In the fifties the RAF experimented with a truly cumbersome piece of equipment. Using a massive Wray lens in a Canberra aircraft they shot on 5 inch wide film, processed in the air, scanned the film with a CRT scanner and transmitted the images back to base. The film went in a continuos roll from camera to processor to scanner. The USAF joined in the technique. I think a base in Malta was used and photography done over Italy while the receiving base was back in the UK, probably Brize Norton. The reason they scanned film was because of the need for very high resolution and to bring back concrete evidence. I think the CRT only scanned small selected parts of the film. Resolution was good enough to see car number plates at 30,000 feet. Bob Croxford
In a message dated 12/21/02 7:51:18 PM, evening writes: << But throughout the sixties the digital imaging technology progressed to enable satellites to transmit good resolution photographs back to earth and not just from low earth orbit but from the moon as well. Jodrell Bank intercepted a transmission of the first photos of the moon from Luna 9 in 1966 and scooped the Russians by publishing them in a British newspaper first. And remember, all the magnificent photos sent back from the Voyager missions were taken using digital cameras that were designed before 1977. But I think these were greyscale chips and may have used sequential exposures using colour filters. But these were definitely more than video chips modified to capture single shot images and the technology of this time must have led on to the development of the chips we use today. Martin Evening >> =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
