Taking Photos of TV Images

I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of images
appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was wondering if anyone has a
recommended technique.

Bill

Bill Helbron wrote:
I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of images
appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was wondering if anyone has a
recommended technique.

HD only: Use freeze frame, and take your time. I forget the settings,
maybe something like 1/40th @ 2.8... .but that's now a WAG.

Doubt NTSC will ever produce good results, but I'd go with frozen frame
on tv there, too.

--
john mcwilliams

Max thought the night-time burglary at the California surfing museum
would be a safe caper, but that was before he spotted the security cop
riding a bull mastiff, blond hair blowing in the wind, and noticed the
blue-and-white sign wired to the cyclone fence, "Guard dude on
doggy."8:11:36 AM

In article , Bill Helbron
wrote:

I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of images
appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was wondering if
anyone has a
recommended technique.

Bill-

Television sets in the U.S. display alternate scan lines, 1/60 second per
scan. It takes 1/30 second for a full picture to be displayed. Therefore
you need to set your exposure time to something slower than 1/30 second.
Use of a tripod is probably a good idea.

I don't know how the European system works, but it probably has a similar
time required for the picture to be displayed.

Similarly, HDTV must have some kind of speed limit. Fortunately with
digital cameras, it doesn't cost much to experiment.

Fred

Fred McKenzie wrote:
In article , Bill
Helbron
wrote:

I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of
images appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was
wondering if anyone has a recommended technique.

Bill-

Television sets in the U.S. display alternate scan lines, 1/60
second
per scan. It takes 1/30 second for a full picture to be displayed.
Therefore you need to set your exposure time to something slower
than
1/30 second. Use of a tripod is probably a good idea.

I don't know how the European system works, but it probably has a
similar time required for the picture to be displayed.

Similarly, HDTV must have some kind of speed limit. Fortunately
with
digital cameras, it doesn't cost much to experiment.


Yes. If there is motion in the TV picture, it will be displayed in a
blur, so it's a good idea to choose a static picture when possible.

Our eye and brain facilities do an amazing job of making TV and movie
images appear to be sharp and smooth. Stop the transitions (freeze a
frame) and yo see what material they work with.

--
Frank ess

Television sets in the U.S. display alternate scan lines, 1/60 second
per
scan. It takes 1/30 second for a full picture to be displayed.
Therefore
you need to set your exposure time to something slower than 1/30
second.

But not too much slower, unless the image isn't moving.

---------------
Marc Sabatella


Music, art, & educational materials
Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer"
http://www.outsideshore.com/

My thanks to you all! I did NOT use a tripod, but was about 18" from the screen
surface. It would appear that I get the best results with the exposure set at
1/25 (mode "S"). I tried 1/30, 1/25, and 1/20. As mentioned earlier, these are
good enough for my immediate purposes, but will continue to experiment. There
was also some minor reflection from the glass noticable and some chromatic
distortions (like moire patterns) on one side in the 1/20 exposure.

Bill

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 14:27:11 GMT, Bill Helbron wrote:

I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of images
appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was wondering if anyone has a
recommended technique.

Bill

"Bill Helbron" wrote in message
...
My thanks to you all! I did NOT use a tripod, but was about 18" from the
screen
surface. It would appear that I get the best results with the exposure set
at
1/25 (mode "S"). I tried 1/30, 1/25, and 1/20. As mentioned earlier, these
are
good enough for my immediate purposes, but will continue to experiment.
There
was also some minor reflection from the glass noticable and some chromatic
distortions (like moire patterns) on one side in the 1/20 exposure.

Bill

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 14:27:11 GMT, Bill Helbron
wrote:

I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of images
appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was wondering if anyone
has a
recommended technique.

Bill

The best way to capture a TV image is with a video card with TV input. A
camera to do the same is just a cludge.

--
Regards,
Matt Clara
www.mattclara.com

"Bill Helbron" wrote in message
...
I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of images
appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was wondering if anyone
has a
recommended technique.

Bill

The frame rate for NTSC is 1/30 second, so you're going to need a shutter
speed slower than that. The reason being, at exactly 1/30 second you'll
capture part of a frame and parts of the adjacent frames, unless you're
lucky enough for the shutter to open right at a vertical blanking interval.
As for moire, it's probably unavoidable unless you have lots of megapixels,
because you're putting dots on top of dots. Some will line up and some
won't.

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 14:27:11 GMT, Bill Helbron
opined:

I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of images
appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was wondering if anyone has a
recommended technique.

It's easy if you know how. The simplest method is to use a tripod & a
1/2 second exposure.
--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

Bill Helbron wrote:
I have a D50 w/18-55mm lens and have attempted to take photos of
images appearing on my TV with only moderate success and was
wondering if anyone has a recommended technique.

Bill

Tripod, and about 1/15th to 1/30th second.
Much faster and you're likely to only get a partial picture due to
interlacing.

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson