Breaking the Final Photography Frontier: Darkness

Basic physics limits the quality of low-light photography. The low photon count and high signal-to-noise ratio of dim lighting deteriorate an image, and no amount of sensor technology can overcome physics. But perhaps signal processing can.

We’ve already seen how phone cameras are bypassing the laws of physics by combining multiple shots into a single image. Now four computer scientists have presented a technique for enhancing low-light images.

Here’s an example the researchers give, comparing (on the left) traditional processing of a dark image with their enhanced version (on the right):

Screenshot of Example 29 from SID

(The image was shot with a Fuji X-T2 set to ISO 640, f/10, and 1/30sec.)

Read the whole article here: Learning to See in the Dark.

About J.M. Hoffman

A prolific writer and avid photographer, J.M. Hoffman picked up his first camera when he was eight years old. And even though he abhors a cliche, he never looked back. Acclaimed as a "master raconteur" who writes with a "flair" (Times Literary Supplement of London), Hoffman authored two non-fiction books and contributed to over a dozen others before writing The Warwick Files. He continues to write fiction and non-fiction. In addition to writing and traveling the world lecturing about his books, Hoffman has also directed a dance troupe, taught darkroom technique, and explored Patagonia on horseback. From time to time he can be seen playing table tennis poorly at the WTCC. He lives just north of New York City.

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