COLOR

  • If a blind person gained sight, could they recognize objects previously touched?

    news.psu.edu/story/141360/2006/04/17/research/probing-question-if-blind-person-gained-sight-could-they-recognize

     

    Blind people who regain their sight may find themselves in a world they don’t immediately comprehend. “It would be more like a sighted person trying to rely on tactile information,” Moore says.

     

    Learning to see is a developmental process, just like learning language, Prof Cathleen Moore continues. “As far as vision goes, a three-and-a-half year old child is already a well-calibrated system.”

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    Read more: If a blind person gained sight, could they recognize objects previously touched?
  • What light is best to illuminate gems for resale

    www.palagems.com/gem-lighting2

     

    Artificial light sources, not unlike the diverse phases of natural light, vary considerably in their properties. As a result, some lamps render an object’s color better than others do.

     

    The most important criterion for assessing the color-rendering ability of any lamp is its spectral power distribution curve.

     

    Natural daylight varies too much in strength and spectral composition to be taken seriously as a lighting standard for grading and dealing colored stones. For anything to be a standard, it must be constant in its properties, which natural light is not.

     

    For dealers in particular to make the transition from natural light to an artificial light source, that source must offer:
    1- A degree of illuminance at least as strong as the common phases of natural daylight.
    2- Spectral properties identical or comparable to a phase of natural daylight.

     

    A source combining these two things makes gems appear much the same as when viewed under a given phase of natural light. From the viewpoint of many dealers, this corresponds to a naturalappearance.

     

    The 6000° Kelvin xenon short-arc lamp appears closest to meeting the criteria for a standard light source. Besides the strong illuminance this lamp affords, its spectrum is very similar to CIE standard illuminants of similar color temperature.

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    Read more: What light is best to illuminate gems for resale
  • Björn Ottosson – How software gets color wrong

    https://bottosson.github.io/posts/colorwrong/

     

    Most software around us today are decent at accurately displaying colors. Processing of colors is another story unfortunately, and is often done badly.

     

    To understand what the problem is, let’s start with an example of three ways of blending green and magenta:

    • Perceptual blend – A smooth transition using a model designed to mimic human perception of color. The blending is done so that the perceived brightness and color varies smoothly and evenly.
    • Linear blend – A model for blending color based on how light behaves physically. This type of blending can occur in many ways naturally, for example when colors are blended together by focus blur in a camera or when viewing a pattern of two colors at a distance.
    • sRGB blend – This is how colors would normally be blended in computer software, using sRGB to represent the colors. 

     

    Let’s look at some more examples of blending of colors, to see how these problems surface more practically. The examples use strong colors since then the differences are more pronounced. This is using the same three ways of blending colors as the first example.

     

    Instead of making it as easy as possible to work with color, most software make it unnecessarily hard, by doing image processing with representations not designed for it. Approximating the physical behavior of light with linear RGB models is one easy thing to do, but more work is needed to create image representations tailored for image processing and human perception.

     

    Also see:

    https://www.pixelsham.com/2022/04/05/bjorn-ottosson-okhsv-and-okhsl-two-new-color-spaces-for-color-picking/

    Read more: Björn Ottosson – How software gets color wrong
  • Black Body color aka the Planckian Locus curve for white point eye perception

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-body_radiation

     

    Black-body radiation is the type of electromagnetic radiation within or surrounding a body in thermodynamic equilibrium with its environment, or emitted by a black body (an opaque and non-reflective body) held at constant, uniform temperature. The radiation has a specific spectrum and intensity that depends only on the temperature of the body.

     

    A black-body at room temperature appears black, as most of the energy it radiates is infra-red and cannot be perceived by the human eye. At higher temperatures, black bodies glow with increasing intensity and colors that range from dull red to blindingly brilliant blue-white as the temperature increases.

    The Black Body Ultraviolet Catastrophe Experiment

     

    In photography, color temperature describes the spectrum of light which is radiated from a “blackbody” with that surface temperature. A blackbody is an object which absorbs all incident light — neither reflecting it nor allowing it to pass through.

     

    The Sun closely approximates a black-body radiator. Another rough analogue of blackbody radiation in our day to day experience might be in heating a metal or stone: these are said to become “red hot” when they attain one temperature, and then “white hot” for even higher temperatures. Similarly, black bodies at different temperatures also have varying color temperatures of “white light.”

