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1. High Speed Photography

Celebration Of High-Speed Photography
This post is supposed to provide you with some inspiration of what can be done with high-speed photography. It also showcases some truly stunning slow-motion videos.

DIY – High Speed Photography at Home
This guide describes how to capture super fast movements using ordinary camera gear and a little home made electronics. It describes the setup used, the common problems and what can be done to solve them.

Home-Made High Speed Photography (PDF)
Pictures of high-speed events such as popping balloons, breaking glass, and splashing liquids reveal interesting structures not visible to the naked eye. With this guide you can take your own high-speed photos to captures these ephemeral events. A very detailed tutorial.

Quick guide to Simple High Speed Macro Photography
This is a quick tutorial to get you started with high speed photography. There are tons of other resources on the web, but most of them are advanced and require special equipment. This one is simple and basic.

2. Tilt-Shift Photography

Tilt-shift photography refers to the use of camera movements on small- and medium-format cameras; it usually requires the use of special lenses.

“Tilt-shift” actually encompasses two different types of movements: rotation of the lens relative to the image plane, called tilt, and movement of the lens parallel to the image plane, called shift. Tilt is used to control the orientation of the plane of focus (PoF), and hence the part of an image that appears sharp; it makes use of the Scheimpflug principle. Shift is used to change the line of sight while avoiding the convergence of parallel lines, as when photographing tall buildings.

Another, less cost-intensive technique called “tilt-shift miniature faking” is a process in which a photograph of a life-sized location or object is manipulated so that it looks like a photograph of a miniature-scale model.

50 Beautiful Examples Of Tilt-Shift Photography

Tilt-Shift Photography Photoshop Tutorial
This tutorial was produced using Photoshop CS2 on a PC.

Receding Hairline
With very little effort, you can take existing photographs of everyday scenes and make them look like miniature models.

Free Auto Tilt-Shift Photoshop Action
Plug-and-play solution for preparing your photos.

3. Black and White Photography

Beautiful Black and White Photography
One of the most beautiful inspirational posts on Smashing Magazine, featuring over 50 brilliant works from photographers across the globe.

5 Black and White Photography Tips
A short, but useful article by by Darren Rowse, featuring shoot in RAW, low ISO and other techniques. You may also consider reading the articles Key Ingredients for Black and White Images

Black and White Photography Guide
Black and white photography starts before the shot is even taken. In this article you’ll find some quick tips on what to look for to ensure the perfect black and white landscape – e.g. camera settings for black and white photography and what filters are good for black and white landscapes.

Digital Black and White
This site features professional photography articles written by Keith Cooper. It covers black/white-photography-techniques, image manipulation techniques, tools, articles and camera reviews.

The Top 5 Black & White Photography Tips
Five handy tips to get you going in the right direction: practice, focus on contrast, focus on texture, use color filters and more. If you want to learn more about the actual black and white conversion process in Photoshop, see the article 12 Ways to Make a Black & White Photo as well.

4. Motion Blur Photography

45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
A showcase of motion blur photos. Motion blur is frequently used to show a sense of speed. You can artificially achieve this effect in a usual scene using cameras with a slow shutter speed. Also Adobe Photoshop can be used for this purpose, though sometimes images may look unnatural and unprofessional.

How to Capture Motion Blur in Photography
Capturing movement in images is something that many photographers only need to do when photographing sports or other fast-moving events.

Professional-Looking Motion-Blur Effect for Your Images
“In this tutorial we’re going to show you how to create a very popular motion blur effect used in many magazine and various other professionally crafted images.”

Photoshop Tutorials: Create Silky Smooth Waterfalls
“In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, we’re going to look at how to give waterfalls a silky smooth appearance, as if the photo were taken with a longer exposure, which would normally require the use of a neutral density filter.”

Long Exposure Photos
Long exposure can be used to create very interesting photographs. It can be used, for example, to create a bright photo in low-light conditions or to create motion blur for moving elements in a photograph

5. Infrared Photography

40 Incredible Near-Infrared Photos
A showcase of near-infrared photography. Near-infrared images straight out of the camera do not always look good and are usually not as dramatic and beautiful as normally captured images. Hence, a lot of post-processing is done to enhance these images.

