9 ms·

How a film camera superimposes the date onto photos [video]

254 points by aacook 4y ago

amelius 4y ago
TL;DR: there is a little light, a mirror and a small see-through LCD screen forming a projection through the back side of the film. Since the distance between the light source and the LCD screen is relatively large, the light acts as a point source and you don't need a lens for the image formation.
Someone 4y ago
The 1990s, when even low cost constructions still used a million screws, making it possible to non-destructively take apart this thing.
aacook 4y ago
I loved watching this video. I'm working on a product that turns your phone into a disposable camera that automatically mails you 4x6 prints (https://latercam.com https://latercam.com). People have been asking for date imprinting and I found the video while researching.
zenger 4y ago
This was really cool to watch.
blamazon 4y ago
Applied Science is a delightful gem of a YouTube channel - I recommend to have a browse through the archive of videos if this presentation style and content interests you. Ben is a great presenter of complex topics.
- bradknowles 4y ago
  Oh, I can see that this is going to be a new rabbit hole for me, and likely to last a long time. Thanks!
- snorkel 4y ago
  The DIY electron microscope episodes are classic
  - peterburkimsher 4y ago
    DIY Scanning Electron Microscope - Overview (2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdjYVF4a6iU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdjYVF4a6iU
- GuestHNUser 4y ago
  His recent(ish) video showing an Xray time-lapse is one of if not the most visually interesting thing I have seen https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j-FHbHoiwNk https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j-FHbHoiwNk
- krzat 4y ago
  One guy does private electron microscope, supercritical co2, x-ray gun, cake baking, I would never believe this if it wasn't on video.
dghughes 4y ago
As a side note one thing you learn over the years is to always put the date on things and make sure the year, four digits, is there too not just the month and day.
- nicbou 4y ago
  Yep. I kick myself for not dating my notebooks better as I move them onto a digital timeline.
bkraz 4y ago
I always get a kick out of seeing my videos randomly on HN. Ask me anything.
- GuestHNUser 4y ago
  What are your go to book recommendations? No topic in particular. Also! Just want to add that your work is really inspiring. I look forward to your videos more than any other. Cheers!
  - bkraz 4y ago
    Understanding solid state electronics - https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Solid-State-Electronics-Radio-Shack/dp/B000QSB88Y https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Solid-State-Electronics... On Food and Cooking Inventions of Daedalus Surly You're Joking, Mr. Feynman Materials selection in mechanical design Fantastic Electronics / Iovine Gadgeteers Goldmine / McComb Forrest Mims Engineer's Notebook Building Scientific Apparatus Thanks! Let me know if you ever have a topic suggestion.
    - GuestHNUser 4y ago
      These are great! Any fiction work that you have enjoyed?
      - bkraz 4y ago
        I have to admit, I almost never read fiction. Maybe Catcher in the Rye, and that was years ago!
- franzb 4y ago
  Hi Ben, as a long time follower, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for what I consider an absolute jewel of a YouTube channel. (I always get a chuckle out of your "Hope you found that interesting, bye!" at the end of your videos. Every time I'm thinking to myself, hell yeah I found that interesting, that's an understatement!)
lesgobrandon 4y ago
[dead]
brundolf 4y ago
Wonderful stuff. This isn't a subject area I've ever really sought out but I enjoyed the video anyway
stereo 4y ago
The 1977 camera mentioned halfway through the video might have been the first consumer camera that superimposes the date, but it was common for aerial photos to have metadata like that added to the margins, like https://map.geoportail.lu/aerial/1977_30000/pdfs/0181.pdf https://map.geoportail.lu/aerial/1977_30000/pdfs/0181.pdf
- netsharc 4y ago
  There are also digital cameras that "print" the date onto the pictures, I saw someone had this feature turned on and I thought explaining EXIF to them might be too difficult.
  - sangnoir 4y ago
    I know all about EXIF, but whenever I'm taking pictures that may end up being used in legal disputes[1], I deliberately turn on this feature. THis is for multiple reasons: EXIF data can be easily faked, everyone knows how watermarked timestamps work, and the baked-in timestamp will persevere across all subsequent media conversions (jpeg-to-bmp, emails, uploads, print-to-paper,picture-of-a-picture, PDFs) 1. e.g. pictures after a traffic accident, received goods in poor condition, or state of property at start of a lease.
thyrox 4y ago
I was picturing the engineers who must have done like a 1000 iterations of this stuff before they were able to come up with a crystal clear image on the film. What an adventure it must be to make these things and one day finally having the joy to see the whole world use your inventions like this. Having never worked on any hardware I can only imagine how much fun (and test of patience!) it must be to use/bend the laws of physics to make such things.
- mathewsanders 4y ago
  Yes! I had a similar thought: we have the word sonder for the realization that everyone in the world has complex lives, it would be great to have a word that represents the amazing complexity of every single human-made object. I look around me, and there are hundreds (thousands!) of human-made objects around me, and many of the more complex objects are made of multiple simpler complements themselves (like the projector in the video) and each of these objects likely involved a large group in their initial invention and then even more in their mass production. The invention also relies on previous discoveries. Every single made object is probably the cumulative effort of hundreds or thousands of people- and even the most simple made object likely has a network of technological advancements and associated people that would be too complex for any single person to comprehend or map. I would love to watch a documentary of someone picking the most ‘boring’ or simple made object and try to uncover the people and technology required to make it- would be a fascinating watch!