     

    Despite its name, light which may appear white does not necessarily contain an even distribution of colors across the visible spectrum.

     

    Although planets and stars are neither in thermal equilibrium with their surroundings nor perfect black bodies, black-body radiation is used as a first approximation for the energy they emit. Black holes are near-perfect black bodies, and it is believed that they emit black-body radiation (called Hawking radiation), with a temperature that depends on the mass of the hole.

     

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  • Space bodies’ components and light spectroscopy

    www.plutorules.com/page-111-space-rocks.html

    This help’s us understand the composition of components in/on solar system bodies.

    Dips in the observed light spectrum, also known as, lines of absorption occur as gasses absorb energy from light at specific points along the light spectrum.

    These dips or darkened zones (lines of absorption) leave a finger print which identify elements and compounds.

    In this image the dark absorption bands appear as lines of emission which occur as the result of emitted not reflected (absorbed) light.

     

     

     

    Lines of absorption

     
    Lines of emission
     
     
    Read more: Space bodies’ components and light spectroscopy
  • Sensitivity of human eye

    http://www.wikilectures.eu/index.php/Spectral_sensitivity_of_the_human_eye

    http://www.normankoren.com/Human_spectral_sensitivity_small.jpg

    Spectral sensitivity of eye is influenced by light intensity. And the light intensity determines the level of activity of cones cell and rod cell. This is the main characteristic of human vision. Sensitivity to individual colors, in other words, wavelengths of the light spectrum, is explained by the RGB (red-green-blue) theory. This theory assumed that there are three kinds of cones. It’s selectively sensitive to red (700-630 nm), green (560-500 nm), and blue (490-450 nm) light. And their mutual interaction allow to perceive all colors of the spectrum.

    http://weeklysciencequiz.blogspot.com/2013/01/violet-skies-are-for-birds.html

     

     

    Sensitivity of human eye Sensitivity of human eyes to light increase with the decrease in light intensity. In day-light condition, the cones cell is responding to this condition. And the eye is most sensitive at 555 nm. In darkness condition, the rod cell is responding to this condition. And the eye is most sensitive at 507 nm.

    As light intensity decreases, cone function changes more effective way. And when decrease the light intensity, it prompt to accumulation of rhodopsin. Furthermore, in activates rods, it allow to respond to stimuli of light in much lower intensity.

     

    https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/PenetrantTest/Introduction/lightresponse.htm

    The three curves in the figure above shows the normalized response of an average human eye to various amounts of ambient light. The shift in sensitivity occurs because two types of photoreceptors called cones and rods are responsible for the eye’s response to light. The curve on the right shows the eye’s response under normal lighting conditions and this is called the photopic response. The cones respond to light under these conditions.

     

    As mentioned previously, cones are composed of three different photo pigments that enable color perception. This curve peaks at 555 nanometers, which means that under normal lighting conditions, the eye is most sensitive to a yellowish-green color. When the light levels drop to near total darkness, the response of the eye changes significantly as shown by the scotopic response curve on the left. At this level of light, the rods are most active and the human eye is more sensitive to the light present, and less sensitive to the range of color. Rods are highly sensitive to light but are comprised of a single photo pigment, which accounts for the loss in ability to discriminate color. At this very low light level, sensitivity to blue, violet, and ultraviolet is increased, but sensitivity to yellow and red is reduced. The heavier curve in the middle represents the eye’s response at the ambient light level found in a typical inspection booth. This curve peaks at 550 nanometers, which means the eye is most sensitive to yellowish-green color at this light level. Fluorescent penetrant inspection materials are designed to fluoresce at around 550 nanometers to produce optimal sensitivity under dim lighting conditions.

     

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  • Image rendering bit depth

    The terms 8-bit, 16-bit, 16-bit float, and 32-bit refer to different data formats used to store and represent image information, as bits per pixel.

     

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_depth

     

    In color technology, color depth also known as bit depth, is either the number of bits used to indicate the color of a single pixel, OR the number of bits used for each color component of a single pixel.

     

    When referring to a pixel, the concept can be defined as bits per pixel (bpp).

     

    When referring to a color component, the concept can be defined as bits per component, bits per channel, bits per color (all three abbreviated bpc), and also bits per pixel component, bits per color channel or bits per sample (bps). Modern standards tend to use bits per component, but historical lower-depth systems used bits per pixel more often.