Infrared Photography with a Digital Camera
Thanks to digital photography, we can take infrared pictures whenever we please, mix them with “normal” ones and see the results on the spot, tweaking the settings to our heart’s desire.

InfraRed photography
A specialized IR portal, with gallery and forum.

LifePixel
Rich collection of manuals, how-to and do-it-yourself guides.

Beyond Visible
Website about IR, UV and luminescence photography. Here you can found plenty of theory and useful information about IR adaptors for flashlights. Among the resources is a huge collection of links related to invisible light photography.

Infrared (IR)
A gallery with a number of amazing IR photos.

Infrared photography
Huge article with a number of useful links. Nearly complete list of IR filters and digital cameras that can be updated for IR shooting.

6. Night Photography

60 Beautiful Examples Of Night Photography
60 amazing examples of night photography, created by some hard-working and dedicated photographers. Take a look at their websites and portfolios.

The Nocturnes
The Nocturnes is an organization dedicated to night photography. Founded by Tim Baskerville in San Francisco in 1991, it has grown to become the premier source of information and education on night photography, as well as an international community for night photographers.

Lost America night photography
Wandering the deserted backroads of the American Southwest, Troy Paiva has explored the abandoned underbelly of America since the 1970s. Since 1989 he’s been taking pictures of it… at night, by the light of the full moon.

Long Exposure Night Photography
This article shows you how to take pictures of night scenes with no moving objects.

Night Photography by David Baldwin
Night photography of landscapes and architecture.

“Strangers in the night”
How-to guide for night photography with point-and-shoot cameras.

MalekTips (removed due to errors)
Some solutions for avoiding typical problems with night photography.

Learn Night Photography
Quick and dirty guide to defining exposure time for typical night subjects.

Night Landscape Photography
Capture stunning landscape images during the black of night.

7. Smoke Art Photography

Smoke Photography and Smoke Art
A round-up of some of the best examples of photos and artworks where smoke dominates.

Smoke Art Photography – An Introduction
This articles features smoke art photography tips from Stoffel De Roover; it describes the typical setup, important techniques and necessary adjustments for a perfect smoke art photo.

Smoke Art: Professional’s Notes
Personal photography notes from Graham Jeffery that are part instruction, and part a description of his own technique, and a few things that he has discovered along the way.

Photographing Smoke
The interview with Graham Jefferey, of Sensitive Light fame (see the link above), with interesting insights into practice and handy tips and tricks. Learn how to get the smoke right, how to set up the perfect lighting and exposure and how to manipulate images digitally.

How to photograph smoke – Photography podcast
This podcast talks about how to photograph smoke in a professional way. It discusses photographing different types of smoke including incense, outdoor smoke and liquid nitrogen.

How to: Smoke Photography
This simple guide describes a set up for smoke art photography.

Smoke photography video tutorial
Video tutorial on smoke photography.

Make: How-To Smoke Photography
Learn how to create and shoot sculptures made with smoke and how to paint with smoke.

8. Macro Photography

25 Beautiful Macro Photography Shots
A round-up of some truly revealing and inspiring macro photographs which are sure to have you marveling at the world around you.

Macro Photography
How to take close-up pictures of small things, by Philip Greenspun

Introduction to Macro Photography
Set-up and camera settings for macro photography (8-minute video).

Reversing Lenses for Macro Photography
A guide to building a lens for extreme macro shooting.

Woven Shadows
Digital photography video tutorial (48 MB).

Macro photography
A round-up of gadgets that will help you move really close to your subject.

Captain’s European Butterfly Guide
Engaging guide for this special kind of hunting (of course, you can use it outside of Europe, too).

Macro Photography Tips for Point and Shoot Digital Cameras
Most of the articles here are geared to DSLR owners. But they are also useful for macro photography with compact cameras, too.

Extreme Macro Photography on a Budget
DIY extreme macro lens with a Pringles container.

Over the recent months we’ve been presenting various showcases of photography – while many readers hated the showcases, most readers found them inspirational and perfect for a lousy workday’s morning. However, what we should have done in the inspirational posts is not just provide you with some inspiration for your work, but also present useful photographic techniques which can help you to achieve optimal pictures for your designs. And as requested by many of you, now it’s time to correct our mistake.

