Recent Science Articles

Touring the World's Largest Digital Camera

You think medium format is big? You ain't seen nothing yet. Check out this incredible camera that's being used to shape our understanding of the universe.

How Photography Is Used to Solve Crimes, Murders

From sketch renderings to video surveillance, law enforcement uses many techniques to piece together clues for crime-solving. Details and memory often fail us, but there's one medium that never forgets - photography.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Dynamic Range and More

Dynamic range has become one of the most important camera specs for a lot of photographers and videographers, but there's a lot more information and science behind it than you might have realized. This excellent, comprehensive video will teach you everything you need and ever wanted to know about dynamic range.

The Truth About Depth of Field and What Affects It

Depth of field is a frequently misunderstood subject, particularly when it comes to what actually affects it and how it changes based on your technique. This awesome video will show you everything you need to know about the physics behind depth of field.

What Would Actually Happen If a Drone Hit an Aircraft

There's a been a lot of back and forth in recent years about the risk drones pose to airplanes and the type of damage they could possibly cause if an impact were to occur, but little true research has been done. This video follows a research team that used an air cannon to fire a drone at an airplane wing to study the damage that occurred.

The Truth About F-Stops and Aperture

Most photographers learn the basics of aperture in regards to depth of field and light-gathering ability, but some of what you learned is probably wrong, particularly when it comes to f-stops. If you're ready to get geeky, check out this great video that explains the truth behind it all.

Photographer Captures a Rare Rainbow in Jersey

A rare sight was captured at the Jersey Shore this week. When photographer Jon Entwhistle saw a peculiar sight, he aimed his camera to the heavens and virality ensued.

How Often Do SD Cards Really Fail?

There's been enough dissections on how Canon and Nikon shot themselves in their respective feet by releasing mirrorless systems with only single card slots. Trust Tony and Chelsea Northrup, though, to spice things up a bit with some scientific analysis.

The Heartwarming Moment a Man Sees Full Colors for the First Time

It can be easy to take certain things in life for granted, such as the ability to see the normal spectrum of colors. Color blindness is a lot more common than you might expect, and this heartwarming video of a man seeing full colors for the first time reminds us just what a gift vision is.

The Science Behind How Pop-Up Flashes Can Optically Trigger Off-Camera Flashes

Your camera may have the option to trigger off-camera flashes using the built-in pop-up flash. It’s a system that works wirelessly, but not by radio signals. Find out how the camera’s optical trigger is able to communicate to external flashes in this self-proclaimed super-duper nerdy video.

Mastering the Kirlian Photography Technique: A Short Guide

The Kirlian photography technique is still one of the most spectacular ways to shoot different subjects. This method is a bit of a mystery, especially for those who are beginners in the art of photography. Here's how it works.

Take a Tour of the Moon in Beautiful 4K With This Great Video

NASA recently released this stunning tour of the moon based on photos and visualizations built from data sent back from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. It's a beautiful and informative look at our nearest neighbor.

Learn the Science That Makes Camera Sensors Work

It's easy to take for granted the fact that our camera sensors somehow translate light into digital data that is eventually reconstructed as a viewable image on our monitors when we return to our studios. However, there's some very deep and impressive science behind this feat, and this neat video will introduce you to how it all works.

Right Handed Photographers Using Their Left Eye

Recently a member of the Fstoppers Facebook group posted a confession with a simple question: Who else uses their left eye to look through the camera's viewfinder? I was shocked by the results.

The Deep Science Behind Camera Exposure and Metering

Most of us know about the exposure triangle, which dictates how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO balance each other to create the total exposure. But rarely if ever do we dive deep into what exposure really is at the fundamental level. This great video will give you a fun, scientific breakdown of exposure and metering.

A Mathematical Look at What 'Light Softness' Really Is

We talk qualitatively quite a bit about the softness or hardness of light, as it's one of the fundamental qualities and something every photographer and videographer should consider when choosing how to light their subjects. This neat video takes a more scientific approach by asking how we can quantify the softness of light.

Amateur Astrophotographer Captures Nearly Impossible Image

In what could be called a coincidence of cosmic proportions, an amateur astrophotographer from Argentina (say that three times fast!) has, for the first time, captured a spectacular space phenomenon on camera against nearly impossible odds, as reported by LiveScience.com.

This May Be the Most Awesome Camera on the Internet

The Internet can take you to places that you might never get to see in person such as the famed astronomical clock in Prague’s Old Town Square or the Amundsen–Scott research station in Antarctica. And, there are cameras situated at literally the top of the world capturing things in the night sky that you may have never even seen before.

