[HN Gopher] 3D Printed Film Video Camera
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       3D Printed Film Video Camera
        
       Author : giuliomagnifico
       Score  : 107 points
       Date   : 2022-12-14 12:57 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (joshuabird.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (joshuabird.com)
        
       | drcongo wrote:
       | I absolutely love this, including the eventual output. However,
       | the word "video" needs removing from almost every part of the
       | article as it makes it really hard to parse given that "video" is
       | an entirely different medium.
        
         | GeompMankle wrote:
         | It would be a film video camera if they developed the film in
         | quasi-realtime and then fed it into a scanner or a flying spot
         | mechanism to read out pixels or a video signal. I would donate
         | to a gofundme that wanted to do such a crazy thing.
        
           | actionfromafar wrote:
           | I can't find a reference now, but there was some kind of
           | military radar control system, which painted real-time light
           | on film, which was continuously developed and projected on
           | large projectors. It wasn't exactly video, but vector
           | graphics, updated with a new frame every few seconds if I
           | recall. A really wondrous system, with a built in permanent
           | record of what had been shown on screen. (I wonder if these
           | projectors were the inspiration for the projectors in War
           | Games.)
        
         | dusted wrote:
         | Actually, video comes from "to see" and "to hear" so it's only
         | video when it has sound.. The word implies nothing about the
         | medium..
         | 
         | It's a moving picture camera that uses film as the recording
         | medium.
        
           | Clamchop wrote:
           | Strict etymology is not the best way to understand a word.
           | 
           | Video here makes sense in a few ways, particularly because
           | it's all but certain that what will be viewed is a digital
           | scan and not a projection and because the audience may be
           | more familiar with the word. However, in a professional or
           | technical context, video always refers to electronic movies
           | and is not used when the medium is film. For example, when
           | you say a movie was shot on video, then you are saying it was
           | not recorded on film.
        
         | kypro wrote:
         | I think I'm being an idiot here, but what do you mean "video is
         | an entirely different medium"?
         | 
         | Isn't video a generic term for a picture with motion? Surely
         | how that motion is captured is irrelevant so long as it's
         | reproduced as a video?
         | 
         | I understand extra steps were taken, but the output here is
         | clearly a video?
        
           | abdullahkhalids wrote:
           | Apparently not, as I learn just now
           | 
           | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video
           | 
           | > Video is an _electronic_ medium for the recording, copying,
           | playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media
           | [emphasis my own]
           | 
           | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_camera
           | 
           | > A video camera is an optical instrument that captures
           | videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on
           | film).
        
         | pavlov wrote:
         | Yeah, "film video camera" is like saying "film DSLR camera".
         | There's a built-in contradiction.
         | 
         | I guess "film video" could be a real thing if some crazy person
         | stored an analog video signal on an optical track on film.
         | 
         | What the author has built is called a movie camera, as someone
         | else already noted. (It's a great project, very impressive!)
        
         | actionfromafar wrote:
         | "Motion picture" is the more traditional term, but it's clunky
         | and perhaps unknown to the writer.
        
           | s1mon wrote:
           | Or just call it a movie camera.
        
       | jwong_ wrote:
       | That was such an enjoyable read. I've always wanted to make a
       | camera, and liked how they went into cost specifics for a lot of
       | the processes.
       | 
       | I'm surprised they were able to take it to the F1 races or into
       | airplanes.
        
       | 4RealFreedom wrote:
       | "This brings us to about 16 seconds of video per roll of film, at
       | a cost of ~$600 for 10 minutes." Expensive to use all the time
       | but a great project.
        
         | ajsnigrutin wrote:
         | Yep.. this was my second thought ... "niiice.. i want't this...
         | " then immediately after "hmm.. this seems expensive"
        
         | Finnucane wrote:
         | Probably could have saved a few bucks on film using 100' bulk
         | rolls instead of canisters, but then processing become
         | difficult.
        
       | dt3ft wrote:
       | If you wonder what the girl was doing: rug tufting, using a
       | tufting gun. I had to look it up :)
        
       | abdullahkhalids wrote:
       | Is there any technical reason that film rolls are so expensive in
       | 2022? Or is it just non-economies of scale and/or oligopoly
       | profits?
       | 
       | Also, what would go well with this project is 3D printed film
       | projector. Some of the parts already designed for the camera
       | would go into the projector.
        
       | jdalgetty wrote:
       | amazing!
        
       | marstall wrote:
       | amazing project - but this is not video, right? just a pure film
       | camera?
        
         | hugs wrote:
         | From the article: "A video is simply a bunch of images shown
         | one after another fast enough to give the illusion of motion.
         | So all we really have to do is take a bunch of photos."
         | 
         | The project is a pure film camera that takes a bunch of photos.
         | 
         | Edit: The disagreement hinges on the definition of "video".
         | Merriam-Webster says a video is "a recording of an image or of
         | moving images". I think the project counts as "video" as a non-
         | professional would understand it. But reasonable people
         | (especially film & video experts!) can disagree.
        
           | marstall wrote:
           | not an expert at all. dating myself I guess
        
             | [deleted]
        
       | brudgers wrote:
       | On the build versus buy axis, there is the Lomokino
       | 
       | https://microsites.lomography.com/lomokino/
       | 
       | I have one.
       | 
       | It's been pretty fun and certainly a different way of thinking
       | about making pictures.
       | 
       | It fits in a hoodie pocket so it makes a reasonable walk around.
       | 
       | Scanning workflow requires some bespoke decisions.
       | 
       | As would lab processing if I used it. I don't. I shoot it in B&W
       | and develop in a tank.
        
         | anfractuosity wrote:
         | I'm curious about the B&W film you use, is that some form of
         | positive B&W film, that can be projected?
         | 
         | Edit: Just looked more at the camera, it looks like it takes a
         | 35mm canister of film, interesting.
         | 
         | So I guess normal B&W film?
        
         | JKCalhoun wrote:
         | Hmmm, a little googling suggests the Lomokino shoots only as
         | fast as you crank (not 24 fps or anything cinemalike) and, even
         | if you could run 24 fps on it, you'd get 4 to 6 seconds of film
         | on a 35mm roll.
         | 
         | This 3D printed camera is looking pretty good to me.
         | 
         | Aside: love the Super-8 film used in the music video for the
         | Pixies filk-like, "Andro Queen": https://youtu.be/10lyWR25_nQ
        
           | brudgers wrote:
           | I don't disagree. There are trade offs.
           | 
           | For five minutes shopping and fifty bucks total investment
           | you can have a working Lomokino arriving the week after next
           | and be out making pictures fifteen minutes after that.
           | 
           | What I think puts it on the same axis is a similar picture
           | production workflow. There's not much difference between
           | developing exposed film, digitizing the negatives, and
           | compiling them into something that will render.
           | 
           | Because that's most of the work, fewer frames has the
           | advantage of making redoing steps easier when figuring out
           | the workflow. The results are less good but easier to obtain.
           | 
           | And if cinematography is a priority it might be better to get
           | a film camera and run movie film through it.
        
             | JKCalhoun wrote:
             | You're right regarding convenience of course.
             | 
             | I see Kodak still sells Super 8 film at about $40 for 50
             | ft. A vintage Super 8 camera can be had on eBay for a good
             | deal (I picked up a Canon 310XL a few years back -- the
             | same model I had as a teen -- looks like those though are
             | about $300 in good condition).
        
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