A Photographic Stitch in Time

Text and Photos by David Langs

When navigating the massive, undulating sea of digital camera models, it is fairly clear to see that they wash into three primary streams: point-and-shoot, DSLR, and something in-between (broadly referred to as EVF cameras.) Among these three main types, the differences from brand to brand, model to model, are admittedly very subtle. It is a rare occurrence when a product floats by that has a feature or function that is truly groundbreaking. Often these grand and gutsy feats of R&D wind up sinking from our consciousness, such as the Olympus C-211 Zoom, a digital camera that used instant film. Occasionally the ideas soak into the spirit of consumerism and become industry staples, such as image stabilization or in-camera sensor cleaning, but the lens or camera that first featured this new technology is often cast adrift in the sea of memory. Just try to name the first digital SLR that featured Live-View? [***Answer at bottom]. Its introduction wasn't all that long ago, but this camera's significant pioneering feature was quickly forgotten, relegated to that whirlpool of plastic in the Pacific Ocean of the mind. Recently a camera was released — a solid camera with a host of features that should please any user and generally not radically different than other cameras of its ilk, save for one very unique bit of functionality that is not duplicated in any other of its respective kin. That element involves a still camera's ability to interpret the flow of time. With the recent production of the Casio EX-F1, still photographers have useful and unique methods of recording the passing of time through a sequence of images. This camera, its operation, and potential use is worthy of some exploration.

Background

Time is relative. Without delving any further into space, time, or any other Einsteinian theory, let us accept this as a given and move on. Take the relationship between still and movie cameras, and how an electro-magnetic alteration changed the course of the way in which time could be recorded. A camera can expose an image for seconds, hours, or even days, recording a great deal of time in a single static image. Aesthetically, many photographers choose to use the blurs created by long exposures to imply the passing of time or to signify motion. On the other hand, these same cameras can freeze an instant of time that passes too quickly even for our feeble human eyes to absorb. Enhancing upon that concept, Eadweard Muybridge introduced his generation to incredible visual and scientific results from a carefully sequenced set of images. Throughout the late 1800's, Muybridge photographed moving subjects with an array of cameras, triggered in a linear fashion, so that one exposure was made a split-second after the previous one. Presenting these images in the order in which they were taken enabled him to capture events and motion that, until then, occurred too quickly for the human eye to discern.

Laid out as they are above in a single collaged image, a span of time is expressed in a single sweep of the eye, as opposed to video, for which a longer duration is required to present all frames in the sequence. His images fascinated the global population of the time in an academic sense yet his work, as it is viewed today, takes on an artistic quality. Muybridge's method of motion capture has been overshadowed by the subsequent evolution of motion pictures and the movie industry, but it is still quite useable and is an interesting combination of artistic expression and scientific exploration, regardless of its original intention.

There are a great number of devices we take for granted every day, and never consider how they truly function. This is why the high-speed stroboscopic images taken by the engineer Harold Edgerton, about 75 years after Muybridge's photographs, had such a dramatic effect on the world's psyche and curiosity. By freezing the nano-second action of a drop of milk splashing into a bowl of the same, or a balloon at the precise moment of its bursting, for example, they gave people a new way to experience everyday events. The tools required by both men to create their works were heavily specialized and custom-built, thus 'Joe Six-Pack' generally lacked the equipment to emulate them.

Because of the huge wave of developments in digital photography, the Casio EX-F1 has been imbued by Casio technicians with the ability to capture still and video images. Imagine being able to record Edgerton's milk drops and Muybridge's galloping horses, without requiring substantial sums of money, technical knowledge, or multiple cameras.

Under the Hood

Closing our textbooks and returning to the camera at hand, the Casio EX-F1 is born from the same pool of "almost-SLR"/EVF/advanced point-and-shoot cameras as the Canon S5 IS, the Fuji IS-1 or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ250, among several others. This type of camera is a descendant of the popular Olympus IS-1 35mm hybrid camera, and features a massive zoom range in a non-interchangeable lens. In the case of the Casio EX-F1, the zoom range is the equivalent of a 36-432mm zoom! Fortunately, when the lens is racked out to its extreme, shake and jitter are compensated for with sensor-shift image stabilization. Under the hood is a flexible, 6-megapixel Sony CMOS sensor that is the driving force behind the high-speed capture modes. A nice touch is that it can save stills to an SD/SDHC card in the increasingly popular universal DNG Raw file format. Although it is priced significantly higher than most of the other cameras in its advanced P&S category, none of the others shoot true 1080i HD video, capture still images up to 60fps, or video up to 1200fps. In this aspect, the EX-F1 is a "tweener squared," as it is bridges functions found on compact pro and amateur, still and video cameras. The camera has a few quirks that revealed themselves during my experiences with it, but none that hinder or detract from the enjoyment one should receive from such an unusual and novel camera.

