MEMS Photography

- or -How to coax pretty images out of a point and

shoot camera

- with -Brandon & Chris

Exposure

• Exposure is the amount of light that falls on the sensor when taking a photo.

• Affected by 3 variables on camera– Sensor sensitivity– Shutter speed– Aperture

Sensitivity (ISO Speed)

• Increasing sensitivity allows short exposure time without adding light to dark scenes.

• Cost is increased noise and decreased colors.

ISO 80

ISO 1600

Shutter Speed

• Shutter pulls back to reveal sensor to light.

• Shutter speed is typically fractions of a second.

Aperture

• Aperture is the hole that lets light hit the sensor.

• Large aperture lets in lots of light, but creates narrow depth of field.

f/11

f/32

Lighting

• Situation: You want to take a close-up picture of your device.

• Not enough light in room to illuminate device.

• Result is a blurry picture.

Lighting

• Camera compensates with flash.

• Problem: The flash is located too close to the device and obliterates the image.

Lighting

• Solution: Off-camera lighting

Off-camera Lighting

• Provides endless options.• Benton 232 has snake lights.• Example: Side lighting to show

texture

Flash Lighting

• Not always bad!• Good for subjects which are 3’-5’

away.• Example: Fill flash.

Perspective• Remember: Move around.• Find the right perspective to best

show off your subject.

Post-Processing

• Like film, digital photos have room for “development.”

• Photo software, like Paint.NET, provide adjustment of color balance, saturation, and brightness.

Macro Mode

• Macro mode allows really close focusing.

• Good for milli-scale photography.• Tip: zoom-out to zoom-in.

Miguel Macro Mode

• Reverse-mounted lens for increased magnification.

Microscope Camera

• Sometimes subject is just too small.• Benton 232 has camera which

mounts to microscope and stereoscope (3D!).

Microscope Camera

• Subject does not need to lie flat and lifeless under microscope.

• Prop device up to get perspective.

Microscope Camera

• Problem: Light from above is not reflected back to camera.

Microscope Camera

• Solution: Off-camera lighting!• But we can only focus on small area.

Microscope Camera

• Problem: Narrow depth-of-field.• Solution: Smaller aperture.