Tag Archives: scientific

Chronos 4k12 and Q12 Hi-Speed Announced!

Krontech the Canadian Hi-speed camera company has released press information for two new global shutter camera releases due to ship in 2024.  While they did excellent work with the Chronos 1.4 720p and Chronos 2.1 HD 1080p slow motion cameras, many users of the platform clamored for more resolution and better image quality.  Enter the new Chronos 4k12 a full 4k Camera capable of 1,397 FPS at 8 bit 4096 x 2160 resolution or at 3840 x 2160
UHD 1,491 FPS.  

To put this in perspective, the Phantom 4k camera does 4k at 1k fps and costs around $80k USD for a starter kit.  This new Chronos camera has some serious punch for the TV, Web, and Film industries that need the extra resolution. We can see many production houses adopting this camera for production without breaking the bank in a compact and fully contained package.  → Continue Reading Full Post ←

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

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

Hummingbird Science Hi Speed on Nat Geo!

Hummingbird Science

The National Geographic Channel in conjunction with  Clark lab at US RiversideDudley lab at UC Berkeley,   have posted a video that shows the process of capturing hummingbirds in flight, feeding, and doing acrobatics all in glorious 4k at 2000fps.  It is probably the most scientifically worthy portrayal of hummingbirds in flight ever to be documented.

The intricacies of flight, hovering and coping with the environmental elements that hummingbirds have to fend off and how they accomplish it are now being deciphered with the help of 4k Phantom Flex cameras in great detail mainly shot by naturalist filmmaker Anand Varma.  This is all part of a recent National Geographic story on hummingbirds here!

Of note is that the video claims might be inaccurate and only be shot at 1000fps which is the maximum frame rate of the Phantom Flex 4k camera. The video claims 2000fps at 4k which is probably a typo.

Footage Information by Nat Geo and the Scientists:

Once, high-speed cameras were ungainly contraptions, difficult to operate and lug into the field. Now they can fit in a large pocket and are as essential to hummingbird biologists as binoculars are. The sheer magnitude of information captured by these cameras can be hard to fathom.

The first attempt to analyze hummingbird flight is believed to have occurred in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. Two German ornithologists secured a camera capable of recording 1,500 frames a second. “The regime was developing the first helicopters,” says Karl Schuchmann, former curator of birds at the Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum in Bonn. “They wanted to know how birds could hover on the spot.” 

In the United States, Crawford Greenewalt had served science on the opposite side of the war effort. A dozen years after the German ornithologists published, Greenewalt picked up the thread of their investigation. His wife, Margaretta, had become interested in bird-watching, and from her, Greenewalt caught what he called “hummingbird fever.” His hummingbird photographs were first published in the November 1960 issue of National Geographic.

Today, Anand Varma continues this legacy by filming hummingbirds like never before: with a 4K camera that is capable of capturing the bird at 3000 frames per second. This behind the scenes video gives a sneak peak into Varma’s process and passion. To read the entire July 2017 article on hummingbirds, click here.

You can see the video here at Nat Geo’s Site:

What It Takes to Film Hummingbirds in Slow Motion:
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/170706-ngm-hummingbirds-behind-the-scenes-anand-varma

This video was based on research done by Clark lab at US RiversideDudley lab at UC Berkeley, and the Altshuler lab at the University of British Colombia. The photographer would also like to thank Victor Ortega-Jimenez, Katie Johnson, Sean Wilcox, David Rankin, Nicholas Donnelly, and Tom Adams. Learn more about photographer Anand Varma and his work here.

Here is one more video from the series that you may be interested in:

See Hummingbirds Fly, Shake, Drink in Amazing Slow Motion Video  http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/magazine/170706-hummingbirds-anand-varma-slow-motion

Schlieren Imaging Slow Motion DIY!

Schlieren Imaging Slow Motion

Sometimes all it takes to embark on a new project is some unexpected inspiration.  On the Incredible Slow Motion video by Veritasium – Seeing the Invisible: Schlieren Imaging in SLOW MOTION we are not only inspired but awestruck by the results of this simple and doable at home scientific experiment.   The experiment allows a camera to visualize the vortexes of gases and temperature differences in the air which serve to create some very interesting scientific experiments and or artistic visualizations.

You will need a Concave Parabolic Mirror like the ones used in reflective Newtonian telescopes, “you may have one lying around from your stargazing days”,  you will also need a small light source like an LED flashlight or single diode and finally a razor blade or similar precise object to cut off the light to the camera on a plane.

The video by Derek Muller goes into good detail about how to prepare your lab experiment and while you may need to tweak it several hundred times to get the best results it should be ready for experimentation without much fuzz and you should be able to try dozens of setups to shoot. Here is a site that helps you make your setup as well!

