Vision Research (company)

Last updated
Vision Research
Industry High-speed digital cameras
Founded1992
Headquarters Wayne, New Jersey
Area served
Worldwide
Products Phantom Cameras: v-Series, Miro Series, Cinema line
Parent Ametek
Website www.phantomhighspeed.com

Vision Research is an international company that manufactures high-speed digital cameras based in Wayne, New Jersey. Their cameras are marketed under the Phantom brand, and are used in a broad variety of industries including: defense, industrial product development, [1] manufacturing, automotive, scientific research, [2] and entertainment. [3] Vision Research is a business unit of the Materials Analysis Division of Ametek Inc., a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices. [4]

Contents

History

Founded as Photographic Analysis Company in 1950, they specialized in high-speed photographic research utilizing film cameras. [5] They applied high speed photography to numerous industries and applications, and designed, manufactured and marketed products specific to the high speed photographic needs of each industry.

In 1992, Photographic Analysis Company shifted focus to designing and fabricating high speed electronic imagers that did not rely on photographic film for imaging. They formed a separate entity for developing digital high-speed imaging systems known as Vision Research Inc. Their ultra slow motion digital video line of cameras are currently marketed under the Phantom trade mark [6] and was granted U.S. Patent #5,625,412 for high speed electronic digital imaging. [7]

Cameras and applications

The Phantom camera family consists of three camera lines and accessories.

The Miro line of small, lightweight cameras is used for mobile applications or situations where size and weight might be an issue in applications such as assembly line analysis, drop testing, particle image velocimetry (PIV), animal studies, bio-mechanical studies and automotive testing.

The Vision Research Phantom v2512, can capture up to 25,700 frames-per-second (fps) at full 1 megapixel resolution, making it the fastest member of the ultrahigh-speed digital camera line. V2512 left side.jpg
The Vision Research Phantom v2512, can capture up to 25,700 frames-per-second (fps) at full 1 megapixel resolution, making it the fastest member of the ultrahigh-speed digital camera line.

v-Series cameras are a broad line of high performance cameras used when applications demand the highest imaging speeds [8] and/or resolution. The v-Series [9] is used in applications such as ballistics testing, military research, [10] engine development, high-speed x-ray video, [11] and medical research.

The third line of cameras are targeted at TV & Motion Picture production for live event broadcasts [12] and new media applications. The Phantom HD, [13] 65 [14] and Flex cameras are extensively used to capture detail in digital cinema [15] and HD television productions [16] and have won an Academy Scientific and Technical Award in 2012 [17] and a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award in 2010. [18] Two Phantom 65 cores are used for IMAX's 3D Digital camera. Vision Research also does custom engineering and specialty cameras for unique applications.

Awards

Related Research Articles

Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the human visual system can do.

Kodak American photographic and film company

The Eastman Kodak Company is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated in New Jersey. Kodak provides packaging, functional printing, graphic communications, and professional services for businesses around the world. Its main business segments are Print Systems, Enterprise Inkjet Systems, Micro 3D Printing and Packaging, Software and Solutions, and Consumer and Film. It is best known for photographic film products.

Cinematography Art of motion picture photography

Cinematography is the art of motion picture photography.

Bullet time is a visual effect or visual impression of detaching the time and space of a camera from those of its visible subject. It is a depth enhanced simulation of variable-speed action and performance found in films, broadcast advertisements, and realtime graphics within video games and other special media. It is characterized by its extreme transformation of both time, and of space. This is almost impossible with conventional slow motion, as the physical camera would have to move implausibly fast; the concept implies that only a "virtual camera", often illustrated within the confines of a computer-generated environment such as a virtual world or virtual reality, would be capable of "filming" bullet-time types of moments. Technical and historical variations of this effect have been referred to as time slicing, view morphing, temps mort and virtual cinematography.

Motion capture Process of recording the movement of objects or people

Motion capture is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robots. In filmmaking and video game development, it refers to recording actions of human actors, and using that information to animate digital character models in 2-D or 3-D computer animation. When it includes face and fingers or captures subtle expressions, it is often referred to as performance capture. In many fields, motion capture is sometimes called motion tracking, but in filmmaking and games, motion tracking usually refers more to match moving.

A high-speed camera is a device capable of capturing moving images with exposures of less than 1/1,000 second or frame rates in excess of 250 fps. It is used for recording fast-moving objects as photographic images onto a storage medium. After recording, the images stored on the medium can be played back in slow motion. Early high-speed cameras used film to record the high-speed events, but were superseded by entirely electronic devices using either a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS active pixel sensor, recording, typically, over 1,000 fps onto DRAM, to be played back slowly to study the motion for scientific study of transient phenomena.

The science of photography is the use of chemistry and physics in all aspects of photography. This applies to the camera, its lenses, physical operation of the camera, electronic camera internals, and the process of developing film in order to take and develop pictures properly.

High-definition video is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for high-definition, generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines or 576 vertical lines (Europe) is considered high-definition. 480 scan lines is generally the minimum even though the majority of systems greatly exceed that. Images of standard resolution captured at rates faster than normal, by a high-speed camera may be considered high-definition in some contexts. Some television series shot on high-definition video are made to look as if they have been shot on film, a technique which is often known as filmizing.

Digital cinematography Digital image capture for film

Digital cinematography is the process of capturing (recording) a motion picture using digital image sensors rather than through film stock. As digital technology has improved in recent years, this practice has become dominant. Since the mid-2010s, most movies across the world are captured as well as distributed digitally.

A Technology and Engineering Emmy Award is given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for outstanding achievement in technical or engineering development. An award can be presented to an individual, a company, or to a scientific or technical organization for developments and/or standardization involved in engineering technologies which either represent so extensive an improvement on existing methods or are so innovative in nature that they materially have affected the transmission, recording, or reception of television. The award is determined by a special panel composed of highly qualified, experienced engineers in the television industry.

