Introducing the open-source camera, dubbed “Frankencamera“, a piece of technology where programmers can fine-tune a camera’s response to light and motion–outside of Photoshop.  Without getting too technical (algorithms, blah blah blah), this means that multiple images of a particular scene can be taken, processed to a particular exposure level and then recombined into a composite image. 

But wait, can’t you already do this on a computer?  Yeah, sure.  But in a camera… on-site?  That’s what Marc Levoy, a professor of Computer and Electrical Engineering  at Stanford University is looking to do with Frankencamera.

“Some cameras have software development kits that let you hook up a camera with a USB cable and tell it to set the exposure to this, the shutter speed to that, and take a picture, but that’s not what we’re talking about,” says Levoy. “What we’re talking about is, tell it what to do on the next microsecond  …  or fire the flash, focus a little differently and then fire the flash again — things you can’t program a commercial camera to do.”

He’s aiming to make this platform available to computational photography researchers first.  As for the rest of us normal consumers, we’ll have to wait a bit.  Essentially this technology leaves the photographer with the freedom to be completely experimental.  We’re only a couple of steps closer to making the perfect photograph in-camera.

 Hey nerds, want to know more?  See a little video of what we’re talking about?
Read the full article here:  http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august31/levoy-opensource-camera-090109.html

metromotion has launched it’s new website! This ultra-clean design has been actualized with the apical of genius by none other than the New Cruelty.

Be sure to check out the renovated vehicle floor plans on our Fleet section, get a taste of our guns in the Tech and Gear sections, and envy at heaven while perusing over the extra large pics of MetroDaylight studios.

The stars cannot begin to contain their jealousy.

more to come…

They have officially opened their claim to fame contest that offers a grand prize of $10,000 in Profoto equipment. Yummy. Photographic assistants are invited to submit their work which, if chosen, will appear in numerous magazines as well as on their website.

Enter now through their site located here…

Check it out here…

Hey, if the Pope has one, we might as well get on the bandwagon too.