Seeing the Invisible: Schlieren Imaging in SLOW MOTION by Veritasium:

Schlieren Imaging Slow Motion:

Using a slow motion camera will also allow you to better appreciate the intricate patterns and disturbances in the air at room temperature like your breath or the cool air emanating from a beverage.  Using a small candle in front of the mirror could help you in setting up the experiment so you can tweak and look at your camera’s LCD monitor to perfect the positioning of the setup.

It is of note also that you will need a long lens to zoom into the mirror area and get the coverage of the shot you want.  Cameras that have long reach or interchangeable lenses and do good slow motion are plentiful like the Sony RX10 series ,Panasonic GH5, edgertronic, Chronos 1.4 and Sony a6500.

=&0=& (from German; singular “Schliere”, meaning “streak”) are optical inhomogeneities in transparent material not necessarily visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to produce high-quality lenses devoid of these inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneities are localized differences in optical path length that cause light deviation. This light deviation can produce localized brightening, darkening, or even color changes in an image, depending on which way the ray deviates. First observed by Robert Hooke FRS !

Links to learn more about Schlieren Imaging:

Thanks to Derek Muller from Veritasium for inspiring us all.  You can help support his endeavors at: https://www.patreon.com/veritasium or subscribe at the Veritasium Youtube channel here!

 

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5 Amazing Slow Motion Videos!

5 Amazing Slow Motion Videos

We have to share some amazingly cool slow motion videos we came across recently.  There is continuous production of quality high speed content as the democratization of slow motion cameras is happening. However there is so much content being produced that is sometimes easy to miss.

The videos below are using Phantom cameras or experimental cameras in the mid 20th century capable of 15 million frames/sec to capture the initial fireball of a nuclear detonation. That rapatronic camera used an array of separate camera modules to reach that speed. However the frames recorded only were fractions of a second

1. Our first video is a newly decommissioned nuclear test showing the amazing destructive power of a nuclear test. Learn more about the new footage here and see the rest!

Operation Teapot – Turk 28112 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory:

Explanation of the Rapatronic camera in action:

‪First Milliseconds of Nuclear Bomb Test Fireball‬ pfirsicheisen:

2. German Shepherd Dog running in glorious 4k slow motion with the use of a Phantom Flex 4k camera.

German Shepherd Dog Running In 4K Slow Motion by Warped Perception:

3. C4 explosive test in Super Slow Motion up to 33k fps.

C4 Explosion (33,000FPS SlowMo) by BeyondSlowMotion:

4. Weed Whacker in super slow motion 4k 1000fps.  New respect for gardening tools.

Weed Whacker In 4K Slow Motion – A Different Look At How A String Trimmer Works by Warped Perception:

5. 750fps Phantom camera used to record sharp skateboarding tricks.

Awesome Freestyle Skateboarding (PHANTOM 750FPS SLOW MOTION) – LFTJ #1 by BeyondSlowMotion:

We hope you have enjoyed these videos and if you like them go ahead and subscribe to the creator’s channels below to support their endeavors:

Phantom Flex4K-GS Introduces Global Shutter!

Phantom Flex4K-GS

The Phantom Flex 4k camera has made a big splash in TV, Film and Youtube with it’s amazing 4k resolution at 1000fps with a large S35mm sensor. However the first iteration of the camera only had a very fast reading; but in the end a rolling shutter sensor. This made the camera an option for visual recording only; leaving scientific research at 4k out of the realm of the camera due to distortion.

That changes today with the Phantom Flex4k-GS which offers the option to use the sensor in both rolling shutter and Global Shutter mode which is a first on a camera of this resolution. Now scientists can use the resolution prowess of the camera  to examine minute detail that needs extreme speeds to be recorded.

Phantom Flex4K-GS Main Specs:

  • 9.4 Megapixel resolution
  • S35 Sensor 27.6 mm x 15.5 mm – 31.7mm diagonal
  • 4K at up to 1,000 fps
  • 2048 x 1080 max speed is 1977 fps
  • Super-16mm windowed format at 1920 x 1080
  • Global Shutter (GS), Switchable to Rolling Shutter (RS)
  • Global Shutter (GS): Base ISO 640T Color; 5000T Mono
  • Recommended ISO range GS mode: 1000-1600 Color; 10,000 – 20,000 Monochrome
  • 6.75 µm pixel size / 12-bit pixel depth
  • 8 Giga Pixels/second
  • Full featured on-Camera Control Menu
  • CineMag IV Compatible
  • Choose between Raw and Compressed Recording Formats
  • 10 seconds at 1000 fps, 4096 x 2160 resolution and into 128 GB of internal memory
  • 2TB CineMag IV holds 2 hours of 4K Cine raw playback at 24p
  • 2TB CineMag IV holds over 4 hours of 4K ProRes HQ playback at 30
  • Cine raw and Apple ProRes 422 HQ CineMag recording
  • PCC Cine file conversion to: Cine Compressed, Cine RAW, AVI, h.264 mp4, Apple ProRes .mov, Multipage TIFF, MXF PAL, MXF NTSC, Uncompressed QuickTime, Windows BMP, OS/2 BMP, PCX, TGA, TIFF, LEAD, JPEG, JTIF, RAW, DNG, DPX

