Despite the numerous digital cameras which now offer high definition recording capabilities, if you want to slow things down for Matrix-like action scenes, you usually have to sacrifice the resolution. There are somewhat unwieldy broadcast quality, high-speed solutions available, but the TS3 Cine from the Fastec Imaging Corporation puts high definition super slow motion in the palm of your hand. The DSLR-sized camera offers 720p resolution at 720 frames per second (fps), but if you do want to shed some pixels, then up to 20,000 fps capture is also possible.
The first thing you notice about the 8.97 x 4.48 x 3.50-inch (227 x 113 x 88 mm), 3.96 pound (1.79kg) TS3 Cine high definition, high-speed handheld camera from Fastec is the huge 7-inch LCD display with on-screen menus to the rear. The device can also be operated remotely over Gigabit Ethernet using a standard web browser on either a PC or Mac for flexibility. There's up to 256GB of internal SSD storage within the machined aluminum housing, which provides long-haul shooting capabilities before needing to offload captured content to a laptop or PC.
In addition to being capable of shooting 1280 x 720 high definition at 720 fps, the camera offers 500 fps at the maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels, and can even speed up to 20,000 fps at the lowest resolution of 160 x 86 pixels. The TS3 Cine benefits from ISO1600 sensitivity for color images and ISO3200 for monochrome, and is compatible with C-Mount, F-Mount and optional PL-mount lenses. It is said to offer three hours of run time between charges, or it can be operated via an external 10-26V DC power adapter.
There's HMDI-out, USB 2.0 and media card connectivity, and images can be recorded as BMP, TIFF, Cinema DNG (RAW), or JPG and video as AVI.
Of course, there are solutions such as the FASTCAM BC2 HD from Photron that can give you full 1080p at 2,000 fps, but they're not quite as portable (and can cost quite a few more dollars).
The TS3 Cine was recently turning heads at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas and will be available from August exclusively from Rule Boston Camera for US$29,900 with 128GB SSD. It can also be made available for daily rental.
Source: Engadget and Wide Open Camera