An unusual subject to shoot

Has anyone taken a macro photo of their computer's LCD monitor? What do I meter on, or could I apply the zone system? Is the monitor's refresh rate visible (i.e., flickering) on the negative — should I lengthen the exposure to avoid this issue?

I'm going to try and answer these with an experiment, but if anyone has done this sort of thing before or have any comments, I'd love to hear from you!

And before you ask: this is for the love of science and experimentation.

I did briefly, just test shot for a macro lens. Not sure bout metering I just did matrix on the Nikon since it wasn't important. However I can tell you you have to lengthen the exposure the avoid flicking.

dehk said:

I did briefly, just test shot for a macro lens. Not sure bout metering I just did matrix on the Nikon since it wasn't important. However I can tell you you have to lengthen the exposure the avoid flicking.

Click to expand...

Thanks! It'll be interesting to try.

I usually shoot TV's in a scene at longer than 1/60th to get a full screen.

it's been a while ...
i think shorter exposures than 1/30th will give a bar across the image.

you might have good luck with a flash to the ceiling at a 1/30thS as well ...
as long as it isn't a moving picture ( like tv broadcast ) you will probably be OK
TV / Dvideo stream you will get morphed images as the screen refreshes.

have fun !
john

Depends if it's a CRT or LCD but either way, an exposure of 1/30 or longer will avoid most refresh artifacts.

If it's a macro shot, you're only going to see an inch or so of screen. Just meter that little bit of screen and shoot; assuming it's a white image then give it +1 or +2 (especially on neg film) if you want it to look nice and bright instead of middle grey. Chrome is a little more difficult once the image resolves individual colour elements because if you meter the average to be near white then each colour cell will be way overexposed in that one dye layer, though that might look good. It's definitely easier to do this with negative.

LCD should not give banding with shorter exposure, in fact the movie folks often stick an LCD screen in a vintage TV when the screen is supposed to be visible on the movie. The back light MAY flicker however depending on the design of the screen.

Meter on an 18% grey as displayed and you will be right on, if metering on a white screen then adjust as needed to get in the correct
zone.