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Pretty much agree with you there, however if it gets more people interested in traditional printing and film then it could be a good thing. Would be more interested if it was for a full size iPad and had some kind of bluetooth remote though - can see a lot of accidental fogging happening here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Moe
I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Moe
there seems to be a desire or need on the part of some to figure out ways to use a smart phone to do a mediocre to poor job that has already been done much better by a dedicated instrument. Light meter apps may be one. Why not a shutter tester? I have even seen a mount to put a smart phone onto a rifle . . .as a gun site!
Another point of view.Quote:
Originally Posted by DKirk
Got some pretty serious equipment in my D room including three large film enlargers, but also have 5 grandchildren, the two oldest constantly taking pix with mine or their parent's I phones. I believe I will purchase this unit in the hopes of igniting the wet process fever in one or two of them. Will give it to the group of them with the understanding that it is for their use only in my darkroom, again with the hope their interest is heightened because of ownership and the magic of an emerging image !
Relatively speaking I don't see much difference than any parent giving a child a developing kit back in the 60's / 70's and them going on to become a serious photographer, analog or otherwise.
2 cents
It's making the best of a device you're already likely to have on hand. I have dedicated light meters and similar bits of kit, but sometimes something gets forgotten or lost (or left at home in order to run with minimal kit). It's nice to know that I have a passable back-up on hand should I need it. The one thing my phone has replaced completely is a viewing card. Depending on your specific device, there are several "viewfinder" apps available that are really quite good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew Bedo
And yes, I also have a shutter tester app that's good in a pinch.
The ultimate fall-back I guess would be the "Sunny-Sixteen" rule of thumb.
shutter-Tester? How does that work for LF? Is it good enough for practical use in the field?
I have made 8x10 prints from my iPad by putting it in my 4x5 enlarger. The only problem is that when you focus perfectly you see the grid of the pixels in the print. I set up a slide show of a bunch of dark red blank screens followed by the image I wanted to print so I could start it and then place it in the enlarger and have paper ready. Can't remember off the top of my head how long exposures were but I think they were reasonable.
The point being is that your smart phone is a just a very portable computer (that happens to make phone calls and has a camera) it's a tool, no different than any other.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew Bedo
The shutter tester uses the mic on the phone to record the sound of the shutter opening and closing (it gives you a 3 second window to trigger the shutter). One nice little feature is that it'll help you build a chart that you could use when shooting so that you can figure your exposure (taking the actual shutter speed into account). You could use it the field if you needed to. I'm sure it's not super accurate but it gets the job done.
I'm not smart enough to envision what you did. Got any illustrations?Quote:
Originally Posted by cuypers1807
.
I think so.... Let me look.
Ok... found some photos.
First, here is a photo of the iPad in the enlarger. The iPad air fits in place of a negative holder:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7681/...7a175394_z.jpg
I prepped the photo by making it a negative and surrounding it with a dark red border to reduce the chance of fogging the paper.
(This is a scan of an 8x10 tintype)
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8725/...873c821e_z.jpg
I then set up a slide show of a number of ultra dark red frames (the iPad put off light even when showing black) with the negative at the end giving me time to pull out a sheet of paper and move it into position.
Since it was a variable contrast enlarger, I did not own below the lens contrast filters so I just adjusted the contrast of the negative in photoshop until it looked reasonable.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7643/...dd60cd51_z.jpg
The biggest problem is the iPad's pixel grid being visible on prints. Here is a close up of the print:
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8737/...653090df_z.jpg
I experimented with trying to defocus the print just enough to obscure the grid while trying to maintain a relatively sharp print and it was hit or miss.
Someone else asked if contact prints were possible with an iPad. My attempts were all very soft. Perhaps if you had the right subject the effect would be acceptable. Fogging is also a real problem as I said before the iPad gives off light even when the screen is set to display black. Hope this helps.