3D Printers will soon be Commonplace

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, I spent some time scouting out 3D printers. These are devices that can build or construct a three-dimensional solid object. For a couple of months, I studied the literature and researched several models via the Internet.

A couple of months later while I was in New York City, I stopped by a store in downtown Manhattan. It’s not your usual store – it’s for “techies” like me. MakerBot, a manufacturer of 3D printers had opened a store right in Manhattan. If the staff could prove to me that using their Replicator 2 was simple, I’d buy one.
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Polaroid Redux

If you’re old enough to remember the phrase instant photography then you’ll know Polaroid. For several decades beginning in the 1950’s you would often see picture takers peeling the negative backing from their print to reveal a magical photograph.

 

Last week I traveled to New York to attend the PhotoPlus Expo, a yearly gathering where major manufacturers of photographic equipment and accessories exhibit their wares and providers of services and training hold sessions and demonstrations for both professionals and the interested public. I’m told that some 22,000 of the photographically inclined attended the expo over the three days. PPE which just celebrated its 30th anniversary, is held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. In coming articles, I’ll have several reports on some of the new equipment and accessories that I found interesting at this year’s PPE.

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I’ll start this short series of articles with a piece of equipment which is a throwback to a much earlier time. Those of you who recall Polaroid are familiar with the concept of “instant” photography. With a Polaroid camera, after you press the shutter, a stiff sheet of shiny paper is ejected from its side and after 60 seconds (not quite instantly) the image magically develops on the paper.

 

For several years now, Fuji has been selling a replacement for the defunct Polaroid system. Their newest model, the Instax Mini 90, uses a 10 exposure ‘print pack’. The Mini 90 is a solidly built and very retro black. The white, blue and pink models are from their previous Mini 8 and Mini 25 series. Print pack pricing breaks down at a cost of about $1 each.

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The film packs are either with white background or “rainbow” with a variety of background colors. The Fuji representative captured my face using one of the Mini 90 cameras to prove to me that it was real! The image takes about 10 seconds to appear and the coloring is quite good.

 

I have seen these cameras being used a weddings, showers and other gatherings and the Fuji rep confirmed their popularity. If you have need for quick prints, this is certainly a foolproof and affordable way to get them.

You can find out more about the Mini 90 at Fuji Instant Photo System.
Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

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Photographically speaking, a panorama is a photograph that encompasses a very wide view. I like panoramas because they reproduce a scene as if I were viewing it live by turning my head from the far left to the far right. I can view the photograph in small ‘chunks’ as I scan the entire image from the left to the right.

In the past, making a panorama was a complicated, multiple step process involving capturing the images and then stitching them together whether it be done chemically in a darkroom or digitally with a computer. I won’t go into details of making panoramas using either of these two “conventional” ways. Instead, I’ll point out the ease with which a feature on certain cameras enables me to easily make panoramas in one step.

For the past two years I’ve been using several Sony Alpha series and NEX series cameras to shoot panoramas. These cameras enjoy a feature called Sweep Panorama. When this feature is chosen, you simultaneously depress the shutter and move the camera in a sweeping fashion to the right. As you do this, the camera captures multiple images of the scene. The camera signals the completion of the sweep by halting the shutter. A few seconds afterward, the panoramic capture appears on the camera’s LCD for your review. Press the PLAY button and the image is displayed from left to right – in video fashion – but is actually a single, still panoramic image.

Above, I explained that the sweeping motion is from left to right. But in fact these Sony cameras let you sweep left to right; right to left; up to down; and down to up. These cameras also capture three dimensional appearing images using 3D Sweep Panorama that can be displayed on certain compatible 3D television sets.

Here’s a few of the panoramas that I’ve taken with various Sony cameras. You can click on each of the images to see a wide view of the panorama.
 

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
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