Researchers at Western University in Canada have developed a method for restoring damaged daguerreotypes, including plates so degraded that no portion of the original image remains discernible to the eye. The method, the university explains, involves using rapid-scanning micro-X-ray fluorescence imaging to analyze the silver-coated plate and identify the mercury element used to develop it.
“Mercury is the major element that contributes to the imagery captured in these photographs. Even though the surface is tarnished, those image particles remain intact," explained study co-author Tsun-Kong (TK) Sham. "By looking at the mercury, we can retrieve the image in great detail."
Whereas a human hair is around 75 microns thick, the X-ray beam used in this method is as small as 10 x 10 microns, resulting in about 8 hours of scanning time per daguerreotype plate. This method can be used by art conservators to reveal a daguerreotype's image when cleaning the degraded plate is not possible.
There can't be that many daguerreotypes in the world. If they went at this for a few years they'd probably be able to duplicate all of the surviving ones.
Super. Good job. Wondering, if 100 years down the road, scientists will be developing some software or methods that would allow them to view jpg files!!!
But we already have the software and it's less complex format than say MPEG. Either the existing software will be ported to new systems or the images will be converted to new image format.
More important would be way how to read degraded hard drive or even solid state memory where the charge dissipated for good.
In most cases the storage can be retrieved (in clean rooms) but the process is very expensive. I received a quote of $1700 to retrieve data from a 500GB HDD.
Damaged storage sure. They were even able to get the data off the exploded space shuttle hard drives but a hard drive left on a shelf for 100 years might be a problem and flash storage near impossible (or just not worth it).
These kinda exist already. Depends if it failed electronics, then you can recover with regular data recovery company but it still needs expensive machines and manhours.
I went through my dad's archives recently. I looked at and enjoyed his prints from last century, especially the ones from the 40s-70s. I didn't look at his slides because the slide projector I need isn't available. I also didn't go through his millions of digital images. I'm happy to know they are backed up but I doubt anyone will ever look at them again. All anybody besides me will ever look at again are the old prints, not the digital files.
It is amazing to know that in 300 or 800 or 1000 years from now people will be looking at perfect picture of our time in digital form. History is changing. I only hope there will be people living still to look at them.
Assuming backwards compatibility of course. Big assumption. Jpeg may not be the standard in 100 years (much less 1000). Of course, they will be intelligent enough to hopefully backwards engineer ours, but then again, if a catastrophe happens and we go back to the dark ages, our science may be looked at as we see Atlantis today except we really are a high tech society (but then can we say if Atlantis actually existed that they weren't? lol). Just call be a skeptic when it comes to digital and archiving. Old reliable hard-copies in protective enclosures has at least a history of being effective for most captures; digital has yet to prove it's storage prowess. Just saying. :)
I'd argue we are still far from perfect pictures in digital form. Also look at photos from the previous decade and see that the resolution was limited, as well as color accuracy, particularly in low light. In couple decades people will laugh at our generation and our puny 50MP 2D pictures or 8MP low frame rate video. Or very poor 360 panoramas. Besides the few stationary gigapixel ones, those will be in museums.
Pretty cool concept but I imagine the costs are such that it will only be used when it’s a potentially high value photo and not for just any random one.
Canon's EOS R, the company's first full-frame mirrorless camera, impresses us with its image quality and color rendition. But it also comes with quirky ergonomics, uninspiring video features and a number of other shortcomings. Read our full review to see how the EOS R stacks up in today's full-frame mirrorless market.
No Nikon camera we've tested to date balances stills and video capture as well as the Nikon Z7. Though autofocus is less reliable than the D850, Nikon's first full-frame mirrorless gets enough right to earn our recommendation.
Nikon's Coolpix P1000 has moved the zoom needle from 'absurd' to 'ludicrous,' with an equivalent focal length of 24-3000mm. While it's great for lunar and still wildlife photography, we found that it's not suited for much else.
As a stills camera the Fujifilm X-T3 is a pleasant update to one of our favorite APS-C cameras, significantly improving the autofocus. If you're interested in stills and video, though, it's knockout.
The Nikon Z7 is slated as a mirrorless equivalent to the D850, but it can't subject track with the same reliability as its DSLR counterpart. AF performance is otherwise good, except in low light where hunting can lead to missed shots.
What's the best camera for under $500? These entry level cameras should be easy to use, offer good image quality and easily connect with a smartphone for sharing. In this buying guide we've rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing less than $500 and recommended the best.
Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Sony mirrorlses cameras in several categories to make your decisions easier.
Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Canon DSLRs in several categories to make your decisions easier.
Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Nikon DSLRs in several categories to make your decisions easier.
What’s the best camera for less than $1000? The best cameras for under $1000 should have good ergonomics and controls, great image quality and be capture high-quality video. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing under $1000 and recommended the best.
Canon's EOS R, the company's first full-frame mirrorless camera, impresses us with its image quality and color rendition. But it also comes with quirky ergonomics, uninspiring video features and a number of other shortcomings. Read our full review to see how the EOS R stacks up in today's full-frame mirrorless market.
We spoke to wildfire photographer Stuart Palley about his experiences shooting the recent Woolsey fire, why the Nikon Z7 isn't quite ready to take a permanent spot in his gear bag, and 'that' Tweet from Donald Trump.
The Z7 presented Nikon with a stiff challenge: how to build a mirrorless camera that measures up to its own DSLRs and can deliver a familiar experience to Nikon users. Chris and Jordan tell us whether they think Nikon succeeded.
Nikon's D3500 may be an inexpensive DSLR, but the company didn't cut corners when it comes to image quality. See how it handled fall colors and tropical seas in our sample gallery.
Nikon has released firmware version 1.02 that resolves a flickering issue when scrolling through images, an ISO limitation problem, and an occasional crash that could occur when displaying certain Raw files.
DxO announces the latest update to Nik Collection (version 1.1) that brings better compatibility, fewer bugs to the plugin suite it acquired from Google a year ago
Nikon USA has announced that its Z6 full-frame mirrorless camera will be shipping Friday, November 16th at a price of $1999 body-only and $2599 with the Nikkor Z 24-70 F4 S lens.
The Insta360 One X is the company's latest consumer 360-degree camera, supporting 5.7K video, including excellent image stabilization, as well as 18MP photos. And, in our experience, it's a really fun camera to use.
ON1 Photo RAW 2019 brings an updated interface, more powerful Lightroom migration, better camera/lens support, and more to ON1's flagship editing program.
Experiencing life through the lens of a camera might mean you miss out on special moments, warns Casey Cavanaugh as he shoots a short film through the viewfinder of his Hasselblad 500CM
Comments