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The limits of "computational photography"

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Re: The limits of "computational photography"

#2
I haven't finished the article, but it seems like using the flash on the iPhone might have been enough to lower the ISO for the photo. Lower ISO = lower noise. The end results look like a typical noise reduction process. For screen-sized images, the new phones do quite well. But zoom in and it's often a painterly-blur.

Re: The limits of "computational photography"

#3
> Ultimately, we are still beholden to the pigeonhole principle, and we cannot create information out of thin air.

*Looks up pigeonhole principle*: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeonhole_principle

> If 5 pigeons occupy 4 holes, then there must be some hole with at least 2 pigeons.

This is so obvious.

> This seemingly obvious statement, a type of counting argument, can be used to demonstrate possibly unexpected results. For example, given that the population of London is greater than the maximum number of hairs that can be present on a human's head, then the pigeonhole principle requires that there must be at least two people in London who have the same number of hairs on their heads.

Oh...

Re: The limits of "computational photography"

#5

> Ultimately, we are still beholden to the pigeonhole principle, and we cannot create information out of thin air. *Looks up pigeonhole principle*: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeonhole_principle > If 5 pigeons occupy 4 holes, then there must be some hole with at least 2 pigeons. This is so obvious. > This seemingly obvious statement, a type of counting argument, can be used to demonstrate possibly unexpected resu…

Yes, it’s zero, and there are half a million of them.

Re: The limits of "computational photography"

#7

This article mystified me until I realized it was Computational Photography not Philosophy .

Computational Philosophy: “the use of mechanized computational techniques to instantiate, extend, and amplify philosophical research. Computational philosophy is not philosophy of computers or computational techniques; it is rather philosophy using computers and computational techniques. The idea is simply to apply advances in computer technology and techniques to advance discovery, exploration and argument within any philosophical area.”

The word “simply” is doing a lot of work in that last sentence, I’m sure!

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/computational-philosophy/

(BTW, I just posted same to front page, if the subject interests you & we’re lucky, it’ll generate some discussion)

Re: The limits of "computational photography"

#8
post #6

So it's an edge case fail for the noise reduction alg. How far can a noise reduction algorithm go? Can we use a white painted wall as a mirror?

I don't think we're that point yet, but there's some amazing work on deconvolution for seeing around corners.

Re: The limits of "computational photography"

#9
The iPhone definitely does some extra processing on text. I’m 99% sure that it recognizes letters and fills in “creatively.” I noticed this while taking some photos of text in low-light. Could barely see it with my eyeballs but the phone worked it out.

Re: The limits of "computational photography"

#10
post #6

So it's an edge case fail for the noise reduction alg. How far can a noise reduction algorithm go? Can we use a white painted wall as a mirror?

I don't think we're that point yet, but there's some amazing work on deconvolution for seeing around corners.

If we could use a rock one light year away as a mirror then we could see 2 years into the past. That's a practical application.
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