In this post we present useful photographic techniques, tutorials and resources for various kinds of photography. You’ll learn how to set up the perfect environment and what techniques, principles and rules of thumbs you should consider when shooting your next perfect photo. This round-up isn’t supposed to be the ultimate one – please feel free to suggest more useful articles in the comments to this post.

Among other things, we cover high-speed photography, tilt-shift photography, black and white photography, motion blur, infrared, night, smoke photography, macro photography, HDR, panoramic photography, RAW processing and others. Hopefully, you’ll find many of the listed tutorials and how-tos useful for your regular work.

Extremities from Eli Stonberg on Vimeo.

This Video Was Shot By GoPro.

Gadhafi Killed

Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled Libya with a dictatorial grip for 42 years until he was ousted by rebels in a bloody civil war, was killed Thursday when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his hometown, Sirte, the last major bastion of resistance two months after the regime fell.

Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril confirmed Gadhafi had been killed. “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed,” Jibril told a news conference in the capital Tripoli.

Initial reports from fighters said Gadhafi had been holed up with the last of his fighters in the furious battle with revolutionary fighters assaulting the last few buildings they held in his Mediterranean coastal hometown of Sirte. At one point, a convoy tried to flee the area and was blasted by NATO airstrikes, though it was not clear if Gadhafi was in the vehicle.

Al-Jazeera TV showed footage of a man resembling the 69-year-old Gadhafi lying dead or severely wounded, bleeding from the head and stripped to the waist as fighters rolled him over on the pavement. Witnesses said his body was put on display in the nearby city of Misrata.

Celebratory gunfire and cries of “Allahu Akbar” or “God is Great” rang out across the capital Tripoli as the reports spread. Cars honked their horns and people hugged each other. In Sirte, the ecstatic former rebels celebrated the city’s fall after weeks of bloody siege by firing endless rounds into the sky, pumping their guns, knives and even a meat cleaver in the air and singing the national anthem.

Libya’s new leaders had said they would declare the country’s “liberation” after the fall of Sirte. The death or capture of Gadhafi adds greater solidity to that declaration.

It rules out a scenario that some had feared — that he might flee deeper into Libya’s southern deserts and lead a resistance campaign against Libya’s rulers. The fate of two of his sons, Seif al-Islam and Muatassim, as well as some top figures of his regime remains unknown, but their ability to rally loyalists would be deeply undermined with Gadhafi’s loss.

Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam said he was told that Gadhafi was dead from fighters who said they saw the body.

“Our people in Sirte saw the body,” Shammam told The Associated Press. “Revolutionaries say Gadhafi was in a convoy and that they attacked the convoy.” He said the government head, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, would officially confirm the death, but it was not clear when. Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, the number two in the administration, called a press conference for 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m EDT)

Sirte’s fall caps weeks of heavy, street-by-street fighting as revolutionary fighters besieged the Mediterranean coastal city. Despite the fall of Tripoli on Aug. 21, Gadhafi loyalists mounted fierce resistance in several areas, including Sirte, preventing Libya’s new leaders from declaring full victory in the eight-month civil war. Earlier this week, revolutionary fighters gained control of one stronghold, Bani Walid.

By Tuesday, fighters said they had squeezed Gadhafi’s forces in Sirte into a residential area of about 700 square yards but were still coming under heavy fire from surrounding buildings.

In an illustration of how heavy the fighting has been, it took the anti-Gadhafi fighters two days to capture a single residential building.

Reporters at the scene watched as the final assault began around 8 a.m. Thursday and ended about 90 minutes later. Just before the battle, about five carloads of Gadhafi loyalists tried to flee the enclave down the coastal highway that leads out of the city. But they were met by gunfire from the revolutionaries, who killed at least 20 of them.

Long Island Earthquake

Updated: Wednesday, 01 Dec 2010, 8:06 AM EST
Published : Tuesday, 30 Nov 2010, 12:45 PM EST

BY KATHY CARVAJAL

This new standard measures bat performance and replaces the previous BESR standard. Beginning in January 2011 for NCAA  (college) play and January 2012 for NFHS (high school) play, all bats must be BBCOR certified. BESR (Ball Exit Speed Ratio) is no longer considered accurate enough to determine the actual performance of differing bat models.

Instead of measuring the speed of the ball after it is batted, BBCOR measures the “bounciness” of the ball and bat, or the “trampoline” effect. When a bat hits a ball, the ball actually compresses / deforms by nearly a third at high pitch velocities.

