RPS Imaging Science Group

Just got my latest IS&T Reporter. It contains a review of the last Color Imaging Conference – see http://www.imaging.org/ist/publications/reporter/index.cfm . There are some really good papers here so give them a look.

Next year the meeting is in San Antonio. Nice city so I may make it next year!

Just found an interesting journal on infrared physics & technology – see http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/525439/description#description . According to the description it convers “theory, experiment, devices and instrumentation”. Looks interesting!

Focus on Imaging is primarily a photographic exhibition but has grown to be Europe’s largest annual imaging show. As such it covers not just their traditional camera market but printed output too. As such it has seen a growing inkjet and thermal transfer presence over the years. It is also a growing “gossip shop” where the conversations are of equal importance to the exhibits, as proved the case this year.
As usual there was a large RPS presence and the stand seemed to be very busy. It was situated right next to the HP display where they were featuring their Z series wide format photo printers. With a 12 ink inkset the results are stunning, particularly the Chromatic red. Unusual to see a graphics inkjet without a full strength cyan however!
The balance is changing at this show. I spent the entire day looking at inkjet printers and media and never touched a camera once!

I was asked for some recommendations on a cost effective telescope to use to take pictures of the moon and planets with a DSLR. Pretty difficult to find. One option is something with low weight to mount on the camera using a standard tripod mount. However, you need a good long focal length to get a serious image size – I use 1200mm. This requires something more substantial and a bespoke mount for this.

I recalled the work of HJP Arnold, ex of Kodak and a great astrophotographer. His book, aptly entitled “Astrophotography” was published by Philips but now seems to be out of print. You may find it in a local library (ISBN 0-540-08312-7) or check it out underhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Astrophotography-H-J-P-Arnold/dp/0540083127 . It is a very readable but authoratitive introduction to the topic. Enjoy!

For the photographers amongst us, here is an interesting document. The screw that holds your camera to the tripod is subject to its own ISO standard – ISO 1222. See http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=33323&commid=48420 for details. If you want to get a copy, hold fire. The 2010 version will be out soon!

I find this information doubly useful for attaching imaging kit like telescopes onto tripods.

October 7th & 8th 2010, The Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BQ

In October 1910 Professor Robert Wood presented his paper to the Royal Photographic Society in London  “Photography by Invisible Rays”, describing the use of an infrared plate to make a permanent image in the near infrared. Since that time significant advances have been made in infrared thermal imaging, with applications across a broad spectrum from medicine, industry and astronomy.

Two day seminars, the first on the development and general applications of infrared imaging, and the second on infrared imaging in astronomy will be held in London. The first will be organised under the auspices of The Royal Photographic Society, Imaging Science Group, and the second by the Royal Astronomical Society.

The identification of infrared rays is attributed to Sir William Herschel who presented his findings to the Royal Society in 1800. Sir William became the first president of the Royal Astronomical Society that was founded in 1820. In 2009, the Herschel Space telescope was launched carrying a multi-spectral infrared camera system. Some of the first observational images from this current mission will form part of the second day seminar.

To the British Library for their Points of View Photographic Exhibition – see http://www.bl.uk/pointsofview/. Eadweard Muybridge’s study of motion, Edward Sherrif Curtis on Native America and Roger Fenton all feature here. The section on The Search for Permanence is particularly poignant given the work still ongoing for ISO standards in this area!
There a lot of photographic processes featured here. I only had 1 hour – leave yourself longer!

I am currently in Tokyo for the ISO Photography standards plenary meeting together with fellow RPS Imaging Scientist Hani Muammar. As we are considering standards for digital as well as traditional imaging it was somehow appropriate to learn today that Willard Boyle and George Smith got the Nobel Prize for Physics for the invention of the CCD imaging device – see http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2009/boyle-photo.html

One of the great pleasure that comes from attending imaging conferences is the quality and sheer volume of pictures that are created. Here is a link to a site by Koji Hirakura, a board member of the Imaging Society of Japan. Enjoy his blog from the IS&T NIP and Digital Fabrication conference in Louisville Kentucky – http://pub.ne.jp/hirakura/ !

So which one is it? Surprised me to find it is a European unit, situated on the island of La Palma in the Canaries. It is the Spanish Gran Telescopio Canarias (see http://www.gtc.iac.es/en/ ) and it has a 10.4m aperture made of 36 hexagonal units.
It was officially opened only recently and has a visible wavelength CCD camera at present called OSIRIS. This camera has two 8MPixel CCD units with 15 µm pixels.
A second detector is planned, this time in the mid IR operating from 7 to 20µm (see http://www.gtc.iac.es/en/pages/instrumentation/canaricam.php ). The sensitivity is limited at the low end by the absorption of water vapour in the atmosphere and at the high end by the characteristics of the detector, made of arsenic-doped silicon. It is a Raytheon 320 x 240 pixel array with a pixel size is 50 µm. Normally detectors of this type are cooled using expensive liquid helium. In this case a closed cycle cryogenic unit will cool the detector down to 8K.
So neither camera has what some photographers would call serious megapixels. But take a look at some of the images!