Creator Sean Hodgins has published a new video detailing his creation of 'digiObscura,' a large boxy digital camera that features his own 1-kilopixel image sensor. The camera's creation involved 3D printing the camera body and soldering phototransistors on a custom printed circuit board alongside a pair of 32-bit analog multiplexers.
As you might expect, the 1KP images captured by digiObscura are very blocky and pixelated due to the camera's very low resolution, but it's an incredible look at what's possible with enough time, patience and knowledge.
In addition to the video above, the project is detailed on Instructables, where tools and components are listed. More detailed information, as well as firmware and other files, are available on the project's Github. Files for the 3D-printed components are available on Thingiverse.
About 80% of the coments miss the poit. Many other items I have I can hack, though vendors are more and more resticting that. I can still hack my PC enormously, replacing the hard drive, upgrading the CPU, memory AND MORE IMPORTANTLY changing the software.
But my camera is a closed box. Oh, I can swap lenses, but not alter any fundamentals. Sony develops new sensors, yes, but I can't swap them for my old one. I can't hack the software. Compared to commercial cameras this is primitive, but he has full control over everything. he now knows more about how sensors work, how the software can and does extract data, the algorithms to process, lots more than all except those who actually work for vendors. Yes, vendors release software updates for camera and lenses. Sometimes.
This is mind blowing. In a 20MP FF sensor, the pixel density per mm^2 is approx. 23,148 pixels (20 million pixels / 864mm^2). The surface area of 864mm^2 is derived from 36 x 24. You would need to shrink 23 of these kilo pixel sensors above to fill up the area that covers 1 square millimeter of a full frame sensor. The pixel density would increase the smaller the sensors and you need to cram more of these in a much smaller space.
Very interesting project nicely presented showing effort needed to make even a very low res digital camera. Too bad you have to endure so many stupid comments. Unfortunately that’s the state of our society today- an abundance of dumb people.
Well this is quite a task to build the camera from scratch, almost. Nowadays many people consider putting readily available parts together as 'building' something, no they are only assembly something ! many people say they build their own computer, I did so many times too, it was simply go to the shop to buy the motherboard, CPU, RAM, Drive, SSD, PSU.... and then put them together and connect the cables that's all ! hardly anyone of us really building something. But frankly we can't build each and every parts from scratch it is only possible in the factory, I consider building something as long as we do the soldering down to the component level, 3D print the casing and write our own program to run the thing. I consider Sean is building the camera coz he produce the sensor from parts, he 3D print the case...etc., and most importantly he knew all about electronics, optics and programming, so that if he own a factory he could really build something from scratch.
Although everyone seems to be criticizing this particular end result, who knows what this inventor might come up with. The French word is bricoleur and the result is bricolage. I'm reminded of the early days of Hewlet Packard and Apple when computer s were made in garages and what were doing now was a dream and also impossible with out the efforts of these eccentric early pioneers welding bits and pieces before actual silicon itself .
Seems like someone has raised kids to be ignorant adults with no use for life. Sad...... wait I can hear all the replies coming....but I will not indulge as it's not worth it and these kids will never understand what it's all about....sad!
Considering the size of the imaging chip, I'm kinda surprised that he didn't go for a 4x5" format. It could replace the film on a field camera, leading to a far more interesting (in my view) project. There haven't been many digital LF cameras...
When I was younger I made several projects like this one. Almost none resulted in anything useful. I made a very advanced darkroom exposure meter though. It saved me lots of time in the darkroom. I also made a 360 degree panoramic camera that worked just fine. Unfortunately I had no good way of making any prints from the long films, so I never really used it.
It is fun to do stuff. And most is useless as tools. Like this one. The image quality is a bit too poor. But, the guy has made something that develops himself.
Exactly - and you have to start somewhere, in any case. Consider where we are now with consumer digital cameras, then look at the imaging camera used in the Viking Mars Landers in the 1970s - it's basically a single-pixel camera.
Your image will be approximately 3mm square, with beautiful borders of 593mm on the long edge and 419mm on the short edge. Assuming you center the image, but that is of course up to you.
Excellent work, now all it needs is a colour wheel, and he'll have a DIY colour camera :) Probably better to do it that way, rather than adding a CFA to the sensor.