Bat performance is specified by using the BBCOR, which for mathematicians is calculated using the inbound and rebound speeds of the ball:

A pitched ball holds a lot of energy that you can see in the spin and speed of the ball. With solid wood bats, much of that energy is lost as the ball compresses on impact. The batted ball speed gets much of its energy from the bat. With hollow-core aluminum or composite bats, the thin walls “flex” slightly, the ball distorts less, retains its pitched energy and adds to it the power of the bat speed. Hence, non-wood bats hit balls faster.

The loss of energy at impact is what BBCOR measures. The less energy lost, the faster the ball speed after it gets launched off the bat.

A simple way to think of BBCOR is to jump up and down on a hard floor. It takes a lot of energy in your legs to get off the ground. The floor doesn’t help at all. Contrast that feeling by jumping on a trampoline. Even with very little energy from your body, you will still get a bounce because that energy isn’t being absorbed by the trampoline. Instead, the trampoline is flexing with the impact and then “bouncing” back to its original shape, thus launching you higher into the air.

It’s that faster flight that has changed the game of baseball over the last several years. Home runs are far more common today than they were years ago. According to NCAA Divisions I baseball statistics, in 2007 the per-game average of home runs hit was 0.68. That number increased to .84 in 2008 and .96 in 2009. The per-game average of home runs hit was .94 during spring, 2010. The runs scored per game have also increased steadily since 2007 when it was 6.10 runs per game. In 2008, there were an average of 6.57 runs per contest and that rose to 6.88 in 2009 and 6.98 in 2010.²

With a 10-15% decrease in bat performance, the game will be much more “balanced” among all players. More importantly, slower speed batted balls will address some of the safety concerns that have become prevalent in recent years. Both the NCAA and NFHS want all bats to have the same performance factors as the best wood bats. While it may still be cost effective to purchase aluminum or composite bats that will last longer than wood bats, it won’t necessarily make you a better hitter. You’ll have to swing faster and more accurately to get the same results as before.

According to the NFHS, “the new standard ensures that performances by non-wood bats are more comparable to those of wood bats. It’s also expected to minimize risk, improve play and increase teaching opportunities”. They also state “After working with the NCAA and having access to its research, we’ve concluded it’s in our best interest to make this change. BBCOR includes the BESR standard, so we’re actually expanding upon our current standard, which will be more appropriate for our age and skill level.”

If your team plays under NCAA or NFHS rules, you almost certainly will need a new bat. Bat manufacturers have been able to adjust their designs with very little notice. The first BBCOR-certified bats began appearing in warehouses in August 2010 and I have seen a few in high school games this season. Look for the BBCOR compliance mark which will be on all bats that meet the new standard (see below). The BBCOR must be less than or equal to .500.

Manufacturers are modifying aluminum and composite bats to make the walls stiffer. In some cases they are actually inserting a block behind the sweet spot so it won’t flex as much. In other instances they are simply adding thickness to the wall.

The NFHS is currently reviewing composite bats, which is a separate issue. It is felt that they do not maintain their rated characteristics for the life of the bat and that their performance increases the more they are used. Additional Accelerated Break In (ABI) testing is being performed on bats submitted by the manufacturer. With a few exceptions, they are banned at this time. Since the advent of composite bats, it was found that the more they were used the better they performed.  This led to tampering with the bats to artificially accelerate the break-in process and improve bat performance.  To account for this, bats are now tested after various stages of simulated use in the lab, so that a bat never performs beyond the BBCOR standard at any point during its useful life.

The NCAA is currently requiring BBCOR bats for the 2011 season.  Reports are that it has made a dramatic change in the offensive side of the game, similar to wood bat leagues.  The change should take baseball back closer to what it once was before the dawn of the metal bat.

Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution
by Steve Orinick

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION STANDARD
FOR TESTING BASEBALL BAT PERFORMANCE

BAT-BALL COEFFICIENT OF RESTITUTION

May 21, 2009

The following protocol has been adopted by the NCAA and must be followed when baseball bats are submitted for BBCOR certification. To be used in NCAA competition, all bats must meet the BBCOR standard, effective January 1, 2011. This protocol has been adopted as an addendum to the NCAA baseball rules and does not supersede the rules.

