Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 24, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Even though it is officially over, the race for the highest resolution is far from finished. Hasselblad, already in first place anyway, is now going one better in a study. Instead of merely having the first already deliverable 60 MP camera digital back on the list, the traditional Swedish manufacturer turns the screw up to 200 megapixels (200,000,000 pixels) in a study, thus securing first place for the coming quarters.
However, the sensor is not that large – at only 50 megapixels – but a new technique assembles the image from several exposures. For this, the sensor is shifted by half a pixel each time – both vertically and horizontally – so the areas between the pixels are no longer extrapolated but filled with reliable data. These data are naturally added to the resolution, which thus produces a gigantic image but actually fills the entire area without “presumed areas” between the individual points of the image sensor.
So far, this exists only as a study or proof of concept. Hasselblad’s latest technology capable of multishot capture takes around one second per normal image. An image assembled using the new process would require around 30 seconds.
Luxo Junior
Anyone feeling the retro urge this weekend and wanting to have another go at rigging in 3ds Max can find in the following video the rigging instructions for one of the greatest heroes in animation history: Luxo Jr., the Pixar mascot, is transformed from the model into the rigging-capable property for an original Pixar short.
And to finish, here is “Salesman Pete,” the story of the world’s greatest hero. Ingeniously realised by Marc Bouyer, Max Loubaresse and Anthony Vivien. More at http://www.salesmanbuck.com.
Salesman Pete from Salesman Pete on Vimeo.