While we’re on the topic of high-speed cameras (and slow motion videos), here’s a beautiful slow-motion video of an eagle owl “attacking” a camera, shot at 1,000fps with a Photron FASTCAM SA2. The new Phantom v1610 camera announced today can record footage 1000 times slower than this.
(via kottke.org)
Here’s an interesting glimpse into what a DSLR’s aperture blades and shutter curtain look like in super slow motion. Specifically, it’s a Nikon D3 shooting at 11 frames per second with 1/4000 shutter speed and f/16, all captured at 5,000 frames per second. What’s amazing is that the shutter curtain moves so quickly that you can’t see the sensor at all, even at 5000fps!
This is what lighting a match looks like up close and in super slow-mo at 2000 frames per second. Who knew the process was so bubbly and gross?
(via Laughing Squid)
Forget throwing water balloons at people’s faces — if you ever get your hands on a super expensive slow-motion camera, tossing around water is awesome enough. Shinchi Maruyama is an artist that photographs hand-tossed liquid sculptures using a Phase One P45 camera and a Broncolor Strobe. He also used a high-speed camera to capture video of sculptures being “made”. The results are beautiful.
When a NASA Space Shuttle lifts off, there’s always high definition cameras carefully placed around the launch site, documenting the launch in high-definition photographs and slow motion videos. Back in April we featured a slow motion video of the Apollo 11 launch in 1969, and now here’s another neat super slow-mo documentary of more recent launches (i.e. 2005). If you have 45 minutes to spare, this video is sure to amaze and educate you.
By the way… during the launch, the shuttle burns 1,000 gallons of liquid propellants and 20,000 pounds of solid fuel every second.
(via Engadget)
Update: Ben tells us that every single image in the video above was shot on film, not HD cameras.
If you don’t have the $2,500 needed to rent a Phantom camera for a day but would like to have super slow motion in your videos, you can fake the effect using special software designed for the task. The above video by Oton Bačar was recorded on a Canon 7D at 60 frames per second, but was slowed down to mimic 1000fps in After Effects with Twixtor, a plugin that allows you to speed up or slow down footage smoothly. It uses warping and interpolation to provide smooth results, avoiding the choppiness that you see when you play normal video back in “slow motion”.
Too bad Twixtor is still pretty pricey — a license will set you back a few hundred bucks. Does anyone know of any cheaper alternatives?
(via cinema5d)
