250 Mega Pixel camera a.k.a Qg by Duke University @ $50K

Golf007sd

Came across this article and thought I would share it with us all here.

Duke University Supercamera.

donaldejose

Ahhhh. . . . now we know why the holdup on the D400; Nikon is going to put a quarter gigipixel sensor in it!

WestEndBoy

Interesting video.

The navy should talk to Darpa. They are already there with a camera with 7 times the megapixels:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/28/darpa-builds-a-1-8-gigapixel-camera-that-can-spot-six-inch-targets-from-20000-feet/

And for less than $1,000, we can do the same thing:

http://www.activecomp.ca/gigapan/

Golf007sd

@jshickele: I know all about the ARGUS and it is truly a kick ass system. But it is sticky for government use. The public at large has very little use or need of it. The Gigapan is a very cool device, but it not a camera.

The Qg is however a camera that function much like a camera but has lots of possible usage for the public at large. Time will tell if it finds itself in the hands of companies that will put it to good use.

Ade

And to think, that 1.8 gigapixel ARGUS camera is at least 4-years old. It's nowhere near state-of-the-art anymore, which is why people can openly discuss its supposed capabilities on TV.

WestEndBoy

Yeah Golf007sd, I am just being a bit of a brat.

It seems the real mission critical technology for large amounts of megapixels is in networking and information processing and the lens (with the exception of the gigapan). The rest seems to be off the shelf almost.

Ade

Apparently Duke is working on another prototype camera, the AWARE-10, which can take 3 gigapixel snapshots but -- as its name implies -- will eventually be able to take 10 gigapixel images.

Here's a 1.33 gigapixel test image taken by AWARE-10 a couple of weeks ago during the Duke vs. NC State football game (image hosted at gigapan):

http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/144522

That 250 megapixel Qg seems to be a scaled down version of the AWARE-10's predecessor (the AWARE-2) packaged in a commercial friendly format and being made available for rental (for events, weddings, etc.)

Interestingly, according to Duke, the AWARE camera architecture and design can scale all the way to 50 gigapixels.

Which again really begs the question: what kind of classified military hardware really exists when mere universities are demonstrating multi-gigapixel cameras and making them available to the general public?

Fascinating stuff. Maybe we'll see mainstream gigapixel MF digital backs in < 5 years. I can already see it, the "Phase One Giga".

Golf007sd

@Ade: Thank for the link...way cool. I did however, notice some flaws in the image...an entire section is all blurred. Never the less, neat stuff to look forward to.

Msmoto

Very nice photo and it does demonstrate the primary (IMO) issue with the camera….low ISO creates need for slow shutter….est 1/60 sec limits its use in action photography….are there any tech specs on this camera?

ThomasHorton

that 250mp camera only has 7mp. It just duct-tapes 34 of them together.

Ade

@Msmoto

Since as @ThomasHorton points out that the camera is really a bunch of micro-cameras stitched together, the overall tech specs are similar to the individual micro-cameras.

Tech specs for the Qg:

Image Size:         23,000 x 11,000 pixels (253 megapixels)
Field of View:       50° x 24°
Focal Length:       35mm (*1)
F/#:                     3.2
ISO Range:          100-1600 (*2)
Exposure Time:   1/500 to 4 seconds

Frame Rate (full resolution):    10 fps
Frame Rate (2x2 binning):       30 fps
Image Size (raw):                     442 megabytes

Sensor bit depth:       12-bit ADC on chip
Pixel size:                  1.4 microns

Software: Custom software capable of live preview, image saving, stitching and export

(*1) A horizontal FoV of 50° is equivalent to 38mm in FX
(*2) ISO range of the AWARE-2, I assume the Qg is the same

Msmoto

Thanks Ade. The whole idea is impressive, and, it is interesting to see expressions on the faces across the field.

I guess I will just enjoy the images….

ChasCS

The kids over at Stanford have not been sitting on their hands, when it is camera's as the topic!
3.2 billion pixel offering
https://news.slac.stanford.edu/features/worlds-largest-digital-camera-project-passes-critical-review

http://www.lsst.org/lsst/

When they get these down to a wheel barrel size... hahaha
The future, of photography as we know it looks very bright.

dissent

yes, yes, yes, the Duke camera is fascinating. But does in come in an F-mount?
And what is the frame rate?
And can reporter Melanie Sanders clarify for me what a "long lens fisheye" is?
I shudder at the amounts of storage space required for this imagery.

Ironheart

According to the FAQ the LSST will produce 30 TeraBytes of information nightly. Their goal is to produce a 5 year long timelapse that contains half of the stars in the known universe (the southern half).

Ade

5 year long timelapse!!! That's amazing.

I actually took a trip by the LSST site (near Vicuña, Chile) while riding around in S. America. At night the view there is simply amazing. I remember earlier in the day I was down the Elqui valley under fog and low cloud ceilings, but everyone told me not to worry, that up the hills at night, the sky will be crystal clear.

Apparently due to the local geography there's a very dry micro-climate which means there's very little water vapor in the air to obscure the view. Hence there are almost a dozen observatories there both for scientific use and for amateur/tourism.


Mamalluca Observatory, Vicuña, Chile. D700, 16-35/4 at 16mm, f/4, ISO3200, 30s.

I had never seen so many stars at once in my life. The above was just a quick 30s snapshot I took while leaving one of the observatories, and the picture doesn't do the place justice at all. But I hope you can get a sense of just how many objects are visible in the clear Chilean sky. I can't imagine a 5 year timelapse observation with a gigapixel camera!

ChasCS

What an incredible photo of the dark-lit sky...
It must have been jaw dropping, just to gaze up at the Heavens!!

Was it "Chilly" at night? Smile

Photobug

So unusual to see such a black sky. Nicely done.

Ade

I does get chilly in Chile. Especially out in the northern deserts where all these observatories are.

At night there, there are so many bright stars visible, it becomes immediately obvious that there are parts of the sky without any stars. It's like suddenly there are weird "gaps" where the stars are missing, patches of deep-deep-black running through the night sky.

This the Great Rift of the southern sky. While we have "constellations" based on the visible stars (like Virgo, Gemini, etc.), in Chile and Peru the ancient Incas also had dark constellations based on the shapes of these black patches in the sky. I had never heard of them before. Apparently in Australia, the Aboriginals similarly have dark constellations.