Image-dex
An Image-dex is a web page allowing a user to see and/or select an individual image from many images.
History
In the early days of photography, a photographer would have to pre-load film holders for use in a camera. The holders were then placed into a camera one at a time. The photographer would have to manually remove a holder 'dark' slide and then the lens cap to expose the film to the object to be photographed. Film holders typically hold two sheets of film (4x5 to 12x20 inches each), so the photographer could take two photographs per holder. (The photographer would often hire an assistant to handle the holders to ensure that each negative was exposed but not double exposed.)
With the advent of 120mm [Note 1] and 35mm [Note 2] roll-style cameras, photographers could take many photographs more quickly during a single photoshoot before needing to change film rolls.
In a photographic darkroom, a darkroom technician would have the job of using a distinctive blend of chemicals (hydroquinone, acetic acid, sodium carbonate, phenidone, and ammonium thiosulfate) to process the exposed film into photographic negatives. The negative image would be exposed (using a photographic enlarger) to chemically treated paper to produce finished photographs suitable for display. (This can be a costly, time-consuming, and potentially hazardous process.)
In the case of 35mm roll film, the individual frame size is approximately 1.4 inches making the direct viewing of negatives difficult. An 8x10-inch contact sheet of all frames from the roll would be made in the darkroom so that the photographer and/or client, using a magnifying glass, could choose which images would be cropped, enlarged or further processed for later use. Contact sheets are a simple way for the photographer and client to review the shortlist and select the final images for the project. It's a huge time saver for everyone involved.
Today, digital cameras still use the 35mm and 60mm film size formats, but the images are stored digitally in one of several formats on microchips inside the camera. A Canon D-10 digital camera can record over one thousand images on a single flash drive memory chip.
As you can imagine, paging through that many images becomes nearly impossible.
- Slide-show software allows the viewer to preview images one at a time.
- An Image-dex is similar to a photographic contact sheet and allows the viewer to page through the images in a side-by-side view, typically 24 to 100 at a time.
Image-dex's are also invaluable when trying to search or compare many images. A text list of articles requires the user to open each article to determine suitability, while an image-dex gives the user a chance to pre-qualify a search filter and discard unwanted articles.
Notes
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