If he wants a true challenge, may I suggest microlenses :)
Yep, they became Heathkit Educational after 2008 and that lasted 4 years. A lot of the regional stores closed in the late 70's, early 80's. I still have a functional amateur radio transceiver and a linear amplifier, I built in '73. lol
Hey, I've got just the display for it! Although, at 476 pixels, you'd have to scroll around to see the entire 1024 image… something I built in the 1980s while working at Tektronix's Computer Research Laboratories:
/Users/jan/Pictures/• Annual Index/2010/2019/2019-12-30 LED Display/_A301820.JPG
When I worked at Tektronix Computer Research Laboratories in the 1980s, we were prying the lids off ceramic-package 16,384-bit RAM chips, focusing images on them, reading the results out, and displaying them. This was before Adobe Photoshop existed, and the most popular video display was 640x480!
To Trollshavethebestcandy. I feel sorry for those who have children. Years of ass wiping-diper changing, sleepless nights, money spending on cloths and then donating it to someone else, paying for education, worrying every minute what is happening and after all you have no idea who you are raising. 18 years of hell basically. It has nothing to do with maturity. It has a lot to do with a personal choice of self-sacrifice. So actually I feel sorry for those who have children.
Back in 1998 I bought Nikon's new F5 ("imported from the future") SLR which had an "exclusive 3D Color Matrix Metering using a new 1,005-pixel RGB sensor to read a scene's color as well as brightness and contrast." There was even an accessory that could download the entire record of 'images' that were measured.
Having done something similar with regular diodes (non-optical application) some years ago, I can understand that this sensor is a major labor sink. Congratulations to the maker for actually finishing this project! A few years ago I looked at large format sensors used in electronic x-ray applications. They had low resolution and lots of surface area, and could be used in 8x10 view cameras for example. Quite expensive, and low ISO if I remember correctly.
When do you see it? I remember asking the X-ray technician about it 20 years ago. And he showed me how x-rays were turned into light using a chemical layer on a plastic screen. It was picked up by Philips BW camera in HD.
Here is a link. This is about a TFT panel full of photosensors, rather than a TFT panel full of liquid crystal gates, as we have in our displays. http://atlas.physics.arizona.edu/~kjohns/downloads/scott/9805_dpix_tech_paper.pdf In the paper his pixel area is 127um and active area is 30x40 cm. It's big and flat. Spectral response indicates it works for our standard optical range so I assume a layer of scintillation phosphor covers it so it can be used for x-rays. I have no idea if this became a product.
I guesstimate the area of the sensor is around 40 square cm and assumed the pixel grid is 32x32 (1024 pixels). From there, my back of the napkin math says that scaling this design up to (a still monochrome) 50MP would give us a sensor area similar to the size of a regulation tennis singles court (~195 sq meters).
Yeah but it's a plastic mount so it's garbage. Real cameras have metal mounts. I also don't see a lens roadmap with some 2.8 zooms and 1.4 primes. This guy is a clown.
That article assumes that all photoreceptors (PR) in the human eye are equal. They are not. Less than 200000 PR are responsible for our "clear", "hi-res" vision and they are all clustered in a small area on the retina called the fovea*. You can test this by holding a piece of paper with large printed text in front of you. Focus on it and then move the paper left or right while maintaining the original focus point. You'll notice that you only have to move it a few degrees off center before it become illegible.
*the fovea is the point where our optic lens focuses on and the area that has the highest density of cone PRs
The a7R V is the fifth iteration of Sony's high-end, high-res full-frame mirrorless camera. The new 60MP Mark IV, gains advanced AF, focus stacking and a new rear screen arrangement. We think it excels at stills.
Topaz Labs' flagship app uses AI algorithms to make some complex image corrections really, really easy. But is there enough here to justify its rather steep price?
Above $2500 cameras tend to become increasingly specialized, making it difficult to select a 'best' option. We case our eye over the options costing more than $2500 but less than $4000, to find the best all-rounder.
There are a lot of photo/video cameras that have found a role as B-cameras on professional film productions or even A-cameras for amateur and independent productions. We've combed through the options and selected our two favorite cameras in this class.
What’s the best camera for around $2000? These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both the speed and focus to capture fast action and offer professional-level image quality. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing around $2000 and recommended the best.
