Rental Provides Access To High-Speed Camera Technology

Instrumentation specialist Ashtead Technology has added the i-SPEED 3 camera to its rental fleet of testing and monitoring instruments.
By offering the device for hire, Ashtead is making the technology available to a much wider community. Initially designed for industrial applications and ballistics, the camera is now being employed in an enormous variety of applications in which the ability to capture high resolution images and film for fast moving images is important.
Explaining the popularity of the new instrument, Ashtead's Josh Thomas said: "Whilst high speed cameras were originally developed for industrial purposes such as crash tests, TV and film production companies have become regular customers, renting cameras for a wide variety of programmes and documentaries.
"For example, an earlier generation i-SPEED was hired by the BBC to help shoot high-speed footage of insects in the Brazilian rainforests for the acclaimed series Life In The Undergrowth, and more recently Shine TV hired a camera to film choreographed dance routines for Sky TV’s Got To Dance. This enabled the crew to film fast-moving and intricate dance moves in high definition that could be played back in slow-motion, allowing for a more detailed analysis of the routines. Following this hire, the producers commented that they were delighted with the quality, detail and depth of the footage that was recorded.
"We have also witnessed a growth in demand from semi-professional and amateur photographers, looking for the ability to produce high-definition images from fast moving subjects. Much of this work is now appearing on web sites such as YouTube, providing viewers with the ability to see the finest detail of a dragonfly's beating wings for example, or a drop of sweat falling from a sportsman's face."
The camera is able to record at a phenomenal speed of up to 150,000 frames per second (up to 1 second/picture in time lapse mode) and 10,000 pictures per second at a resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. However, despite the camera’s high specification and lengthy feature list, it is still relatively simple to operate and the unit's rechargeable batteries and Controller Display Unit (CDU) improve portability because they obviate the need for mains power and a computer.
It joins a wide variety of video cameras, infrared cameras and endoscopes in Ashtead's inspection fleet and Josh Thomas said: "This new camera offers an enormous array of very powerful features so it is a valuable (and expensive) tool. However, now that it has been added to the Ashtead Technology rental fleet; even those with a small budget can exploit the latest technology."
(LB/DW)