2000 fps is considered revolutionary?

[Patrick]

I was watching the 84th Academy Awards and took great interest in the section on technical achievements. It was noted that with digital high speed cameras, 2000fps was now possible. I was under the impression that for decades, there have been high speed film cameras that could run at more than double that frame rate. Am I missing something here?

I don't know what's confusing me more from that awards night - the 2000 fps statement or Angelina Jolie's exaggerated leg pose 8O .

[Charlie Blackfield]

According to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_speed_photography
even 25 million frames per second shouldn't be considered revolutionary (and yes, that's film-based - see the chapter under 'Rotating Mirror').

Not quite sure what a camera like this would make of said leg though.

Charlie

[wado1942]

A friend of mine has a 16mm camera that will do 10,000fps. That's the thing about marketing, though. They push the latest technology as if it's some huge step forward when its benefits have already been enjoyed for decades. I remember having a discussion with a director about how digital color-grading makes me nauseous, to which he repliec "yeah, but it's nice having more than just color balance, brightness & contrast." I don't think he realized that optical printers allowed variable color grading within frames, selective sharpening/blur, everything that's done digitally now, but looked A LOT more natural.
In the mean time, I've pretty much given up on video technology. I can't afford the toys that provide decent results and the model is changing way too rapidly. So if I need quality or flexibility, I just shoot film.

[S8 Booster]

If it is a standard "motion picture camera" film or digital which knocks off 2000 fps it is remarkable but for real high speed cams it is no match.

Shoot....

[MovieStuff]

Having done quite a bit of high speed work for miniatures, what makes the big difference isn't just the frame rate. It is the clarity of the image, how steady the image is and the degree of depth of field vs. how much light is required. There are many analytical film cameras that can shoot super-duper high speed footage but the results are incredibly unsteady and typically very grainy as the film requires a stunningly high ASA which is then usually pushed in processing, as well. While perfectly fine for motion studies and other analytical work, these cameras totally suck for any kind of high speed theatrical use. Also, many of the higher speed cameras use a revolving mirror, which adds to the lack of steadiness and, sometimes, lack of image discretion. Also, there is a significant "ramp up" time for high speed film cameras, which severely limits the amount of film available for the actual event to be captured. The new breed of digital high speed cameras can create long takes with unbelievably clear, rock steady images, allow for greater depth of field (important for miniature work) and less grain. There really is no comparison between these new digital high speed cameras and even the best of the pin-registered high speed film cameras.

Roger

[hirudin]

I second this last comment. I did some 16mm analytical work back in the 90s at 4000fps... 100ft of film whips through the camera in about a second... 3/4 of that the film is getting up to speed, last few feet are shattered due to the speed breaking the film, so really you only get about 20ft useable footage, and you have to wait for processing and telecine. High speeds like that is where digital shines. We used 100asa though... Our light source was basically a one inch block of tungsten lit up by a capacitor that stood 3ft x 2ft... Discharge was 2s and Man that thing was bright!

[Davideo]

It was reported last January that researchers at MIT's Media Lab have built a virtual slow motion camera that can capture images at 1 trillion frames per second- fast enought to capture the movement of light. In other words, this camera captures frames at the speed of light. It uses an array of 500 sensors each triggered at a trillionth of a second delay.

The image is 2D, sorry.

[Davideo]

Here's info on the "speed of light" camera from MIT:

http://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/trillionfps/

[carllooper]

Here's info on the "speed of light" camera from MIT:

http://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/trillionfps/

So all we need now is a trillion fps projector to see the results.