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Pentax Cameras Could Soon Offer Built-in Star Tracking for Astrophotography

Nov 16, 2015 by GB Leave a Comment

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RicohPatent_HeaderAstrophotography is becoming more accessible than ever. Not only have manufacturers made cameras specifically designed with celestial photography in mind, they’ve also started work on built-in star tracking that will use sensor-shift technology to account for the movement of celestial bodies in the sky during a long exposure.

While Canon might have been one of the first to show off its star-tracking technology, a new patent from Ricoh shows they’re looking to the skies as well.

The patent, originally filed on May 17th, 2011, explains how sensor-shifting technology would be used to counteract the Earth’s rotation to keep a celestial body still in the frame.

RicohPatent2Specifically, the patent says the system would first capture a preliminary image wherein the sensor captures the sky to calculate the location, direction and speed of movement of a particular celestial body.

Once the numbers have been crunched, a second exposure is taken as the sensor shifts along the focal plane to counteract the movement of the celestial body in the sky.

RicohPatentThe result is presumably a perfectly exposed image that rids the problem of unwanted star trails in long-exposure images.

As with any patent, it’s unknown when this tech might actually make it into a consumer camera, but it’s likely not too far out at the steady rate Ricoh has been cranking out new features year after year.

[via The New Camera]


Image credits: Milky Way by John McSporran used under CC BY 2.0

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Filed Under: news Tagged With: Astrophotography, night, pentax, ricoh, Sensor, sensor shifting, sky, star tracking, stars

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Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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