HIGH-SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY

High-speed photography is the science of taking pictures of very fast phenomena. In 1948, the Society of
Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) defined high-speed photography as any set of
photographs captured by a camera capable of 69 frames per second or greater, and of at least three
consecutive frames. High-speed photography can be considered to be the opposite of time-lapse
photography.
In common usage, high-speed photography may refer to either or both of the following meanings. The first is
that the photograph itself may be taken in a way as to appear to freeze the motion, especially to reduce
motion blur. The second is that a series of photographs may be taken at a high sampling frequency or frame
rate. The first requires a sensor with good sensitivity and either a very good shuttering system or a very fast
strobe light. The second requires some means of capturing successive frames, either with a mechanical
device or by moving data off electronic sensors very quickly.
Other considerations for high-speed photographers are record length, reciprocity breakdown, and spatial
resolution.

Early applications and development

The first practical application of high-speed photography was Eadweard Muybridge's 1878 investigation into
whether horses' feet were actually all off the ground at once during a gallop. The first photograph of a
supersonic flying bullet was taken by the Austrian physicist Peter Salcher in Rijeka in 1886, a technique that
was later used by Ernst Mach in his studies of supersonic motion.[1] German weapons scientists applied the
[2]
techniques in 1916.
Bell Telephone Laboratories was one of the first customers for a camera developed by Eastman Kodak in
the early 1930s.[3] Bell used the system, which ran 16 mm film at 1000 frame/s and had a 100-foot (30 m)
load capacity, to study relay bounce. When Kodak declined to develop a higher-speed version, Bell Labs
developed it themselves, calling it the Fastax. The Fastax was capable of 5,000 frame/s. Bell eventually sold
the camera design to Western Electric, who in turn sold it to the Wollensak Optical Company. Wollensak
further improved the design to achieve 10,000 frame/s. Redlake Laboratories introduced another 16 mm
[4]
rotating prism camera, the Hycam, in the early 1960s. Photo-Sonics developed several models of rotating
prism camera capable of running 35 mm and 70 mm film in the 1960s. Visible Solutions introduced the
Photec IV 16 mm camera in the 1980s.
In 1940, a patent was filed by Cearcy D. Miller for the rotating mirror camera, theoretically capable of one
million frames per second. The first practical application of this idea was during the Manhattan Project, when
Berlin Brixner, the photographic technician on the project, built the first known fully functional rotating mirror
camera. This camera was used to photograph early prototypes of the first nuclear bomb, and resolved a key
[which?]
technical issue about the shape and speed of the implosion, that had been the source of an active
dispute between the explosives engineers and the physics theoreticians.
The D. B. Milliken company developed an intermittent, pin-registered, 16 mm camera for speeds of 400
frame/s in 1957.[4] Mitchell, Redlake Laboratories, and Photo-Sonics eventually followed in the 1960s with a
variety of 16, 35, and 70 mm intermittent cameras.

Stroboscopy and laser applications

[5][6]
Harold Edgerton is generally credited with pioneering the use of the stroboscope to freeze fast motion.
He eventually helped found EG&G, which used some of Edgerton's methods to capture the physics of
[7]
explosions required to detonate nuclear weapons. One such device was the EG&G Microflash 549, which
is an air-gap flash. Also see the photograph of an explosion using a Rapatronic camera.
 A photo of a Smith & Wesson firing, taken with an air-gap flash. The photo was taken in a darkened room, with
camera's shutter open and the flash was triggered by the sound of the shot using a microphone.

Advancing the idea of the stroboscope, researchers began using lasers to stop high-speed motion. Recent
advances include the use of High Harmonic Generation to capture images of molecular dynamics down to
the scale of the attosecond

High-speed film cameras[edit]

Main article: High-speed camera

A 5 millisecond capture of coffee blown out of a straw.

 A droplet is caught with a strobe after rebounding upward.

The exhaust-fan in this photograph was rotating at its full-speed when the photo was taken.

A high-speed camera is defined as having the capability of capturing video at a rate in excess of 250 frames
[10]
per second. There are three types of high-speed film cameras:

● Intermittent motion cameras, which are a speed-up version of the standard motion picture
camera using a sewing machine type mechanism to advance the film intermittently to a fixed
exposure point behind the objective lens,
● Rotating prism cameras, which pull a long reel of film continuously past an exposure point and
use a rotating prism between the objective lens and the film to impart motion to the image which
matches the film motion, thereby canceling it out, and
● Rotating mirror cameras, which relay the image through a rotating mirror to an arc of film, and
can only work in a burst mode.[11]

