An epidemic fungus seems to be killing off frogs. An epidemic fungus seems to be killing off bats. An epidemic fungus may be killing off bees. Might these three epidemics be related? And is a fungus coming for us next? [more inside]
posted by Camofrog on Apr 9, 2009 - 14 answers

What factors should I be looking at when considering the purchase of a new digital camera. I know that a lot of people think more megapixels = better quality. But I have a 4 megapixel SLR that takes *infinitely* better pictures than a friend's 10 megapixel camera. Looking at the cameras, it is obvious: my SLR has huge lenses that are expensive, his has a tiny hole in the front. But I have no objective idea what makes the difference. Some cameras have "big lenses" that seem to be mostly for show. So I am trying to figure out what really goes into making a good picture, and how to calculate it. What specs should I look at and how should I look at them? [more inside]
posted by brenton on Feb 16, 2009 - 24 answers

Will sunshine 'burn' the sensor on a security camera? [more inside]
posted by woodblock100 on Feb 14, 2009 - 7 answers

Question for my roommate about red blur in shooting MiniDV video. [more inside]
posted by limeonaire on May 24, 2008 - 4 answers

Let's say I'm toying with the idea of making my own scanner for negative film. I've found a suitable sensor, and the rest of the mechanism looks manageable. Can I get a suitable light source that will compensate for the orange mask, at a reasonable price? [more inside]
posted by Joakim Ziegler on Sep 20, 2007 - 17 answers

Hot/stuck pixels in a new consumer-grade digital camera? Fact of life, or defect? [more inside]
posted by drew3d on May 26, 2006 - 18 answers

I'm considering the purchase of one of Panasonic's 3CCD camcorders - is it worth it? [more inside]
posted by nitsuj on Apr 5, 2005 - 13 answers

I have a friend who's developing an application that solves a board game via visual recognition of the current state of the board. The image is captured via a webcam, and he's currently in the midst of discovering that the quality of the image (or specifically, the color and white balance) acquired by CMOS-based webcams is just subpar. Can anyone recommend a decent, inexpensive (less than $75, perhaps?) CCD-based webcam?
posted by delfuego on Aug 10, 2004 - 9 answers