This certification protocol follows ASTM standards where applicable. ASTM F2219.
http://www.ASTM.org

Initial Written Notification

To initiate the certification process for all baseball bats that are constructed with materials other than one-piece solid wood, an interested bat manufacturer must send one of the NCAA Certification Centers written notice of its intent to request certification testing on specific models it deems appropriate for testing. This notice, in turn, will be forwarded to the NCAA. This notice of intent must contain a detailed description of all models to be used in NCAA competition, the date of first production, the model number, the bat length and weight combinations of each model to be manufactured, the maximum diameter, the minimum handle diameter, location of the center of gravity (balance point) as measured relative to the tip of the barrel, the nominal wall thickness of the barrel and of any other part of the bat with a wall thickness that differs from the barrel, the ultrasonic setting used to determine wall thickness, and the materials (e.g., alloys, composites, any filling or deadening materials) used to make the product (including, without limitation, any materials used inside the bat and the materials composing and/or contained in the bat’s end cap). Such information will not be confidential and will be available on request. In addition a digital photograph of each model to be certified, showing all graphics that will appear in the final version, will be provided to the NCAA. At that time, a request number, e.g., NCAA-09-0001, will be assigned to the bat by the Certification Center and only those bat models so registered will be cleared for testing. This written notice can be completed in communication with the Certification Center.

Indemnification

By registering a bat, the registering party agrees to indemnify the NCAA (and any other governing body that recognizes BBCOR bats as meeting its bat performance standard), and the appropriate Certification Center for any legal actions resulting from the bat so registered.  

Certification Process

The NCAA requires that a manufacturer supply a minimum of two typical bats of every length class (per Table 1), weight class (per Table 2), and model combination for certification to one of the NCAA’s Certification Centers. The Certification Center will conduct the certification tests as stated in the testing protocol on one of the bats for each length, weight and model. All bats which are sold or otherwise provided for NCAA play by the manufacturer must meet the specifications of the new standard in order to be certified for NCAA competition. If approved, the NCAA will provide written confirmation for each approved bat. No bat will be tested for official NCAA certification without first being registered. Registered bats will be tested for compliance in the order that they are received by the appropriate Certification Center.

Table 1. Length Classes for Bats

Table 2. Weight Classes for Bats Without Grip

A mandatory silk-screen or other permanent certification mark, to be determined by the NCAA, must be clearly displayed on the barrel end of the bat. This process will be announced in the final version of the protocol. The manufacturer may use the certification mark in descriptive materials (such as catalogs) to identify bats that comply with this testing standard, but may not make other use of the mark. Use of the certification mark to advertise or promote the sale or distribution of bats is expressly prohibited.  This certification mark does not need to be on the bat submitted for BBCOR certification testing.

In the event that all bats submitted for testing become damaged and/or unusable for testing, the manufacturer will be notified by the Certification Center and requested to submit at least two more bats for certification. The certification of that length, weight and model combination will then go to the next open position in the certification queue, i.e., end of the line, upon receipt of the new bats.

All bats may be returned at the expense of the manufacturer except for the tested bat that showed the model/length/weight combination to be in compliance with the NCAA standard and one untested bat for record-keeping purposes.  Bats that are returned to the manufacturer cannot be resubmitted for certification. The retained bats will be stored in a secure area and only Certification Center personnel will have access to the area. The manufacturer will be assured by the NCAA that the design of its bat is protected.  

Test Results

The Certification Center will provide the NCAA in writing with the test results of each length and weight combination for each model submitted by the manufacturer for certification.  The NCAA will then forward the test results to the manufacturer. If a bat is submitted for testing by a sponsor other than the manufacturer, the Certification Center will provide the test results in writing to the NCAA, and the NCAA will forward those results to the sponsoring party. If a bat submitted by a sponsor other than the manufacturer fails the certification test, copies of the test results will also be provided in writing to the manufacturer.

Upon request, copies of all data for every hit will be supplied in confidence to the NCAA and to the test sponsor. If a bat that has been submitted for testing by a sponsor other than the manufacturer fails the certification test, copies of all data files will also be supplied to the manufacturer upon request. The original data will be filed in digital form at the Certification Center and in digital form at an off-site location. The test data belong to each test sponsor (and the manufacturer, if the test sponsor is not the manufacturer and the bat fails the certification test) for internal purposes only and will be kept confidential by the Certification Center and the NCAA unless otherwise provided herein. The NCAA will retain the right to announce publicly that a bat has failed the certification or compliance test.