One Impressive State of the Art Camera:

One thing you can clearly see is that this camera is not only unique but in a class appart. At 8 Gigapixels/sec it is eclipsing other similar cameras by several orders of magnitude.  Samsung’s recent anouncement of the Exynos 9 8895 has a maximum 1 GPixel bandwidth so effectively 7 times slower than the new Phantom Flex 4k-GS.

The cost is not mentioned but by going by the original Phantom 4k which doing a quick search on Google says $110k starting price.  Sure far from affordable to the common man and many small production studios. But for scientific labs, enterprise and Youtube slow motion channels it seems like a rig of $150k is a sure possibility. Being cutting edge will be costly but you have to admire the image quality and features the Phantom Flex 4k and GS are capable of.

This camera is better suited for the rental market and even then it is far from cheap. Prices quoted on some sites are: Daily Rental $3500 Weekly Rental $10500.   You could get a full featured edgertronic SC2+ for the weekly rental price and get near 5k fps at 720p. However if you are a production house and just need the camera for a day and absolutely require 4k resolution; there is no other game in town.

The examples below are from the original Phantom 4k non GS version for you to see the 4k 1000fps capability.

Phantom Flex4K – “Let me know when you see Fire” by  Gregory Wilson:

Scarlet Macaws Phantom Flex 4K 1000fps by Chater Camera:

Phantom Flex4K Creative Painting UltraHD/4K 1000fps by info123pl:

Phantom Flex4K-GS Rundown from Vision Research:

Built upon the Phantom Flex4K cinema camera platform, the Flex4K-GS incorporates a global shutter with its 4K, 9.4 megapixel, 35mm sensor.  The camera’s 4K resolution results in the ability to capture sharp, detailed images for enhanced measurements.

At its full 4096 x 2304 resolution the camera is capable of capturing 938 frames per second (fps). At 4K 4096 x 2160 the frame rate goes up to 1,000 fps and at 2K resolution the camera can capture over 1900 fps.  The minimum exposure is 5 microseconds.

The main difference between the Flex4K-GS and the original Flex4K is the addition of a global shutter mode.  This enables the camera’s use for industrial and scientific applications where a rolling shutter cannot be used due to possible motion artifacts and the progressive scan behavior of each exposure.  While rolling shutter cameras typically achieve higher dynamic range and lower noise, the way the electronic shutter integrates can create motion artifacts, making high precision measurements impossible.  The Flex4K-GS has the unique ability to switch between global and rolling shutter modes to take advantage of both scenarios.

The camera works with Phantom PCC software or on its own using an integrated control menu. This along with the CineMag IV media lets you customize the best workflow or capture technique based on the subject at hand. The Cine raw format ensures the fastest high-speed capture on set and maximum quality and versatility for post-production. Alternatively, choose Apple ProRes 422 HQ to improve download time, hard drive space and simplify the workflow, while maintaining excellent image quality.

Key Features

  • Full resolution 4096 x 2304
  • Up to 1,000 fps at 4096 x 2160
  • Global shutter (GS) mode, switchable to rolling shutter (RS) mode.
  • Phantom CineMag IV recording media (1TB & 2TB)
  • Cine Raw and Apple ProRes 422 HQ recording formats at full resolution
  • Up to 128GB of internal memory
  • Video monitoring: 4x 3G HD-SDI outputs and one additional component viewfinder port.
  • Optional Integrated battery mount supporting industry standard batteries
  • Lens mount: Interchangeable between Nikon F/G, Canon EF and PL mounts.
  • 2x 12V and 2x 24V accessory outputs

What’s in the Box

  • Power supply
  • Ethernet cable
  • Flex4K MiniBOB
  • Camera ships in a sturdy Pelican case with custom foam
  • Windows-based Phantom PCC software (camera control, image manipulation, download / transcoding)
  • User manual

You can read more and get all the pertinent information on the Phantom Felx 4k-GS at the Vision research website here:
https://www.phantomhighspeed.com/Products/Flex4K-Products/Flex4K-GS