Looking For A High Speed Camera

[Kyle96]

I'm really interested in purchasing a high speed camera that can record in at least 1000-2500 FPS. My budget is around $1500-$2000. I haven't really ever purchased a real nice camera besides some cheap $200 walmart camera that I got a while back. I just need some suggestions because I don't even know where to start:meh:. Thank you

-Kyle

 

[Overread]

At 1000FPS I think you are well into slow motion video cameras at that speed - certainly something very limited in market and high in price.

From the DSLR world I don't know of any that can boast a shutter speed that fast - nothing even comes close. Out of interest why do you need such a blazingly fast shutter speed? If its for something like bullet shots then the more common setup is a regular DSLR combined with a highpowered flash unit (these are again more expensive and limited in market) - the flash putting out a highpowered burst of light that freezes the single motion at a split second, whilst the DSLR is set to expose so that only the parts lit by the flash will register on the exposure (done by selecting settings that would otherwise give a black shot without the flash light being added).

All setup to trigger off sound sensors (or IR beams).

 

[Kyle96]

At 1000FPS I think you are well into slow motion video cameras at that speed - certainly something very limited in market and high in price.

From the DSLR world I don't know of any that can boast a shutter speed that fast - nothing even comes close. Out of interest why do you need such a blazingly fast shutter speed? If its for something like bullet shots then the more common setup is a regular DSLR combined with a highpowered flash unit (these are again more expensive and limited in market) - the flash putting out a highpowered burst of light that freezes the single motion at a split second, whilst the DSLR is set to expose so that only the parts lit by the flash will register on the exposure (done by selecting settings that would otherwise give a black shot without the flash light being added).

All setup to trigger off sound sensors (or IR beams).

Yes I am into slow motion cameras, I'm sorry that I didn't verify that. I would use the camera to record various things in slow motion. Such a eggs getting shot with BB guns, water balloons getting shot at.

 

[Overread]

Well without going super specialist there are DSLR setups that can do BB guns and ballons:
STOP SHOT - Cross Beam Sensor - Ballistics

That setup combined with a regular DSLR is one approach. You can go further and add your own custom shutter to the front of the DSLR for even more motion stopping power (there is a guide on that site somewhere which details or links to the guide based on a custom external shutter). That would be, I think, the most affordable setup to get the kind of shots you want, there are also some highspeed flash options, eg High Speed Flash Products Pro which you can try as well.

Each setup is going to be costly though and you'll want to do a fair bit of research into things. You might want to head over to flickr and give Linden a mail note to ask about it:
Flickr: linden.g's Photostream
he's a friendly chap and quite willing to share details of setups he has used; he is one of the people who has worked with the stackshot site and or two of their articles and photos are from his work.

 

[Josh66]

You may get more replies on a forum more dedicated to video.

"Film Discussion and Q&A" refers to film as in still photography, not film as in motion pictures...

 

[Kyle96]

You may get more replies on a forum more dedicated to video.

"Film Discussion and Q&A" refers to film as in still photography, not film as in motion pictures...

Sorry I'm new here, should have looked a bit closer.

 

[djacobox372]

Your budget and aspirations are at odds with each other. Cameras capable of 1000 fps are so far out of your price range it's comical

 

[Josh66]

You may get more replies on a forum more dedicated to video.

"Film Discussion and Q&A" refers to film as in still photography, not film as in motion pictures...

Sorry I'm new here, should have looked a bit closer.

We actually seem to get that a lot... New members asking video questions in the film section...

 

[GeneralBenson]

Your budget and aspirations are at odds with each other. Cameras capable of 1000 fps are so far out of your price range it's comical

Correct! The Phantom HD Gold shoots 1,050 fps at 1080p, and costs $50,000. The Phantom Flex shoots 2,564 fps and is closer to $150,000.

Do you want to shoot high speed video, or just do high speed single shots? If you just want single shots of really fast things, go with the IR beams or sound sensor setups like described above. If you want to do high speed video at that level, you need 100 times the budget you have in mind.

There's a program called Twixtor which is a high speed simulation video plugin for Final Cut or Premiere Pro, which interpolates extra frames to create slow motion. But the more you slow it down, the more crazy artifacts you get. If you could record at 60fps or 120 fps, then you could get closer to 240-480 fps, but still no where near 1,000 or 2,500.

 

[Village Idiot]

There's a consumer camera that has an big FPS count for the price. I don't know if it's panasonic or what, but I'll go do a search. A photog friend of mine works in a lab around Baltimore and he says they have one he plays with on occasion.

 

[Village Idiot]

Casio:

Best, Point & Shoot, Compact, High Speed, GPS, Digital Camera | Casio Digital Imaging

 

[Stradawhovious]

Casio:

Best, Point & Shoot, Compact, High Speed, GPS, Digital Camera | Casio Digital Imaging

Assuming it's high speed video you are after, and not high speed photography....

I've got one of these (the cheaper models EX-FS10), and if you are just looking to make videos for yourself to enjoy, it works pretty good. I think I paid $150 for it through Best Buy.

Here are a couple videos I've done for funsies.