Intermittent motion cameras are capable of hundreds of frames per second. Rotating prism cameras are
capable of thousands of frames per second. Rotating mirror cameras are capable of millions of frames per
second.
As film and mechanical transports improved, the high-speed film camera became available for scientific
research. Kodak eventually shifted its film from acetate base to Estar (Kodak's name for a Mylar-equivalent
plastic), which enhanced the strength and allowed it to be pulled faster. The Estar was also more stable than
acetate allowing more accurate measurement, and it was not as prone to fire.
Each film type is available in many load sizes. These may be cut down and placed in magazines for easier
loading. A 1,200-foot (370 m) magazine is typically the longest available for the 35 mm and 70 mm cameras.
A 400-foot (120 m) magazine is typical for 16 mm cameras, though 1,000-foot (300 m) magazines are
available. Typically rotary prism cameras use 100 ft (30m) film loads. The images on 35 mm high-speed film
are typically more rectangular with the long side between the sprocket holes instead of parallel to the edges
as in standard photography. 16 mm and 70 mm images are typically more square rather than rectangular. A
list of ANSI formats and sizes is available.[12][13]
Most cameras use pulsed timing marks along the edge of the film (either inside or outside of the film
perforations) produced by sparks or later by LEDs. These allow accurate measurement of the film speed
and in the case of streak or smear images, velocity measurement of the subject. These pulses are usually
cycled at 10, 100, 1000 Hz depending on the speed setting of the camera.

Intermittent pin register[edit]

Just as with a standard motion picture camera, the intermittent register pin camera actually stops the film in
the film gate while the photograph is being taken. In high-speed photography, this requires some
modifications to the mechanism for achieving this intermittent motion at such high speeds. In all cases, a
loop is formed before and after the gate to create and then take up the slack. Pulldown claws, which enter
the film through perforations, pulling it into place and then retracting out of the perforations and out of the
film gate, are multiplied to grab the film through multiple perforations in the film, thereby reducing the stress
that any individual perforation is subjected to. Register pins, which secure the film through perforations in
final position while it is being exposed, after the pulldown claws are retracted are also multiplied, and often
made from exotic materials. In some cases, vacuum suction is used to keep the film, especially 35 mm and
70 mm film, flat so that the images are in focus across the entire frame.

● 16 mm pin register: D. B. Milliken Locam, capable of 500 frame/s; the design was eventually sold
to Redlake. Photo-Sonics built a 16 mm pin-registered camera that was capable of 1000
frame/s, but they eventually removed it from the market.
● 35 mm pin register: Early cameras included the Mitchell 35 mm. Photo-Sonics won an Academy
[14]
Award for Technical Achievement for the 4ER in 1988. The 4E is capable of 360 frame/s.
● 70 mm pin register: Cameras include a model made by Hulcher, and Photo-Sonics 10A and 10R
cameras, capable of 125 frame/s.

The rotary prism camera allowed higher frame rates without placing as much stress on the film or transport
mechanism. The film moves continuously past a rotating prism which is synchronized to the main film
sprocket such that the speed of the film and the speed of the prism are always running at the same
proportional speed. The prism is located between the objective lens and the film, such that the revolution of
the prism "paints" a frame onto the film for each face of the prism. Prisms are typically cubic, or four sided,
for full frame exposure. Since exposure occurs as the prism rotates, images near the top or bottom of the
frame, where the prism is substantially off axis, suffer from significant aberration. A shutter can improve the
results by gating the exposure more tightly around the point where the prism faces are nearly parallel.
● 16 mm rotary prism – Redlake Hycam and Fastax cameras are capable of 10,000 frame/s with a
full frame prism (4 facets), 20,000 frame/s with a half-frame kit, and 40,000 frame/s with a
 quarter-frame kit. Visible Solutions also makes the Photec IV. For a more rugged solution,
Weinberger made the Stalex 1B, which frames at up to 3000full frames per second, and had the
ability to be mounted on board for car crash testing.
● 35 mm rotary prism – Photo-Sonics 4C cameras are capable of 2,500 frame/s with a full frame
prism (4 facets), 4,000 frame/s with a half-frame kit, and 8,000 frame/s with a quarter-frame kit.
● 70 mm rotary prism – Photo-Sonics 10B cameras are capable of 360 frame/s with a full frame
prism (4 facets), and 720 frame/s with a half-frame kit.