High-speed photography Photography genre

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.

Long-exposure photography Photography using a long-duration shutter speed

Long-exposure, time-exposure, or slow-shutter photography involves using a long-duration shutter speed to sharply capture the stationary elements of images while blurring, smearing, or obscuring the moving elements. Long-exposure photography captures one element that conventional photography does not: an extended period of time.

Lucien Bull was a pioneer in chronophotography. Chronophotography is defined as "a set of photographs of a moving object, taken for the purpose of recording and exhibiting successive phases of motion."

Spirit DataCine Motion picture film scanner

Spirit DataCine is a telecine and a motion picture film scanner. This device is able to transfer 16mm and 35mm motion picture film to NTSC or PAL television standards or one of many High-definition television standards. With the data transfer option a Spirit DataCine can output DPX data files. The image pick up device is a solid state charge-coupled device. This eliminated the need for glass vacuum tube CRTs used on older telecines. The units can transfer negative film, primetime, intermediate film and print film, stock. One option is a Super 8 gate for the transfer of Super 8 mm film. With a sound pick up option, optical 16mm and 35mm sound can be reproduced, also 16mm magnetic strip sound. The unit can operate stand alone or be controlled by a scene by scene color corrector. Ken Burns created The Civil War, a short documentary film included in the DVD release, on how he used the Spirit DataCine to transfer and remaster this film. The operator of the unit is called a Colorist or Colorist Assistant. The Spirit DataCine has become the standard for high-end real-time film transfer and scanning. Over 370 units are used in post production facilities around the world. Most current film productions are transferred on Spirit DataCines for Television, Digital television, Cable television, Satellite television, Direct-to-video, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, pay-per-view, In-flight entertainment, Stock footage, Dailies, Film preservation, digital intermediate and digital cinema. The Spirit DataCine is made by DFT Digital Film Technology GmbH in Darmstadt, Germany.

Nikon 1 J1

The Nikon 1 J1 is a Nikon 1 series high-speed mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera with 1" sensor size launched by Nikon on September 21, 2011. It is a new model that focuses on high-performance, portability and versatility. Nikon lists the estimated selling price of the Nikon 1 J1 One-Lens Kit in the United States at $649.95. Released on October 20, 2011, this kit comes with the 1 NIKKOR VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

The Slow Mo Guys

The Slow Mo Guys is a science and technology entertainment web series from Thame, England, United Kingdom created by Gavin Free, starring himself and Daniel Gruchy. It has been described as the biggest channel for slow motion videos on YouTube.

Photron

Photron is an international company that manufactures high-speed digital cameras based in Tokyo, Japan, with offices in San Diego, California & United Kingdom. The Photron FASTCAM cameras are used for capturing high speed images and playing these images in slow motion. Use of a High-speed camera can be found in a broad variety of industries. A few of the industries include: flow visualization, flame propagation, ballistics, firearm studies, material science, weapon development, biological science, biophysics, vehicle impact studies, manufacturing, mining, automotive, and scientific research.

Phantom is Vision Research's brand of high-speed video cameras.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 is a digital superzoom bridge camera by Panasonic. It went on sale in June 2014. It has a 20 megapixel 3:2 BSI-CMOS sensor and Leica-branded 25-400 mm equivalent focal length lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 to f/4. It has a 1-inch CMOS sensor and supports ISO film speeds from 80 to 25600, shutter speeds from 1/16000 s to 60 s and RAW capture, while the lowest physical shutter speed is 1/4000 s. The unit is equipped with five "Fn" function buttons which can be allocated to custom shortcuts.

vMix

vMix is a software vision mixer available for the Windows operating system. The software is developed by StudioCoast PTY LTD. Like most vision mixing software, it allows users to switch inputs, mix audio, record outputs, and live stream cameras, videos files, audio, and more, in resolutions of up to 4K. The software is also capable of serving image magnification (IMAG) and projection needs in many instances, with various configurable external output and display options.

References

  1. Carey, Bjorn (2 July 2013). "Stanford Students capture the flight of birds on very high-speed video". Stanford Newsletter. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  2. Edd, John. "Edd Research group Vanderbilt University" . Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  3. "ShotOnWhat?" . Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  4. "About Vision Research". Vision Research. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  5. Jackson, Sharyn (2012-01-27). "Super Slo-Mo Developed by Jersey Family Firm". NJ Star Ledger. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  6. "A PopSci Fourth of July". July 2012. PopSci. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  7. "Patent 5,625,412". U.S. Patent Office. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  8. Popular Science. "Best of What's New 2011". Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  9. "Digital System Captures The Invisible". R&D Magazine. 8 August 2002. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  10. "Searching for Cleaner Fuel". Advanced Imaging Pro. May 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  11. "Services". www.aimed-research.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-11.
  12. "X-Mo Slow-Motion System used in World Series Broadcasts". Phantom HD high-speed camera, known as the X-MO slow-motion system. inerta Unlimited. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  13. "Technical Specifications for Sherlock Holmes 3". Cameras used to Shoot the Movie Sherlock Holmes 3. IMDB. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  14. "Using the Phantom 65 to shoot "In The Wild"". Phantom 65 used "In The Wild". AbelCine. Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  15. "Watch how this is painstakingly put together". Gizmodo. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  16. "Using the Phantom Camera to shoot Slow-Motion scenes in Sherlock". Discusses using the Phantom Camera to capture slow-motion. Sherlockology. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  17. "8 Scientific and Technical Achievements to Be Honored With Academy Awards". HollyWood Reporter. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  18. Morely, Hugh (2010-11-11). "Wayne Camera Firm Wins Emmy". Bergen Record. Retrieved 20 April 2012.