Using 72 High-Speed Cameras to Capture Bullet-Time Slow Motion

The Hydraulic Press YouTube channel is already an entertaining (if occasionally painful) watch. Who doesn’t want to see things get crushed and/or explode… in slow motion? But the channel recently took it up another notch by setting up a ring of 72 high-speed cameras to capture some awesome bullet-time slow-motion footage.

The first question that comes to mind when watching this video of playing cards exploding is “… but why?” The answer exists at the intersection of “Why not!?” and “Because we can.”

The video was captured using an array of 72 Chronos 1.4 high-speed cameras set up in a ring above the press. When they’re synced up properly and taking pictures one after the other, the ring can capture “almost 3 million frames per second.” It’s a bit of fudging the numbers, but the point remains: they’re able to capture some mesmerizing slow-motion bullet-time.

Check out the full video above to see the 72-camera array in action… and watch a few things blow up.

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