Rotating mirror[edit]
Rotating mirror cameras can be divided into two sub-categories; pure rotating mirror cameras and rotating
drum, or Dynafax cameras.
In pure rotating mirror cameras, film is held stationary in an arc centered about a rotating mirror. The image
formed by the objective lens is relayed back to the rotating mirror from a primary lens or lens group, and
then through a secondary relay lens (or more typically lens group) which relays the image from the mirror to
the film. For each frame formed on the film, one secondary lens group is required. As such, these cameras
typically do not record more than one hundred frames. This means they record for only a very short time –
typically less than a millisecond. Therefore, they require specialized timing and illumination equipment.
[15]
Rotating mirror cameras are capable of up to 25 million frames per second, with typical speed in the
millions of fps.
The rotating drum, or Dynafax, camera works by holding a strip of film in a loop on the inside track of a
rotating drum.[16] This drum is then spun up to the speed corresponding to a desired framing rate. The
image is still relayed to an internal rotating mirror centered at the arc of the drum. The mirror is multi-faceted,
typically having six to eight faces. Only one secondary lens is required, as the exposure always occurs at
the same point. The series of frames is formed as the film travels across this point. Discrete frames are
formed as each successive face of the mirror passes through the optical axis. Rotating drum cameras are
capable of speed from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of frames per second.
In both types of rotating mirror cameras, double exposure can occur if the system is not controlled properly.
In a pure rotating mirror camera, this happens if the mirror makes a second pass across the optics while
light is still entering the camera. In a rotating drum camera, it happens if the drum makes more than one
revolution while light is entering the camera. Typically this is controlled by using fast extinguishing xenon
strobe light sources that are designed to produce a flash of only a specific duration.
[17]
Rotating mirror camera technology has more recently been applied to electronic imaging, where instead
of film, an array of single shot CCD or CMOS cameras is arrayed around the rotating mirror. This adaptation
enables all of the advantages of electronic imaging in combination with the speed and resolution of the
rotating mirror approach. Speeds up to 25 million frames per second are achievable,[15] with typical speeds
in the millions of fps.
Commercial availability of both types of rotating mirror cameras began in the 1950s with Beckman &
[16]
Whitley, and Cordin Company. Beckman & Whitley sold both rotating mirror and rotating drum cameras,
and coined the "Dynafax" term. Cordin Company sold only rotating mirror cameras. In the mid-1960s, Cordin
Company bought Beckman & Whitley and has been the sole source of rotating mirror cameras since. An
offshoot of Cordin Company, Millisecond Cinematography, provided drum camera technology to the
commercial cinematography market.
Streak photography[edit]
Streak photography (closely related to strip photography) uses a streak camera to combine a series of
essentially one-dimensional images into a two-dimensional image. The terms "streak photography" and
[18]
"strip photography" are often interchanged, though some authors draw a distinction.
By removing the prism from a rotary prism camera and using a very narrow slit in place of the shutter, it is
possible to take images whose exposure is essentially one dimension of spatial information recorded
continuously over time. Streak records are therefore a space vs. time graphical record. The image that
results allows for very precise measurement of velocities. It is also possible to capture streak records using
rotating mirror technology at much faster speeds. Digital line sensors can be used for this effect as well, as
can some two-dimensional sensors with a slit mask.
For the development of explosives the image of a line of sample was projected onto an arc of film via a
rotating mirror. The advance of flame appeared as an oblique image on the film, from which the velocity of
[19]
detonation was measured.
Motion compensation photography (also known as ballistic synchro photography or smear photography
when used to image high-speed projectiles) is a form of streak photography. When the motion of the film is
opposite to that of the subject with an inverting (positive) lens, and synchronized appropriately, the images
show events as a function of time. Objects remaining motionless show up as streaks. This is the technique
used for finish line photographs. At no time is it possible to take a still photograph that duplicates the results
of a finish line photograph taken with this method. A still is a photograph in time, a streak/smear photograph
is a photograph of time. When used to image high-speed projectiles the use of a slit (as in streak
photography) produce very short exposure times ensuring higher image resolution. The use for high-speed
projectiles means that one still image is normally produced on one roll of cine film. From this image
information such as yaw or pitch can be determined. Because of its measurement of time variations in
velocity will also be shown by lateral distortions of the image.
By combining this technique with a diffracted wavefront of light, as by a knife-edge, it is possible to take
photographs of phase perturbations within a homogeneous medium. For example, it is possible to capture
shockwaves of bullets and other high-speed objects. See, for example, shadowgraph and schlieren
photography.
In December 2011, a research group at MIT reported a combined implementation of the laser (stroboscopic)
and streak camera applications to capture images of a repetitive event that can be reassembled to create a
trillion-frame-per-second video. This rate of image acquisition, which enables the capture of images of
moving photons, is possible by the use of the streak camera to collect each field of view rapidly in narrow
single streak images. Illuminating a scene with a laser that emits pulses of light every 13 nanoseconds,
synchronized to the streak camera with repeated sampling and positioning, researchers have demonstrated
collection of one-dimensional data which can be computationally compiled into a two-dimensional video.
Although this approach is limited by time resolution to repeatable events, stationary applications such as
[20]
medical ultrasound or industrial material analysis are possibilities.