It is likely that everyone has used a camera at one time or another. We have such easy access to cameras that we are constantly using them for things like posting to social media, for creating collages and to make memories with. Although everyone who takes photographs may assume that professional, scientific photography must be easy, it is anything but that. Many do not think about the challenges and the work that is required when scientist or an engineer is required to take photographs. There are many differences from the photographs that an amateur may take with their camera phone.
The photo subject of a scientist or an engineer is often much more difficult to photograph than another human being or outdoor scenery. If an amateur photographer misses a photo of the person, they can simply snap another. However, when a scientist is taking a photograph of an animal or a cell, the photo cannot be duplicated as easily. A slow motion camera is often needed to ensure that every detail and aspect of the subject is captured. A high speed camera can also help to capture these difficult subjects. With most camera phones or even high quality camera equipment, there is a small delay from the time the button is pushed until when the actual photo is taken. This may be too long for the scientist or the engineer to capture what they need captured.
Additionally, the background of the two types of photographers may be different. A person taking photographs of another human will have a sunny backdrop that makes for great photographs. A scientist, on the other hand does not have the same access to the natural sunlight. While regular photography taken in sunlight might work with shutter speeds that are 1/125th of a second, shutter speeds for high speed photography are much faster, as fast as 1/8000th of a second. A phantom slow motion camera provides this increase in shutter speed, which is why many scientists prefer to use a phantom slow motion camera when capturing hard to photograph subjects.
A scientist may also be photographing very small subjects, making them difficult to see, even on the camera. In this case, a 1000 FPS camera or phantom cameras are
needed to capture even the smallest of details. With a 3 megapixel camera, you can take higher resolution picture than most computer monitors can even display. There are many uses for a phantom slow motion camera, especially in science and technology. The first practical application of high speed photography was by Eadward Muybridge in 1878. It was a sequence of a horse galloping, which solved an old enigma, it answered the question of whether horses? feet were actually all off the ground at once during a gallop.
There are many reasons that higher quality cameras that show slow motion and closer subjects are needed. The photography that is used in scientific research and engineering fields requires different camera features than a normal camera has. A phantom slow motion camera allows these close, detailed and quick features that are often needed in vision research projects. Many scientists and engineers have difficultly capturing the subjects they are attempting to photograph. These types of cameras make it easier.
