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DOMESTIC PHOTOGRAPHIC FORMATS Early Beginnings Modern photographic techniques can be traced back to the Camera Obscura (Latin for "dark room") or pinhole camera. In the 4th century BC, Aristotle spoke of the process. In 1038, an Arab named Alhazan described the workings of the camera obscura, a room or box completely devoid of light with a single hole in one wall, created an inverted image on the opposite wall. A person inside the room was then able to trace the image outline, which was upside-down (simulating the way that images enter our eyes). In 1823, Niepce, A French man produced the first photograph by using silver chloride on a pewter plate. The exposure took 8 hours. In 1837, Daguerre, after a brief partnership with Niepce, developed a vastly improved photographic plate called a Daguerrotype. This became the first commercial photographic process. In 1884, George Eastman produced the first photographic film. 35mm In 1914 the first 35mm still cameras were produced. Whilst the first true colour photograph was made by Maxwell in 1861, the modern colour process was not created until 1935 when Kodak introduced the three emulsion colour film, Kodachrome. Colour negatives became available in 1939. The 35mm film has basically evolved since then to provide better images. Whilst there have been a number of other formats that have come and gone (including 110 and 125mm film), 35mm has dominated. Digital In 1963, Gregg, an inventor from Stanford created the videodisk camera which could store images for several minutes. The first digital still cameras appeared in the early 1990s. However, it is only now, in the 2000s that they are starting to catch up to the same definition as those offered by 35mm cameras. DOMESTIC FILM FORMATS Early Beginnings The first record of home film equipment was the Birtac, a home movie camera that used 35mm film split lengthways in June 1898. This was followed by a number of different formats including 8.75, 11.5mm, 13mm, 15mm, 17.5mm, 19mm, 20mm, 22mm, 28mm, 35mm, 38mm 42mm. None of which were more than modestly successful due to the expense of the film and equipment. Early film was made with nitrate compounds that could easily self combust. Fortunately, most film used by home film enthusaists was made with acetate based satefy films. Pathe 9.5mm (also known as Pathex and Pathescope) In 1922, Pathe introduced the 9.5mm format which split the 35mm film into three strips with perforations running in the centre between each frame. This format became relatively popular in France and the UK. In France it was referred to as Pathe, Outside France, it was referred to as Pathex. The first projectors were hand cranked and took only 27ft of film and ran just over a minute. The definition afforded by the cameras that were introduced to take advantage of the format was much higher than anything else around. In 1938, Pathe introduced 9.5mm sound film. Popular 9.5mm models were the Pathe Baby, Pathe Lux, Pathescope 200B, Pathescope Ace, Pathe Gem, Pathe Vox. The 9.5mm format also had an ingenious way to show titles for an extended period of time by use of a special notch. The film is still sold, processed and transferred by DVD Infinity. 16mm In 1923, just after Pathe introduced the 9.5mm film format, Kodak introduced the 16mm format. The advantages were that the perforations were at the edges rather than in the middle. This meant that there would not be any striping due to projector light passing through the perforations and there would be less likelihood of damage to the film itself in viewing it. The grain quality of 16mm was better. In later years a sound track was added on one side of the film, sacrificing one row of perforations. 16mm film allowed sound to be recorded as optical and magnetic. 8mm In 1932, Kodak introduced the 8mm (or Standard 8 or Regular 8 or Double 8) format. The film was a 16mm film with twice the number of perforations. The idea behind it was to make film affordable to many more people. It was inserted one way and fed through the camera. Once one side had been used, it was turned around and fed through the other way. Once processed, the film was split through the centre and the two 8mm halves spliced together. Kodak acquired Pathé in the late twenties putting an end to any competition between the two formats and assuring the dominance of the 8mm format. 