8 comments

  • dllu22 hours ago
    OP here, ask me anything! I&#x27;ve also written about the process previously:<p>- Line scan camera image processing: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;daniel.lawrence.lu&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2025-09-21-line-scan-camera-image-processing&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;daniel.lawrence.lu&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2025-09-21-line-scan-camera-...</a> Previous discussions:<p><pre><code> - https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=44996938 - https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=46383593 - https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=46388084 </code></pre> - Standalone line scan camera hardware: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;daniel.lawrence.lu&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-line-scan-camera&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;daniel.lawrence.lu&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-li...</a><p>- Line scan camera image processing 2: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;daniel.lawrence.lu&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2026-08-02-line-scan-camera-image-processing-part-2&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;daniel.lawrence.lu&#x2F;blog&#x2F;2026-08-02-line-scan-camera-...</a>
    • trebligdivad12 minutes ago
      They&#x27;re great - I&#x27;m pleasantly surprised there&#x27;s no blur on the people.
    • big_toast2 hours ago
      Your other photos are always very pleasant to look at too. Thank you for sharing them.<p>Are there other photo types you&#x27;ve thought about taking? (I don&#x27;t know very much about the topic. Rocket launches? Cruise ships? 360&#x2F;Cylindrical line scan sweeps?)<p>I assume the train rails and constant motion are part of the appeal of making trains the subject. I can&#x27;t exactly think of parallels, maybe a factory assembly line.
      • dllu35 minutes ago
        I took one of my baby on the swing. It needed custom polar coordinate dewarping:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.dllu.net&#x2F;swing_07_7668f7f16ff7ac2a.png" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.dllu.net&#x2F;swing_07_7668f7f16ff7ac2a.png</a><p>Also motorcycle cops:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;commons.wikimedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;File:San_Francisco_Police_Department_motorcycle_officers_line_scan_2026_dllu.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;commons.wikimedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;File:San_Francisco_Police...</a>
    • 0xfaded3 hours ago
      Very cool.<p>I never thought about it until seeing these, but line scans yield an orthographic projection in the scan direction. There was a little bit of uncanny valley being able to see parts of the front&#x2F;back of the car that would have normally been compressed out occluded by perspective.
      • ramses02 hours ago
        Yarp... Mr. Lu, please go to your nearest gigantic poster shop and immediately start selling these prints at art-gallery prices! There&#x27;s a brief moment in time where you&#x27;ve a monopoly on &quot;pictures that look like this&quot; and you&#x27;d probably be able to make your money back (and more) on this highly distinctive photograph style. Do some back and forth chat with AI on &quot;fine art photography pricing structure&quot; and &quot;signature style &#x2F; visual voice&quot; and you&#x27;ll likely be pleasantly surprised.<p>...and I&#x27;ll be surprised if I don&#x27;t see these pictures hanging in a bank&#x2F;startup lobby at some point!
        • dole2 hours ago
          Hell, I&#x27;d shop them around to transit authorities. Gorgeous photos, awesome hardware and processing techniques that went into them.
          • ramses02 hours ago
            Donate copies to sfmuni (no matter what!), or front them as &quot;distribution partner&quot;, ie: they sell those posters for $999.99 or whatever and cut checks to Mr. Lu for $99 each (or something).
    • Theodores1 hour ago
      I have a long-standing dream to use a line scan camera from a moving train, assuming everything would be easy, if I had the camera. Little did I realise how much work is needed to tidy up the imagery!<p>Your work is extremely beautiful, and I am truly envious of your work, the aesthetic is awesome. I want to do it on the cheap though, with a regular phone as camera.<p>I think you have given me the directions needed to make some bold steps towards getting what I want out of the &#x27;medium&#x27;.
    • plun921 hours ago
      oh ok
  • matja2 hours ago
    I like the photos, they look like architectural diagrams.<p>I suppose the subjects moved past the camera perpendicular to the lens direction, so you only see one side.<p>Are there any examples of what it looks like with a line scan camera when a subject goes past at an angle?<p>Also, for anyone setting up a tripod with a tripping hazard in public, do consider public liability insurance :)
  • abeppu2 hours ago
    Ok the photos are cool and it&#x27;s nice to see the vintage street cars. But Muni has a budget shortfall and is planning on cutting a bunch of bus lines and reducing frequency on lines across the system. Meanwhile, it has an internal supply chain to custom build replacement parts for vintage vehicles that no other city will operate, and teams of specialist restorers. Viewed in isolation, they look cool! Viewed in context, is this ... irresponsible?
    • dam_jackalopes59 minutes ago
      Depends on what value you place on the vehicles I suppose.
  • Goatsgiats21 hours ago
    These are really lovely.
  • phgn3 hours ago
    Woww so cool, thanks for sharing!
  • landonalder2 hours ago
    Incredible shots
  • gerikson3 hours ago
    Very cool images!<p>What lens are you using? Does it have to cover 135 format?
    • dllu3 minutes ago
      Muni heritage weekend was shot on my new Voigtlander Apo Ultron 90mm f&#x2F;2. The line scan camera&#x27;s sensor is 28mm long so any APS-C lens will work, not necessarily full frame. I modded my line scan camera from Nikon F mount originally to Sony E mount so that I can use more compact high quality lenses like M mount ones.<p>Previously I&#x27;ve also used these full frame lenses:<p>- Myutron 50mm f&#x2F;2.6 (Shinkansen N700A, SF Cable Car 2017)<p>- Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f&#x2F;1.4 (Brisbane Queensland EMU)<p>- Samyang 135mm f&#x2F;2 (Madrid AVE Class 102 and Shanghai maglev)<p>- Voigtlander Apo Lanthar 125mm f2.5 (Yamanote Line, CR400AF)<p>- Voigtlander Apo Skopar 90mm f&#x2F;2.8 (London Tube photos)<p>- Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f&#x2F;1.7 (Hong Kong trams)<p>and APS-C lenses:<p>- Cheecar 50mm f&#x2F;1.2 (Osaka trains)<p>- Samyang 85mm f&#x2F;1.8 CS (Caltrain)
  • muststopmyths3 hours ago
    beautiful !