Taking Pictures of LCD Screens

[Windego]

Hi Everyone
I have been banging my head on a wall :mad2: trying to figure out how to take pictures of LCD monitors. I am trying to build a training simulation on the BlackBerry and would like to take pictures of an active screen. The problem I’m having is that I keep getting vertical lines on the screen in all my photos. Some one please HELP!

[SkipT]

Can't you import screen shots? Like import them from the pc after you take a screen shot

[SmartWombat]

The problem is interference patterns where the spacing of the pixels in the camera is not exactly the spacing of the dots on the screen.

For still images, I use CapSnapper form Cerious software http://www.capsnapper.com/
I have tried various tools that are meant to grab real live animated screen displays but not one has worked for me.

[Photo-John]

I've done lots of product photography that includes LCD screens. All of our digital camera pro reviews have LCD screen photos. For best results, you have to work on a tripod and make multiple exposures for layering in Photoshop. I shoot one exposure for the product and another for the LCD display. They have different exposures and white balance. I layer those images in Photoshop and use a layer mask merge the product body and LCD display.

The lines you're having problems with are from shooting faster than the LCD display's refresh rate. This is another reason to work on a tripod. Try shooting at 1/15th of a second or slower. If the first shutter speed doesn't work, keep slowing it down until you eliminate the lines.

The samples here are from our Sony Alpha A350 digital SLR pro review. There's some moire from the pixel pattern on the LCD. We also added an adjustment layer for the LCD in the final composite. But you can see the LCD display looks pretty clean. We could have probably gotten it to look even better, if we put more time into it.

[SmartWombat]

Still looks like there's a pattern, John.
Not Moire, more of a plaid pattern over the image.
How do you get rid of that?

[Photo-John]

Still looks like there's a pattern, John.
Not Moire, more of a plaid pattern over the image.
How do you get rid of that?

You're saying that's not moire? Looks like moire to me.

[freygr]

I have to agree, I do see moire.
with the little screens you have to have the shutter open for an integer of the scan rate, the longer the shutter is open the more scans the less problem of an under/over exposure line appearing in the photo.