The Theory of Three-Color Photography
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- Publisher
- SMPTE
- Doc Type
- Journal Article
- Article Type
- research-article
- Abstract
- All methods of three-color photography are the outgrowth of a suggestion made in 1855 by Clerk Maxwell, the illustrious British physicist. The method that he suggested would now be classed as an additive process, since the final reproduction was effected by projecting three lantern-slides in register on the same screen; one lantern being supplied with a red filter, one with a green filter, and one with a Mae filter. Maxwell suggested further that these lantern-slides be prepared from three negatives, each negative being exposed through the same filter that was to be used in projecting the corresponding lantern-slide. An extension of Maxwell's reasoning to subtractive processes leads to the conclusion that the dyes used in the production of the positive images should each be complementary in color to the corresponding taking filter. Despite Maxwell's intimation that his process was theoretically incapable of perfect reproduction, the basic features of Maxwell's reasoning have been incorporated into the commonly accepted theory of color reproduction. The recent progress in the science of colorimetry has made it possible to investigate the relation that should obtain between the characteristics of the taking filters and the colors of the reproduction primaries. Such an investigation shows that the taking filters required for perfect reproduction have characteristics that are very different from those in. common use. The paper is concerned with the. establishment of the conditions that lead to faithful reproduction by any three-color process. Examples of the application of these fundamental conditions are given for both additive and subtractive processes.
- Publication Date
- 1938-10-01
- DOI
10.5594/J08464- Link
- https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464
- Author(s)
- A. C. Hardy
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A. C. Hardy; The Theory of Three-Color Photography, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers ( Volume: 31, Issue: 4, October 1938); SMPTE, 1938. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464
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A. C. Hardy; The Theory of Three-Color Photography, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers ( Volume: 31, Issue: 4, October 1938); SMPTE, 1938. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464
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A. C. Hardy; The Theory of Three-Color Photography, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers ( Volume: 31, Issue: 4, October 1938); SMPTE, 1938. Available at https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464
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<span class="citation">A. C. Hardy; <cite>The Theory of Three-Color Photography</cite>, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers ( Volume: 31, Issue: 4, October 1938); SMPTE, 1938. Available at <a href="https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464</a></span>
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A. C. Hardy; The Theory of Three-Color Photography, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers ( Volume: 31, Issue: 4, October 1938); SMPTE, 1938
doi: 10.5594/J08464
url: https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464
doi: 10.5594/J08464
url: https://doi.org/10.5594/J08464
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<li> A. C. Hardy; <cite id="bib-10-5594-j08464">The Theory of Three-Color Photography</cite>, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers ( Volume: 31, Issue: 4, October 1938); SMPTE, 1938 <span class="doi">10.5594/J08464</span> </li>