8mm film never allowed sound to be recorded through the camera. However, later in its life, a magnetic strip was able to be added after development that could be used to record a sound track. The film is still sold, processed and transferred by DVD Infinity. Super 8 In 1965, Kodak introduced Super 8 (and Fuji Single 8). With a larger frame size, better emulsion process, and better precision feed process through the camera gate. Add to that the ability to add sound. Super 8 came in optical and magnetic sound varieties with the ability to add an extra sound strip after taking the film. Whereas Standard 8mm film was in fact 25ft of 16mm film that was cut in two at development, Super 8 was provided as a cartridge. This meant three main differences: the camera could be more easily loaded; the pressure plate was not as stable as it was a disposable part mounted inside the plastic cartridge rather than being part of the camera; and it could no longer be used for trick photography (eg. double exposure) as in Standard 8, Super 8 sound film became available in 1973 and ceased production in 1997. A 200ft Super 8 cartridge was also available for a short period of time. The film is still sold, processed and transferred by DVD Infinity. DOMESTIC VIDEOTAPE FORMATS Early Beginnings John Mullins demonstrated the first videotape recording in 1951. Ampex introduced the first commercial videotape, a 2" tape, in 1956. In 1969, it became possible to record colour on video. In 1971, the ¾" U-matic format was introduced but the equipment was too large to fit in a normal home. Analog video In 1976, Sony introduced Betamax, the first consumer video format. It was a ½" format with an initial record time of 1 hour. In 1976, after Sony's initial success with Betamax, VHS became the dominant format. It was another ½" format and came in a compact format VHS-C (compact 45 minute tape). Providing 240 lines of resolution and 180 minutes of footage in SP mode. S-VHS or Super VHS was a high-end ½" consumer format. "S-video" separates the chrominance (colour) and luminance (brightness) signals, although not as purely as the true component systems do. It provides 400 lines of resolution and has a maximum tape length of 160 minutes. In 1985, the first 8mm video was launched. Video8 had 240 lines of resolution and a maximum tape length of 120 minutes in SP mode. In 1989, Sony introduced a much-improved version of 8mm video. It has a second audio track for stereo sound and 425 lines of resolution. Maximum tape length is 120 minutes in SP mode. Digital video In 1995, Sony released miniDV (DV), the first digital recording format available to consumers. Nearly loss-less broadcast quality picture. The ¼" format has a maximum tape length of 80 minutes in SP mode and provides 500+ lines of resolution. In 1999, Sony released a second digital consumer format - Digital8. It records the same digital signal as DV onto less expensive Hi8 tapes. A 90 minute Hi8 tape can record 60 minutes of Digital8. In 2001, Sony released microMV format, a digital format that trades off quality for size. It achieves smaller size at the expense of a halved bit rate and compressed data storage rather than full frame. Another failed video format is the DVDCam (not to be confused with DVCam). This was an attempt to record directly to a DVD on the fly. It was a compromise that heavily traded off quality for the ability to write to a DVD. The second problem was that the DVD would only play in about 1% of DVD players. In 2004, HDV became a consumer format, offering Hi Definition video to the consumer videographer. DOMESTIC AUDIO FORMATS Phonograph, Gramophone and LP records On 4 December 1877 Thomas Edison created history by recording and playing his reading of “Mary had a little lamb”. The technology he used was based on the workings of the rudimentary telephones that he had invented. The device used a cylinder with a piece of paper to generate vibrations in a speaker similar to he had used in his telephone. In 1888, Berliner developed the Gramophone. It was essentially a flattened version of the earlier phonograph recording devices. In 1930 RCA Victor introduced the vinyl record at 33 1/3rpm and later the 45rpm record in 1949. Wire Recordings A wire recording is an audio recording made onto a thin piece of stainless steel wire. They were popular just after the second world war. 1/4" audio recordings 1/4" open reel or quarter inch audio reel to reel was first introduced in 1948. It became popular for both consumer products and professional recordings. Whilst consumer products were replaced by the audio cassette. 1/4" consumer audio tapes could be 1 7/8ips, 3 3/4ips or 7 1/2ips. Professional recordings were generally done at 7 1/2ips or 15 ips. Cassette recordings Originally introduced by Philips as a mono dictaphone audio format in 1962, the audio cassette bacame the predominant format up until recently when the audio CD took over. Digital Audio formats In 1982, the CD was introduced and it immediately had a market due to the illimiation of imperfections related to other media and the high quality output. In 1998, the miniDisc was introduced. However, it never really developed a market. MP3s were first developed in 1989. However, this is a software format rather than a true audio format. |
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