When they first pick it up, most people are going to want to go straight to the high-speed shooting modes, and I was no exception. Frankly, I was eager to view the world at 1200fps, as this is the feature that has been generating the most buzz, in regard to this camera. So, I went looking for some action at the Kissena Velodrome in Queens, New York, to shoot cyclists. I knew that the track regulars are a fast-moving pack, making great subjects for high-speed image making. The EX-F1's buffer can absorb 60 still images in a row, regardless of the frame rate, so for this shoot I photographed in the High-speed CS Mode, which allows JPEG images to be shot at a rate of 1 to 60 images per second until the buffer peaks. The camera will make a low chattering noise as long as you are holding the shutter button down, as it gobbles up images at a rapid rate. It is hardly noticeable outdoors, but will certainly be audible in a museum or house of worship. The front shutter-release button is augmented by an included wired remote. The remote has a single button that will only perform as the still image Shutter Release button, on the front. There is a second Video Record button on the rear, in a location where most cameras place the auto-exposure/auto-focus lock button, adjacent to which the AEL/AFL button is found on the left side of the lens barrel. It takes a bit of getting used to for photographers not used to recording video. Switching the recording button to high-speed video affords three different options that unfortunately trade resolution for higher frame rates. The Standard Definition 512x384 @ 300fps video is fine for most desktop or TV viewing, but the 432x192 @ 600fps, and especially the 336x96 @ 1200fps are not only too small to comfortably view but are cropped fields on the sensor that are inexplicably widescreen. The 1200fps files are tiny and in a 3.5:1 ratio. Additionally, they are difficult to compose, as the LCD screen does not show the crop bars until recording begins.

File Handling & the Future

The cool factor will quickly fade if you can't do anything with the photos and videos you have gathered. The still images are considerably more problematic to present, but there are a number of options to get them out there to share. For the still images accompanying this article, I opened up a batch of burst images and exported a simple contact sheet through Adobe Photoshop CS3 [file -> Automate -> Contact Sheet.] I have also been experimenting with arranging still photos in Adobe Lightroom with an interesting script found online, written by Jeffrey Friedl and explained by Sean McCormack. Inserting the stills into a video file with this script essentially eliminated the issue I had with the visual inconsistency between the recorded video quality and JPEG images of the exact same scene.

By using the 60fps stills as a source, color and resolution are greatly improved, and it allows for greater flexibility in exported file formats, since you are not locked into a somewhat problematic video format. This brings me to the issue I experienced with video files: Even though the recorded video files are in Apple's own Quicktime .MOV format, the 1080i clips will not display properly on any Mac without the installation of the avc1Decoder 0.7.7. If you open up one of these files and get a blank green screen with audio in iMovie or Quicktime Player, you will need to use this codec. All of the other image and video files will open up on an OSX or Windows-based computer without any problems. To Casio's credit, there is a mention of this Mac issue in the manual, so it isn't as if they overlooked the file compatibility as many Windows-centric engineers and designers are prone to do.

Another avenue to consider runs through the waters of analysis, both scientific and amateur, where the 60 to 1200fps image sequences can be used to study everything from golf swings to fluid dynamics. Animators who work with motion capture and physical models could certainly make use of frame-by-frame studies of their subjects. Of course, there is the YouTube outlet. Admittedly, there is something sophomorically tantalizing about watching things being destroyed in slow-motion. Just remember, while blowing stuff up for purposes of image making, to protect your eyes and ears and keep your arms in the vehicle at all times.

Ultimately, this camera has the potential to change the photographic industry and give rise to a new breed of high-end, still and video all-in-one recording units. On the flipside, it could go the way of the photographic dodo a là the aforementioned Olympus C-211.Will the Casio EX-F1 be the next big thing in the world of photography? Only time, popular demand, and Casio's marketing department may tell.

Author's note: On 7/7/08 Casio released the 1.10 firmware update. It adds a "Prerecord Movie" function to the EX-F1 that more or less allows for pre-shooting while filming video. With the update, the camera retains five seconds of footage in its buffer to allow for video to be saved prior to activating the Video Record button through to the end of the recording. The firmware is available in the support section of Casio's website. Please note: this item cannot be sold on the web. To order, please call (212) 502 - 6265 or 1-800 817 - 3999

**** Answer: Fujifilm S3 Pro

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