Invisible flash produces photos without glares
By Laura June 
posted July 17th 2009 6:47AM
posted July 17th 2009 6:47AM
Dilip Krishnan and Rob Fergus at New York University have developed a dark or invisible flash which uses infrared and UV light to take photos in dark places without the nasty glare of a standard flash. Their dark flash camera is made by modifying a flashbulb so that it emits light over a wider range of frequencies and filters out the visible light, and removes filters that prevent the silicon image sensor from detecting IR and UV rays. This flash results in a crisp image which does not have correct color balance, and looks like night vision photography. To correct the colors of the image, the camera also takes a quick color image sans flash right after the dark flash image. The image produced in this second image is predictably grainy and unclear, but the colors are correct. Software is then used to combine the information from the photos to produce the final image (an example of which you see above). There are some minor problems with the method -- objects that absorb UV light (such as freckles!) do not show up using this method. The pair will present their work at the Siggraph conference in New Orleans in August.
Wow, mug shots without the nasty glare and red eye. Makes me want to drive drunk!
You know what else absorbs UV light? Melanin.
Looks like this product is aimed squarely at the Caucasian market.
a racist camera?
i wonder how much of you would disappear if you wore sunscreen ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_screen
Just get a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, I have one and I love it's high ISO performance.
Does anyone else think that looks more like a mug shot opposed to a head shot? Also, this will be funny when models get sunburns at a photo shoot from the UV light.
Models? Really? You see models ever get near this?
Do you see models being smart enough to know about the types of flashes photographers are using?
I have problems accepting the picture above as a real picture, taken with this technology.
Reason:
Picture 1 Is green with a SHARP shadow
Picture 2 is grainy with a soft shadow
Picture 3 is
A. Way to perfect
B. The sharp shadow is completely gone. Replaced by a none grainy soft shadow.
C. The reflection in his eyes are different. It a box now. Better lighting? Maybe to take a better picture?