Manufacturers may, at their discretion, disclose the results, including test data, of testing on bats that they have manufactured. If a manufacturer discloses such information, however, the NCAA may make any additional disclosure of information from the same test that it deems appropriate.

Testing Expenses

All of the expenses to conduct the testing at the Certification Center will be funded by the manufacturer or test sponsor for which certification testing will be conducted. All manufacturers should work directly with the appropriate Certification Center regarding the testing expenses.  

Proof of Certification

Only baseball bats that display an official NCAA certification mark on the bat signifying compliance with the NCAA’s bat performance standard are allowed in regular-season and post-season competition. Solid bats constructed from a single piece of wood are allowed for NCAA competition without being tested for NCAA bat standard compliance.  

Compliance with the Performance Standard

The NCAA will conduct discretionary periodic testing of certified baseball bats at its expense to ensure compliance with the standard. This testing is intended to fairly sample the bats used in NCAA play at the time of the testing. Bats may be obtained from dealer stock and/or field service. Teams that provide field-service bats for compliance testing will be reimbursed by the NCAA for the costs of those bats. If any nonconforming bats are identified, the NCAA will notify the manufacturer in writing of its findings. A bat length, weight and model combination will not be declared nonconforming unless three different bats with that length, weight and model combination have failed the compliance testing. The manufacturer will be given the opportunity to review the compliance report and will be allowed an appeal in writing of the findings to the NCAA within fourteen (14) days upon receipt of the notice of findings. This right to appeal will include a right to retest the bat or bats in question at the manufacturer’s expense and the results of any retest will be provided to the NCAA who will, in turn, forward the results to the manufacturer. Once any retesting is complete, the rules committee will act on the appeal and notify the manufacturer of its decision within seven (7) days. The NCAA reserves the right to perform compliance testing at the Certification Center and/or other independent laboratories at its discretion.

Manufacturer Right to Submit a Competitor’s Bat for Compliance

Manufacturer A is permitted to submit Manufacturer B’s bat for testing in accordance with the section above titled Compliance with the Performance Standard, and Manufacturer A pays for all of the testing associated with the compliance investigation regardless of the outcome. If Manufacturer B’s bat does not comply, then the Certification Center will notify the NCAA, and the NCAA will take appropriate steps for noncompliance as described above. The same appeal procedures as described above will apply in this circumstance, and the test sponsor will be entitled to the results of any retest and appeal. The results of the test (including all test data) will be shared with the NCAA and the test sponsor (Manufacturer A) in the manner described above. If the bat fails the compliance test, the test results will also be shared with the Manufacturer B. The compliance bat must be officially registered before any compliance testing can commence at the Certification Center.  This registration can be done through the Certification Center. At that time, a request number, e.g., NCAA-C-09-0001, will be assigned to the bat by the Certification Center and only those bat models so registered will be cleared for compliance testing.  A copy of this registration will be forwarded to the NCAA.

Penalty for Modification of Bat after It Leaves the OEM

A manufacturer will not be held responsible for noncompliance in the event that an aftermarket party alters the bat in any manner. The NCAA will deal directly with the team that collaborated with the aftermarket party. The manufacturer should make a best effort to produce a tamperproof bat, e.g., no screw-off end cap.  

Testing Protocol

This protocol is based on ASTM F2219, Standard Test Methods for Measuring High-Speed Bat Performance. (http://www.ASTM.org)

Bat Preparation Procedures

1. Record model and measure and record Length (L) in inches and Weight (W) in ounces.
2. Draw circumferential lines at 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in. from the tip of the barrel and a longitudinal axis line; measure and record the diameter at these locations.
3. Mark a line 4 in. from the base of the knob and attach clamp to ensure rotation about 6 in. from the base of the knob.
4. Measure and record Weight Moment of Inertia relative to the pivot location (I), Weight, and Balance Point relative to the knob (BP) according to ASTM F2398, Test Method for Measuring Moment of Inertia and Center of Percussion of a Baseball or Softball Bat.