     

    Color depth is only one aspect of color representation, expressing the precision with which the amount of each primary can be expressed; the other aspect is how broad a range of colors can be expressed (the gamut). The definition of both color precision and gamut is accomplished with a color encoding specification which assigns a digital code value to a location in a color space.

     

     

    Here’s a simple explanation of each.

     

    8-bit images (i.e. 24 bits per pixel for a color image) are considered Low Dynamic Range.
    They can store around 5 stops of light and each pixel carry a value from 0 (black) to 255 (white).
    As a comparison, DSLR cameras can capture ~12-15 stops of light and they use RAW files to store the information.

     

    16-bit: This format is commonly referred to as “half-precision.” It uses 16 bits of data to represent color values for each pixel. With 16 bits, you can have 65,536 discrete levels of color, allowing for relatively high precision and smooth gradients. However, it has a limited dynamic range, meaning it cannot accurately represent extremely bright or dark values. It is commonly used for regular images and textures.

     

    16-bit float: This format is an extension of the 16-bit format but uses floating-point numbers instead of fixed integers. Floating-point numbers allow for more precise calculations and a larger dynamic range. In this case, the 16 bits are used to store both the color value and the exponent, which controls the range of values that can be represented. The 16-bit float format provides better accuracy and a wider dynamic range than regular 16-bit, making it useful for high-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI) and computations that require more precision.

     

    32-bit: (i.e. 96 bits per pixel for a color image) are considered High Dynamic Range. This format, also known as “full-precision” or “float,” uses 32 bits to represent color values and offers the highest precision and dynamic range among the three options. With 32 bits, you have a significantly larger number of discrete levels, allowing for extremely accurate color representation, smooth gradients, and a wide range of brightness values. It is commonly used for professional rendering, visual effects, and scientific applications where maximum precision is required.

     

    Bits and HDR coverage

    High Dynamic Range (HDR) images are designed to capture a wide range of luminance values, from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights, in order to reproduce a scene with more accuracy and detail. The bit depth of an image refers to the number of bits used to represent each pixel’s color information. When comparing 32-bit float and 16-bit float HDR images, the drop in accuracy primarily relates to the precision of the color information.

     

    A 32-bit float HDR image offers a higher level of precision compared to a 16-bit float HDR image. In a 32-bit float format, each color channel (red, green, and blue) is represented by 32 bits, allowing for a larger range of values to be stored. This increased precision enables the image to retain more details and subtleties in color and luminance.

     

    On the other hand, a 16-bit float HDR image utilizes 16 bits per color channel, resulting in a reduced range of values that can be represented. This lower precision leads to a loss of fine details and color nuances, especially in highly contrasted areas of the image where there are significant differences in luminance.

     

    The drop in accuracy between 32-bit and 16-bit float HDR images becomes more noticeable as the exposure range of the scene increases. Exposure range refers to the span between the darkest and brightest areas of an image. In scenes with a limited exposure range, where the luminance differences are relatively small, the loss of accuracy may not be as prominent or perceptible. These images usually are around 8-10 exposure levels.

     

    However, in scenes with a wide exposure range, such as a landscape with deep shadows and bright highlights, the reduced precision of a 16-bit float HDR image can result in visible artifacts like color banding, posterization, and loss of detail in both shadows and highlights. The image may exhibit abrupt transitions between tones or colors, which can appear unnatural and less realistic.

     

    To provide a rough estimate, it is often observed that exposure values beyond approximately ±6 to ±8 stops from the middle gray (18% reflectance) may be more prone to accuracy issues in a 16-bit float format. This range may vary depending on the specific implementation and encoding scheme used.

     

    To summarize, the drop in accuracy between 32-bit and 16-bit float HDR images is mainly related to the reduced precision of color information. This decrease in precision becomes more apparent in scenes with a wide exposure range, affecting the representation of fine details and leading to visible artifacts in the image.

     

    In practice, this means that exposure values beyond a certain range will experience a loss of accuracy and detail when stored in a 16-bit float format. The exact range at which this loss occurs depends on the encoding scheme and the specific implementation. However, in general, extremely bright or extremely dark values that fall outside the representable range may be subject to quantization errors, resulting in loss of detail, banding, or other artifacts.

     

    HDRs used for lighting purposes are usually slightly convolved to improve on sampling speed and removing specular artefacts. To that extent, 16 bit float HDRIs tend to me most used in CG cycles.

     

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    Read more: Image rendering bit depth

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