NASA Sets New Record for Long-Distance Photography

Those scientists over at NASA do some pretty cool stuff, one of which is sending spacecraft filled with probes and cameras deep into space. One of those spacecraft just set a record by taking a photograph while 3.79 billion miles from Earth.

New Phantom High-Speed Camera Does 4-Megapixel Shooting at 6,600 fps, 1080p at Nearly 12,000

We're all likely familiar with Phantom's line of ultra-high-speed cameras. These cameras have been used to film the most viral "bullet-time," slow-motion sequences you've seen everywhere online, but scientists also love them for their ability to reveal otherwise-hidden, split-second reactions. Phantom recently announced a new camera that can record 6,600 frames per second at a nearly square 2,048 x 1,952 resolution. Only need full HD? The new V2640 scream through at 11,750 frames per second at 1920 x 1080.

Curiosity Rover’s Galactic Selfie

As the most recent government shutdown came to a close, the Curiosity Rover’s Twitter account (@MarsCuriosity) released a new batch of raw images from the red planet on January 23. The rover's Twitter account had a bit of a break during the shutdown, but while the Curiosity Rover has sent images back in the past of it as part of the Martian landscape, this latest selfie is a bit closer, and the Internet loves it.

Learn How a TV Works in This Video by the Slow-Mo Guys

If you’re not following The Slow-Mo Guys over on YouTube, then this video might change all that. They have created yet another video which both destroys our perception of reality and makes us thirsty for more knowledge.

Five Tips for Photographing January’s Lunar Eclipse

It may seem like it was only yesterday, but the upcoming total lunar eclipse is actually the first one in nearly three years. Taking place on the morning of January 31, it will be fully or partially visible to folks living in Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and North America. If you are in the United States, the farther north and west you live, the better. Here are five tips I’ve put together to help you prepare for capturing some epic shots.

'Galaxies Vol. II' Captures Deep-Sky Astro Time-Lapses

Adrien Mauduit has released the second piece in his “Galaxies” series. Volume II features time-lapses taken against winter skies, a deviation from his first “Galaxies” film which captures our galaxy and the surrounding stars during the summer nights.

Incredible Footage of Soap Bubbles Freezing in Winter Weather and How to Do It Yourself

Photographers all over the world have found something absolutely incredible happens when you blow soap bubbles in the freezing winter temperatures. As these delicate bubbles freeze almost instantly, inside each one a unique universe of patterns and shapes comes to life right in front of your eyes. If you're lucky enough to be enduring the worldwide cold front we're having, give this a shot to make the brutal winter more fun and beautiful.

100 Megapixels Is So 2017: This Camera Captures 1.5 Gigapixels

Just when you thought that your camera has all of the resolving power you will ever need with a 50- or even a 100-megapixel sensor, a new king of the hill has arrived on the scene and the comparison to what you have isn’t even close. With 1.5 billion pixels of CCD goodness, this camera smashes the ceiling on resolution and is sure to be the envy of anyone who cares about such things.

Avoid Photography-Related Injury With This One Simple Tip

Throughout the course of long, mentally intensive days covering events from behind a camera, likely the last thing on your mind is maintaining good balanced posture or equal weight distribution. String multiple days like this together in a short period of time and you are unknowingly causing long-term havoc onto your body, especially as this repeats and builds over longer periods.

Where Will You Be for the Geminid Meteor Shower?

This week will have one of the most amazing astronomical events of the year (besides that continent-crossing solar eclipse this past August). The Geminid meteor shower is streaking across the sky this week on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. If you didn't know or maybe just forgot, it's time to make plans to get to a dark sky area for a once a year celestial show that many astronomers call the best meteor shower of the year.

The World's Most Technologically Advanced Yellow Line

If you grew up in a house with a football-loving father like I did, you probably had your young little mind blown every NFL Sunday by the yellow line darting under the players' feet. My dad's answer? "Hollywood Magic." Up until the moment I stumbled across this video that was the only answer I had ever gotten.

If You Pointed a Camera Into Space, How Far Could You See?

Let's suppose you had a gigantic zoom lens — so big that you could effectively zoom as far as you wanted to frame any object. If you pointed it into space, how far could you see? It turns out that you could see a really long way away and yet, not that far at all.

NASA Launches Ten Unmodified Nikon D5 Cameras to Resupply ISS

Back in August, NASA purchased 53 unmodified Nikon D5 bodies. Over the weekend, ten of those went on the OA-8 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission. The ten new bodies will join the current D4 cameras that are currently used for both photographing Earth and checking solar panels and other external systems on the ISS.