Eastman-Kodak Company

Roger J Greenwald

Carl N Schauffele

Scott A Brownstein

Hans-Peter Baumeister

Lawrence J Matteson

A video disk player is provided for playing back a series of still pictures prerecorded on a plurality of video disks. The disks are contained in a magazine that is inserted into the player. The magazine includes an erasable, non-volatile memory for containing data related to the pictures. The player includes an editing feature for generating picture file data prescribing an organized arrangement for viewing the pictures, including data pertaining to the assignment of pictures into one or more albums, the arrangement of the viewing order, the establishment of automated viewing times, the addition of text, and the like. The picture file data is put into the non-volatile magazine memory and remains there though the magazine is removed from the player. To view an album, the magazine is inserted into the player and the magazine memory is connected into the player circuit. An album is chosen by reference to the picture file data.

Video disk apparatus providing organized picture playback

Electronic strobe flash apparatus includes a first energizable flashtube arranged to project light for reflection from a surface to illuminate a scene indirectly, and a second energizable flashtube arranged to illuminate the scene directly. A sequencing circuit controls the energization of both flashtubes so that the ratio of the indirect flash to the direct flash reflected from the scene is constant in instances where the reflected flash is above a minimum level. For this purpose, a light-sensitive circuit, arranged to sense light reflected from the scene, is coupled to the sequencing circuit. The sequencing circuit causes the indirect flash to be produced first. The light-sensitive circuit causes the sequencing circuit to (1) quench the first flashtube to extinguish the indirect flash, and (2) fire the second flashtube to produce the direct flash, when the light-sensitive circuit senses that a predetermined fraction of a desired total amount of light has been reflected from the scene. Then, the sequencing circuit quenches the second flashtube to extinguish the direct flash when the light-sensitive circuit has sensed the desired total amount of reflected scene light. If the light-sensitive circuit senses very little light following the energization of the first flashtube, indicating that insufficient indirect flash will be produced, the sequencing circuit quickly quenches that flashtube, thereby saving electrical energy that otherwise would be wasted. To regulate the indirect and the direct flash independently of the ambient light, a bandpass filter can be employed to remove from the light-sensitive circuit's output any contribution due to ambient light.

Electronic strobe flash apparatus for indirect and direct flash

Automatic control apparatus for a photographic camera is responsive to a set of measured scene parameter inputs, representing at least subject distance and subject brightness, to produce signals representing the desired setting of one or more of the following camera control functions: aperture size, shutter time, flash output, and lens extension. The desired camera settings are determined by a mapping function defining the settings that optimize picture quality by minimizing the total reduction in picture quality due to the combined effects of blur, smear and exposure error. The mapping function is obtained by maximizing a Composite Quality Factor comprising one or more Subjective Quality Factors representing blur, smear, and exposure, evaluated at the subject distance and at a plurality of background distances.

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Churchville, NY, United States of America

Roger J Greenwald