New Jersey's Vision Research has introduced a new high-speed Machine Vision camera that makes use of fiber optic cable technology to capture 4K video at up to 937 frames per second, or over 52,000 fps at lower resolutions.
The Phantom S991 Machine Vision camera marries the company's Phantom (27.6 x 15.5-mm) image sensor with CoaXPress-over-Fiber technology to enable throughput of up to nine gigapixel frames per second (70 Gbps) at 4,096 x 2,304 resolution in 8-bit video quality, which is the equivalent of 937 frames per second. That can be bumped up to 12-bit quality, but the frame count goes down to 625 per second.
That's not the fastest frame rate on offer here, but users would need to lower the resolution to 2,048 x 16 pixels to achieve the maximum of 52,080 fps. And that falls well short of last year's TMX5010 camera, which can manage a monstrous 1.16-million fps at 1,280 x 32 resolution, but the higher resolution and low latency capabilities could give it the edge.
Elsewhere, the camera's CMOS sensor has a pixel size of 6.75 microns, which is reported to be "larger than many high resolution machine vision cameras" and makes for relatively high light sensitivity of ISO1,600 for monochrome output, and ISO400 for color. Users can also look forward to fewer connection cables – just two optical fiber cable connections instead of its predecessor's 16 copper cables. Interchangeable lens mount options include Nikon F, Canon EOS and C-mount, though the camera doesn't come supplied with a lens.
As with other Phantom models, the S991 may find use in medical research, engineering, manufacturing, science and even cinematography. Vision Research hasn't revealed pricing information, but the camera is available now.
Product page: Phantom S991