Family moments are precious and sometimes you want to capture that time spent with loved ones or friends in better quality than your phone can manage. We've selected a group of cameras that are easy to keep with you, and that can adapt to take photos wherever and whenever something memorable happens.
What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? Fast continuous shooting, reliable autofocus and great battery life are just three of the most important factors. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting sports and action, and recommended the best.
While peak Milky Way season is on hiatus, there are other night sky wonders to focus on. We look at the Orion constellation and Northern Lights, which are prevalent during the winter months.
We've gone hands-on with Nikon's new 17-28mm F2.8 lens for its line of Z-mount cameras. Check out the sample gallery to see what kind of image quality it has to offer on a Nikon Z7 II.
The winning and finalist images from the annual Travel Photographer of the Year awards have been announced, showcasing incredible scenes from around the world. Check out the gallery to see which photographs took the top spots.
The a7R V is the fifth iteration of Sony's high-end, high-res full-frame mirrorless camera. The new 60MP Mark IV, gains advanced AF, focus stacking and a new rear screen arrangement. We think it excels at stills.
Using affordable Sony NP-F batteries and the Power Junkie V2 accessory, you can conveniently power your camera and accessories, whether they're made by Sony or not.
According to Japanese financial publication Nikkei, Sony has moved nearly all of its camera production out of China and into Thailand, citing geopolitical tensions and supply chain diversification.
A pro chimes in with his long-term impressions of DJI's Mavic 3. While there were ups and downs, filmmaker José Fransisco Salgado found that in his use of the drone, firmware updates have made it better with every passing month.
Landscape photography has a very different set of requirements from other types of photography. We pick the best options at three different price ranges.
AI is here to stay, so we must prepare ourselves for its many consequences. We can use AI to make our lives easier, but it's also possible to use AI technology for more nefarious purposes, such as making stealing photos a simple one-click endeavor.
This DIY project uses an Adafruit board and $40 worth of other components to create a light meter and metadata capture device for any film photography camera.
Scientists at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia have used a transmitter with 'less power than a microwave' to produce the highest resolution images of the moon ever captured from Earth.
The tiny cameras, which weigh just 1.4g, fit inside the padding of a driver's helmet, offering viewers at home an eye-level perspective as F1 cars race through the corners of the world's most exciting race tracks. In 2023, all drivers will be required to wear the cameras.
The new ultrafast prime for Nikon Z-mount cameras is a re-worked version of Cosina's existing Voigtländer 50mm F1 Aspherical lens for Leica M-mount cameras.
There are plenty of hybrid cameras on the market, but often a user needs to choose between photo- or video-centric models in terms of features. Jason Hendardy explains why he would want to see shutter angle and 32-bit float audio as added features in cameras that highlight both photo and video functionalities.
SkyFi's new Earth Observation service is now fully operational, allowing users to order custom high-resolution satellite imagery of any location on Earth using a network of more than 80 satellites.
In some parts of the world, winter brings picturesque icy and snowy scenes. However, your drone's performance will be compromised in cold weather. Here are some tips for performing safe flights during the chilliest time of the year.
The winners of the Ocean Art Photo Competition 2022 have been announced, showcasing incredible sea-neries (see what we did there?) from around the globe.
Venus Optics has announced a quartet of new anamorphic cine lenses for Super35 cameras, the Proteus 2x series. The 2x anamorphic lenses promise ease of use, accessibility and high-end performance for enthusiast and professional video applications.
We've shot the new Fujinon XF 56mm F1.2R WR lens against the original 56mm F1.2R, to check whether we should switch the lens we use for our studio test scene or maintain consistency.
Nature photographer Erez Marom continues his series about landscape composition by discussing the multifaceted role played by the sky in a landscape image.
The NONS SL660 is an Instax Square instant camera with an interchangeable lens design. It's made of CNC-milled aluminum alloy, has an SLR-style viewfinder, and retails for a $600. We've gone hands-on to see what it's like to shoot with.
Recently, DJI made Waypoints available for their Mavic 3 series of drones, bringing a formerly high-end feature to the masses. We'll look at what this flight mode is and why you should use it.
Astrophotographer Bray Falls was asked to help verify the discovery of the Andromeda Oxygen arc. He describes his process for verification, the equipment he used and where astronomers should point their telescopes next.
Comments