254 points by aacook 4y ago

TL;DR: there is a little light, a mirror and a small see-through LCD screen forming a projection through the back side of the film. Since the distance between the light source and the LCD screen is relatively large, the light acts as a point source and you don't need a lens for the image formation.

Someone 4y ago

The 1990s, when even low cost constructions still used a million screws, making it possible to non-destructively take apart this thing.

aacook 4y ago

I loved watching this video. I'm working on a product that turns your phone into a disposable camera that automatically mails you 4x6 prints (https://latercam.com https://latercam.com). People have been asking for date imprinting and I found the video while researching.

zenger 4y ago

This was really cool to watch.

blamazon 4y ago

Applied Science is a delightful gem of a YouTube channel - I recommend to have a browse through the archive of videos if this presentation style and content interests you. Ben is a great presenter of complex topics.

bradknowles 4y ago
Oh, I can see that this is going to be a new rabbit hole for me, and likely to last a long time. Thanks!
snorkel 4y ago
The DIY electron microscope episodes are classic
- peterburkimsher 4y ago
  DIY Scanning Electron Microscope - Overview (2011) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdjYVF4a6iU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdjYVF4a6iU
GuestHNUser 4y ago
His recent(ish) video showing an Xray time-lapse is one of if not the most visually interesting thing I have seen https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j-FHbHoiwNk https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j-FHbHoiwNk
krzat 4y ago
One guy does private electron microscope, supercritical co2, x-ray gun, cake baking, I would never believe this if it wasn't on video.

dghughes 4y ago

As a side note one thing you learn over the years is to always put the date on things and make sure the year, four digits, is there too not just the month and day.

nicbou 4y ago
Yep. I kick myself for not dating my notebooks better as I move them onto a digital timeline.

bkraz 4y ago

I always get a kick out of seeing my videos randomly on HN. Ask me anything.

GuestHNUser 4y ago
What are your go to book recommendations? No topic in particular. Also! Just want to add that your work is really inspiring. I look forward to your videos more than any other. Cheers!
- bkraz 4y ago
  Understanding solid state electronics - https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Solid-State-Electronics-Radio-Shack/dp/B000QSB88Y https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Solid-State-Electronics... On Food and Cooking Inventions of Daedalus Surly You're Joking, Mr. Feynman Materials selection in mechanical design Fantastic Electronics / Iovine Gadgeteers Goldmine / McComb Forrest Mims Engineer's Notebook Building Scientific Apparatus Thanks! Let me know if you ever have a topic suggestion.
  - GuestHNUser 4y ago
    These are great! Any fiction work that you have enjoyed?
    - bkraz 4y ago
      I have to admit, I almost never read fiction. Maybe Catcher in the Rye, and that was years ago!
franzb 4y ago
Hi Ben, as a long time follower, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for what I consider an absolute jewel of a YouTube channel. (I always get a chuckle out of your "Hope you found that interesting, bye!" at the end of your videos. Every time I'm thinking to myself, hell yeah I found that interesting, that's an understatement!)

lesgobrandon 4y ago

[dead]

brundolf 4y ago

Wonderful stuff. This isn't a subject area I've ever really sought out but I enjoyed the video anyway

stereo 4y ago

The 1977 camera mentioned halfway through the video might have been the first consumer camera that superimposes the date, but it was common for aerial photos to have metadata like that added to the margins, like https://map.geoportail.lu/aerial/1977_30000/pdfs/0181.pdf https://map.geoportail.lu/aerial/1977_30000/pdfs/0181.pdf

netsharc 4y ago
There are also digital cameras that "print" the date onto the pictures, I saw someone had this feature turned on and I thought explaining EXIF to them might be too difficult.
- sangnoir 4y ago
  I know all about EXIF, but whenever I'm taking pictures that may end up being used in legal disputes[1], I deliberately turn on this feature. THis is for multiple reasons: EXIF data can be easily faked, everyone knows how watermarked timestamps work, and the baked-in timestamp will persevere across all subsequent media conversions (jpeg-to-bmp, emails, uploads, print-to-paper,picture-of-a-picture, PDFs) 1. e.g. pictures after a traffic accident, received goods in poor condition, or state of property at start of a lease.

thyrox 4y ago

I was picturing the engineers who must have done like a 1000 iterations of this stuff before they were able to come up with a crystal clear image on the film. What an adventure it must be to make these things and one day finally having the joy to see the whole world use your inventions like this. Having never worked on any hardware I can only imagine how much fun (and test of patience!) it must be to use/bend the laws of physics to make such things.

mathewsanders 4y ago
Yes! I had a similar thought: we have the word sonder for the realization that everyone in the world has complex lives, it would be great to have a word that represents the amazing complexity of every single human-made object. I look around me, and there are hundreds (thousands!) of human-made objects around me, and many of the more complex objects are made of multiple simpler complements themselves (like the projector in the video) and each of these objects likely involved a large group in their initial invention and then even more in their mass production. The invention also relies on previous discoveries. Every single made object is probably the cumulative effort of hundreds or thousands of people- and even the most simple made object likely has a network of technological advancements and associated people that would be too complex for any single person to comprehend or map. I would love to watch a documentary of someone picking the most ‘boring’ or simple made object and try to uncover the people and technology required to make it- would be a fascinating watch!