Category Archives: Science

Announcements, Articles, Crowd Funding, Hardware Development, Media Showcase, Science, Slowmo Samples

SpaceX Rocket Launches Shot In Slow Motion!

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Two brave filmmakers  Ryan Chylinski and MaryLiz Bender used autonomous remote high speed cameras powered by solar power, batteries & placed at SpaceX launchpads to show the stunning power and luminosity of these modern marvels or rocketry.  While you can see some vertical banding in the darkest shots “Probably lack of dark calibration before a long wait” there is no denying that the result is breathtaking. No word on which type cameras were used to shoot this material but we estimate it was at 1080p FHD and maybe a Chronos 1.4.

“We place autonomous ultra-high speed video cameras at the launchpads of SpaceX, NASA, and ULA. These are cameras we position well ahead of the liftoff, design to survive the elements and, since no humans can be anywhere near the rockets, trigger without any interaction. The results are stunning.” Project & Support Link Here! → Continue Reading Full Post ←

education, Media Showcase, Science, Slowmo Lighting, Slowmo Samples, tutorials

Chronos 1.4 Survives 180Gs of Force Strapped on Mower Blade!

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Chronos 1.4 Mower

The Tesla500 Youtube Channel is at it again with an impressive build and experiment. David Kronstein the creator of the Chronos has attached a camera to a specially modified mower and blade assembly to shoot what a lawnmower does directly on the blade’s edge.  The mower was only run at 1/2 speed, to avoid a camera failure, resulted in about 180 G-forces at the edge of the camera.

Needless to say, it really shows how good the camera is at withstanding abuse.  While we do not condone you do this with any camera it is cool to know it can be done and still have beautiful high speed imagery to go with it. Congrats to David for the successful build!   The G-forces involved would kill any living thing with a brain in seconds hence why a camera is a good subject, Please don’t try this at home! Watch the video below: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Media Showcase, Science, Slowmo Samples

Lawn Mower Cutting Grass at 50,000fps is Amazing!

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Destin from SmarterEveryDay has posted an incredible video explaining how a lawn mower cuts grass. It is way more interesting and memorable than you might think. The killer feature of mowers turns out to be the air flow generated by the machine which makes it possible to cut the grass even.  The clip goes into detail on how it works and in an excellent series of clips, shows how it looks like at 50,000fps using a Phantom Camera.  Highly Recommended to watch and subscribe to SmarterEveryDay for more great content! -HSC

Announcements, Development, Hardware Development, Science

4k Global Shutter Sensors From On Semiconductor!

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4k Global Shutter Sensors From On Semiconductor

On Semiconductor has launched two new 4k ready CMOS global shutter sensors with new technology for reduced noise and improved image quality. The parts are geared to surveillance, automotive, consumer devices and industrial applications.  Both sensors are able to do high frame rates at 4k at full resolution.

The XGS 8000 is an 8.8 Mp (4096 x 2160) 4k / UHD resolution Global Shutter CMOS image sensor in 1/1.1 inch optical format capable of 120fps at full 8.8MP resolution. This first one geared for smaller devices. The XGS 12000 is a 12.6 Mp (4096 x 3072) CMOS image sensor in 1″ inch format, supporting up to 90 fps readout at full 12.6MP resolution. This sensor is better for higher resolution solutions. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Articles, Development, Firmware/Software, Hardware Development, Media Showcase, Questions and Answers, Science, Slowmo Samples

Are Slow Motion Camera Days Numbered?

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Slow Motion Camera Days Numbered

Recent advances in computation, simulation, and real-time rendering have become so advanced that some visual effects artists are opting for rendering everything with CGI instead of filming it outright.  In making-off featurettes, we have seen the VFX teams scrap explosions, fluids, car crashes and actor stunts with CGI inserts that offer precise control over lighting, debris, motion, and quality which are all a crap shoot when filming with a real camera.

NVIDIA just released some demos of real-time ray tracing that surpass the best quality renderers of the 1990s with playable frame rates and ambient occlusion that in the right hands could be indistinguishable from many special effects in a film. The new RTX technology in their Volta architecture GPUs can do area shadows, true multi-level depth reflections, refraction and global illumination in real time 30+fps on a personal computer. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Announcements, Camera News, Development, Media Showcase, Science, Slowmo Samples

Phantom v2640 Launches with 6600fps at 4MP!

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Phantom v2640

The folks at Vision Research creators of the Phantom line of superfast high-resolution cameras have unveiled their latest and greatest with the v2640, which takes the line to unprecedented levels of resolution and frame rate combinations. At a maximum res of 6,600fps at full resolution of 2048 x 1952 & 1080p Full HD @ 11,750 fps it makes your eyes water with time detail never before seen.

Of course, as it is customary, the camera is not listed with a price tag but expect it to be in the range of 100k USD if you venture out to get one.  It is still a great deal for labs, engineers and imaging studios but surely out of reach for most lone experimenters.  The sample video shows a water balloon being struck by an arrow at 17,000fps at HD 720p resolution which is mind bendingly cool. We will not list this camera on our guide as it exceeds the low cost threshold by a large margin. → Continue Reading Full Post ←