From GFormLLC

If we needed further proof that the photographer — and his/her camera — does not get much respect [No one seems to realize that the guy climbing that steep cliff was photographed by a photographer also climbing that steep cliff. Or, when the narrator says he is the first man ever to set foot inside this cave -- and we get a shot from inside the cave, apparently the photographer filming from inside the cave doesn't count.] — here’s a video of an iPad clad in a G-Form 6oz Extreme Edge and rigged up to a weather balloon. The balloon and ipad rise to a height of 100,000+ feet, whereupon the balloon bursts at altitude and the iPad free-falls back to Earth. Let’s listen in to the G-Form salesperson as he excitedly describes what happens next:

“The iPad crash lands on a rocky hillside in the Nevada countryside. Perhaps even more remarkable than the dramatic hi-def footage itself is the fact that the iPad survives the adventure, remaining fully functional.”

Notice that there was nary a mention about the camera that was sent into space with the iPad to film “dramatic hi-def footage” the whole thing? Apparently it’s a GoPro. No mention if the GoPro was clad in any special protection. No respect. I am also buying an Extreme Edge for my iPad.

via dvice

How do you get a Nikon D2Xs ready for space flight? Stan Horaczek from PopPhoto finds out by talking directly to NASA. It’s a short interview but you learn interesting tidbits about the use of flash in the vacuum of space, protecting the equipment from extreme temperatures during a spacewalk and what happens to the cameras after use?

Do you reuse the cameras after they come back from space? Do they even come back at all or are they jettisoned to reduce weight?

The cameras that come back are evaluated for damage. Depending on the condition the camera may fly again. The space environment (both inside the vehicle and on spacewalks) is tough on the electronic cameras. The radiation damages pixels on the sensor. Sometimes the damage is so great that the camera does not fly again.

Read the article at: PopPhoto.

The SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey III) is a digital camera that is being retired to the Smithsonian as part of its astronomy collection. It is the world’s largest digital camera, at 138-megapixels, attached to a 2.5-metre telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico.

In 1998, it started capturing data (144 pieces of information for every galaxy) such as name, position in the sky, colour and shape of every galaxy in the observed universe. Out of all this data, astronomers have pieced together the largest digital colour picture ever made of the night sky — built from more than a trillion pixels.

Read the article at: Toronto Star.

Olympus Space Project

Olympus celebrates its 90th Anniversary by launching a project to focus on the Earth. The OLYMPUS SPACE PROJECT endeavors to capture images of the Earth as it is today using its flagship digital SLR, the E-3.

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