rocking motion to "develop" the image. And you get a negative. Then you have to make the print, including burning and dodging movements made by waving your hands above the screen.

Wow, would people be giving you funny looks!

See this:

https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/rodenstock-eshutter-remote/id496195112?mt=8

[jnantz]

Does the tablet have movements?

YES!! there's an app for thatt

[AJSJones]

I've seen several people using tablets or field monitors tethered to the HDMI output of DSLRs already for composition and focusing tilt/shift lenses. I'm going to be testing one myself soon.

Someone who gets it! The tablet screen acting as GG (with built-in 10x zoom, no loupe needed) WYSIWYG for a DSLR with an excellent lens - flat stitch to 50-60 MP...

[Drew Wiley]

Hey, my 8x10 already has one of those built-in. It only cost about thirty bucks and doesn't even need any batteries or software! ... But let's just see if in twenty years or so, if one of these gadgets operates as both high-resolution capture and
viewing on a very thin stiff large sheet, replacing both GG and film, and all the clumsy digital backs avial now. Remember how bulky and expensive cell phones originally were? But it didn't happen overnight.