photographing a computer monitor or television screen

[P3D John W Roberts <roberts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Some of my notes from a 1995 post:

 - Try for a very slow shutter speed (at least 2 frames, preferably a
   significant fraction of a second or more). (Basically eliminates scan
   artifacts such as bars. Methods can include use of slow film, small
   aperture, and turning down brightness of display.)
 - Use a tripod. (Permits slow shutter speed, assures uniform positioning for
   multiple shots. For even greater steadiness, you may want to also use a
   cable release, self timer, or both.)
 - Use a long focal length lens. (Lets you fill the frame with the display,
   reduces distortion of image, which would be particularly bad with a curved
   screen.)
 - Use a very small aperture. (Increases depth of field for better focus -
   important for curved screens. Also helps get lower shutter speed.)
 - Photograph in a dark room. (Provides tremendous improvement in contrast
   and general image quality.)
 - Make sure camera is on line with center of display. (Prevents trapezoidal
   distortion from misplacement of camera.)
 - Clean screen, make sure display is adjusted correctly.

Use of all these techniques should produce very good results - for instance,
a text screen should be easily readable. They will also work for video (i.e.
a freeze-frame image from a VCR or a scene from a video camera), bearing in
mind that the image quality of video is usually poorer than that of a good
computer display.

More advanced and higher quality techniques are available, which don't
involve photographing a CRT.

John R


------------------------------