Minimum MOI Rule

The baseball bat must have an MOI about the point 6 inches from the base of the knob greater than or equal to the value identified in Table 3 for the associated length class.

Table 3. Minimum Allowable Moment of Inertia (I)
for Associated Length Class

Testing System

Ball Cannon:

The device must have a muzzle velocity of at least 150 mph. The ball will not have a spin rate in excess of 10 rpm. Cannon exhaust air must not cause motion of the bat in the absence of an impact. The ball cannon can be any distance from the impact location, as long as it can meet the ball aim requirements. (ASTM F2219-05, 5.2.1)

Ball Speed Gate:
A light trap device, or an equivalent, is required that can measure a sphere traveling in excess of 150 mph with an accuracy of 1.5 mph. The device will measure across a length of no less than half the ball diameter to avoid centering error. The first sensor will trigger when the incoming ball is no more than 18 in. from the bat surface. A second sensor will be located 6 in. from the first sensor in the direction of the bat, and a third sensor will be located 6 in. from the second sensor in the direction of the bat. The distance between the sensors must be maintained within +/- 0.005 in. Light sensors 1 and 3 will be those identified in ASTM F2219-05, 5.2.2. The device must also be able to measure the ball rebound speed using the same sensors. This requires the device to reset and to arm quickly enough to capture the ball traveling back through the speed gates. The data acquisition software will calculate the ball speed from each pair of sensors: 1 and 2, 1 and 3, and 2 and 3.

Bat Pivot Support:
The bat pivot support shall conform to ASTM F2219.

Baseball Preparation

The baseballs used in testing shall be the official NCAA championship baseball and will have a mass of 145.4±2.0 g.  Each ball shall be impacted at a speed of 136±2 mph at the 6-in. location (as measured from the tip of the barrel) of the Standard Bat[1] for one valid impact.  The BBCOR, e, associated with this one valid impact shall be calculated to three decimal places using Eqs. 1 and 2.    

                                                                                 (1)

where,

                                                                        (2)

and where, m is the mass of the ball in ounces; v_I (sensors 1 to 3 measurement) and v_R (sensors 3 to 1 measurement) are the ball inbound and rebound speeds, respectively; z, measured in inches from the barrel end of the bat and the other variables are properties of the bat obtained during the Bat Preparation Procedures.  The correction factor, C_ball, for each baseball is given by Eq. 3 and the value and date will be recorded on the baseball.

                                    C_ball = 0.528 – e                                                                                       (3)

Bat Testing Procedure

• Mount the bat into the grip such that the proximal end of the knob is 6 in. from the axis of rotation. The grip material may consist of a compliant material placed between the vee clamps and the bat to allow for the rotation of the bat in the grip between hits. The grip material will be uniform from test to test.
• Select a baseball from the lot which has fewer than 20 previous impacts and which has not already been used within the hour.  Measure the weight to ensure that it is in the acceptable range (145.4±2.0g.), and record the weight and the date on the ball. Then mark the ball with and “x” on the side of the ball that is to be impacted.  No ball shall be impacted more than five (5) times per ear. 
• Load the selected test ball in ball cannon. Load the ball so that its impact with the bat will occur between the stitches of the ball and on the side that the “x” was marked.
• The ball impact must be centered vertically and horizontally on the bat diameter at the desired impact location z, measured in inches from the barrel end of the bat.
• Set the ball cannon to fire the ball at the desired impact speed of V_Contact ± 2 mph into the bat that is at rest until impact as calculated using Eq. 4 for each impact location z, measured in inches from the barrel end of the bat.

                                             (4)

• Verify proper bat alignment by observing the rebound path of the ball after impact with the bat. The ball should rebound directly back towards the cannon, retracing its impact trajectory within ±5^o. (ASTM F2219)

• A valid hit will require the inbound-speed measurements from sensors 1-2 and 2-3 to differ by no more than 2 mph, and similarly, the rebound-speed measurements of sensors 3-2 and 2-1 to differ by no more than 1 mph.

