university
Friday, October 21 2011
Lightfield Cameras
[15:17:17] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.dementia Lytro, based on the founder's work while at Stanford from around 2005 through 2007, has started taking orders for hand-held light field cameras that should ship in early 2012.
They sound cool. The practical use at the moment is not entirely clear, but I'd expect some pretty interesting exposures to come out over the first few years that just weren't possible before (with consumer-level equipment). Given the dimminuitive size of the Lytro device, it seems reasonable to carry as a replacement for a point-and-shoot, and as a companion for a larger SLR or medium-format camera.
On the subject of medium formats, there is a page from someone from the University of Maryland providing a how-to on converting a medium format Mamiya to a light field camera for only $5--and the cost of the medium-format system which will be magnitudes more than the $400-$500 charged for a much smaller Lytro device. Nevertheless, it may help you understand a little bit more of what's going on.
http://www.cfar.umd.edu/~aagrawal/sig08/BuildingLightFieldCamera.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_field
[15:17:17] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.dementia Lytro, based on the founder's work while at Stanford from around 2005 through 2007, has started taking orders for hand-held light field cameras that should ship in early 2012.
They sound cool. The practical use at the moment is not entirely clear, but I'd expect some pretty interesting exposures to come out over the first few years that just weren't possible before (with consumer-level equipment). Given the dimminuitive size of the Lytro device, it seems reasonable to carry as a replacement for a point-and-shoot, and as a companion for a larger SLR or medium-format camera.
On the subject of medium formats, there is a page from someone from the University of Maryland providing a how-to on converting a medium format Mamiya to a light field camera for only $5--and the cost of the medium-format system which will be magnitudes more than the $400-$500 charged for a much smaller Lytro device. Nevertheless, it may help you understand a little bit more of what's going on.
http://www.cfar.umd.edu/~aagrawal/sig08/BuildingLightFieldCamera.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_field
Monday, August 1 2011
Facial Recognition Deducing Social Security Numbers
[16:11:00] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.dementia "Those freaked out by facial recognition technology have fresh fodder: a study from Carnegie Mellon University in which researchers were able to predict people’s social security numbers after taking a photo of them with a cheap webcam."
This, I feel, is the wrong thing ot be scared of. Technology advances, facial recognition will get better. The problem isn't with the technology behind facial recognition, but the significance that has come to be placed on a mostly sequentialy derived number with no inherent security that has become a near-universal identification system.
http://blogs.forbes.com/kashmirhill/2011/08/01/how-face-recognition-can-be-used-to-get-your-social-security-number/
[16:11:00] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.dementia "Those freaked out by facial recognition technology have fresh fodder: a study from Carnegie Mellon University in which researchers were able to predict people’s social security numbers after taking a photo of them with a cheap webcam."
This, I feel, is the wrong thing ot be scared of. Technology advances, facial recognition will get better. The problem isn't with the technology behind facial recognition, but the significance that has come to be placed on a mostly sequentialy derived number with no inherent security that has become a near-universal identification system.
http://blogs.forbes.com/kashmirhill/2011/08/01/how-face-recognition-can-be-used-to-get-your-social-security-number/