Flash Free photography

[stix]

This Next Gen Camera Is Flash-Free, With or Without Light

NYU researchers create a camera flash that uses invisible illumination, blinding no one, but still taking high-quality pics in low-light situations. Here is how it works.

Linkage

 

[fvdbergh]

Linkage

Pretty cool. You could actually do something similar with a normal flash: take one decent exposure with the flash, and another without. Use the properties (e.g., local variance) of the flashed picture to determine how much structure (fine detail) a given region of the image contains. Use this information to guide your adaptive noise-reduction algorithm. The difference between the local variance of the flashed picture and the local variance of the unflashed picture is a good estimate of local sensor noise variance. Take the edge detail from the flashed picture (like the article states), and voila! You have a fairly decent picture without that flat, flashed look. Your subject will still be blinded, though ....

I do not have a problem with a decent bounce flash, but I can not stand the "hotspot" that a compact camera flash creates. Anyhow, I am still waiting for the first "black silicon" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_silicon) sensors to hit the consumer market. This should give us image sensors with much higher sensitivity, which could be great for low-light photography.