• All bat axial positions are measured with respect to the distance from the tip of the barrel. Raw data inbound and rebound speeds are to be recorded with testing to commence at the 6.0-in. position. Bat profiling will continue with hits at the 5.0-in., then the 7.0-in. positions. The testing will continue with hits at additional points using 0.5-in. and/or 1.0-in. increments at the discretion of the certification personnel until the sweet-spot location is isolated. 
• Six (6) consecutive valid impacts are to be recorded at each of the bat-axis impact locations. Consecutive valid readings will be determined without regard to any interspersed invalid readings; thus, for example, four valid readings, followed by an invalid reading, followed by two valid readings will be considered six consecutive valid readings. The total number of hits may vary from bat to bat. 
• Bats will be impacted appropriate to their intended use in the field.  For example, non-wood bats with a traditional design will be rotated in 1/4- or 3/8-turns or randomly prior to each hit to ensure quasi-even exposure to impacts. Wood bats will be rotated 180^o prior to each hit or not rotated at all according to standard wood-bat usage, i.e., label up and label down.  Bats that are designed to have a specified hitting area such that the same side of the bat always faces the pitcher will not be rotated. 
• The NCAA reserves the right to impact other rotations/locations.
• Alignment of the bat will be checked before each hit.

Performance Calculations

Bat performance is specified by using the BBCOR (Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution), which is calculated using the inbound and rebound speeds of the ball:

                                                               (5)

where v_I (sensors 1 to 3 measurement) and v_R (sensors 3 to 1 measurement) are the ball inbound and rebound speeds, respectively, r is calculated using Eq. 2, and C_ball is the measured correction factor for each baseball given in Eq. 3.

The BBCOR will be the average of six (6) valid hits at the maximum BBCOR location. If at any time during the certification process, the average of six (6) valid hits at an impact location exceeds the limiting BBCOR, then testing is halted and the bat is noncompliant for NCAA competition. Prior to completion, the test sponsor may exercise the option to continue the test. [2]

Maximum BBCOR Rule

The baseball bat must have a BBCOR less than or equal to 0.500.

Length-to-Weight Unit Differential

The length-to-weight unit differential of each non-wood bat cannot exceed three (3.000) units without the grip. Each length-class and weight-class combination of a particular model must be certified for compliance.

Bat Surface

The surface of the bat tested for certification must be the same as that of the production bat model which it represents and may exclude graphics.

Bat Diameter

The barrel diameter will be no greater than 2.625 in. A bat ring, 1-in. long and greater than ¼-in. thick with a maximum interior diameter of 2.657 +0.001/-0.005 in. must pass completely over the length of each bat prior to and after each hit or the bat will be noncompliant and testing will be halted. The test may be continued at the request and expense of the test sponsor.

Conditioning

Baseballs will be stored in the environmental conditions of 72±4 ºF and 50±10% relative humidity until their weight change over a 24-hour period is less than 0.1% before being used for testing.  The baseballs will continue to be stored at these environmental conditions during their useful life for testing. Wood bats will be stored in these same environmental conditions for at least 24 hours prior to testing. Non-wood bats will be stored at these conditions for at least two hours prior to testing. Testing will take place in an environmentally controlled room with a temperature of 72±4 ºF and a relative humidity between 20 and 60%. (ASTM  F2219.)

External Observers

Manufacturer attendance is optional. Outside observers representing the organization that submitted the bat for testing may be present, but must follow the directions of the certification operators.

Summary of Pass-Fail Criteria

1. The bat must meet the size and weight specifications.
2. There are no tolerances for length-weight differences (no greater than three units without the grip) or for maximum barrel diameter.
3. The bat must have an MOI (6 in. from the base of the knob) greater than or equal to the minimum allowable for the bat’s length class.
4. The bat ring must pass over the entire length of the bat before and after every hit.
5. The BBCOR, as determined from an average of six (6) consecutive valid hits at the maximum BBCOR location described above, must not exceed 0.500.

Cosmetic Changes

Model numbers of certified bats may be changed by the manufacturer. For the new model to be entered on the list of certified bats, the manufacturer must register the new bat model and submit the new graphics digitally. This written notice can be completed by registering with the Certification Center.

Additional Testing

The NCAA and its testing agencies reserve the right to conduct additional testing on any bat submitted for testing at the expense of the NCAA or the testing agency.

Revisions

The NCAA will revise the protocol as needed and reserves the right to change the test equipment, test location and the testing personnel. The NCAA will announce in a timely manner any future changes to the rules or protocol as well as any amendments to the protocol.

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