High speed photography (sp photographing a bullet in flight)

[Bakes5]

I'm looking to try out a little high speed stuff. Specifically, I want to photograph bullets or pellets as they are going through things. What equipment do I need to get started?

From my research it looks like I need:

Camera -- I have a D200
Lens -- Not sure the best lens.
Flash -- I have a couple of SB-600's

Flash Trigger -- Pocket Wizards
Pocket Wizard Trigger -- Any ideas here?? Laser trigger? Sound based trigger?

Basic setup would be something like

Dark
Flash near object
Pocket wizard trigger somewhere between the gun and the object

Any info here appreciated

Thanks

Bakes

 

[Matthieu Favre]

I've always thought specific camera were required for these kind of shots.
I remember a picture of a golf ball half crushed by the shot.. it was amazing.
I have the 1/100000s figure in mind.... but I may be wrong.
Good luck

 

[Kerry Pierce]

There are lots of sources for HSP if you look around the net. Joe Wisniewski wrote an article that you might find interesting.
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Nhm4

--
my gallery of so-so photos
http://www.pbase.com/kerrypierce/root

 

[martint_1976]

I have not tried this type of photography before, however I have looked into the "what’s the best way to go about it"; I have added a link or two too some pages I looked at a little while back.

http://www.diyphotography.net/universal_sound_and_optical_slave_flash_trigger

http://www.woodselec.com/strobe.htm

I think the only way you could start to get good results is with a flash and the use of "bulb" as described in the links above.

One thought about BB gun's or the real thing firing bullets, the speed of the BB or the bullet will be very hard to capture on the camera, for instance (if my math holds out, its been a long day!) a bullet with a velocity of 1000 meters a second is fired past the camera and the camera's shutter is triggered right then the bullet will move 12.5 cm's in the time a shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second has opened and closed.

All the best, I would love to see some shots...............

-- http://www.occurphotography.co.uk

 

[Beowulff]

A strobe set on minimum brightness will be able to freeze a pellet from an air gun, but probably isn't fast enough for a rifle bullet. You need an optical or sonic trigger for the strobe.

 

[dannv]

its the muzzle velocity assumption. handguns avg around 1000 fps (not meters) so distance traveled drops by over a third to around 3.8cm.

it would have to be a high powered sniper rifle to get 1000 meters/s...dav
--
don't wait for technology -- it won't wait for you

 

[carl english]

This was done 100yrs ago!! See below.
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/preservation/science/inventions/chpt23.htm

 

[DStan]

I suspect that the SB600 or even an SB800 will not be up to the task as the flash slows down to about 1/1000 sec at maximum power. To speed it up you will have to decrease the flash's power. You will need to get the camera and flash close to the trajectory of the bullet to accomplish this so I hope you're a good shot Triggering the flash may not be as simple a matter as you have to get it to fire at the exact moment when the bullet is in the frame. This probably means keeping the shutter open (B) or at a slower shutterspeed and triggering the strobe alternatively. Of course you would have to trigger the whole affair from the shot. Sounds like a custom setup of gear and not off the shelf.
You do realize I was expecting to see the final picture - lol.
--
Stan ;o()



In the spirit of Occam’s Razor one should embrace the less complicated formulation or simply put, less is more.

 

[chuxter]

Sounds like a fun project!

I'm looking to try out a little high speed stuff. Specifically, I
want to photograph bullets or pellets as they are going through
things. What equipment do I need to get started?

From my research it looks like I need:

Camera -- I have a D200
Lens -- Not sure the best lens.
Flash -- I have a couple of SB-600's

Flash Trigger -- Pocket Wizards
Pocket Wizard Trigger -- Any ideas here?? Laser trigger? Sound
based trigger?

Beowulff and DStan hit it right, I think...

If you try to trigger it with a microphone, there will be difficulties NOT triggering when the gun fires (I'm assuming that the gun will be mounted some distance away and that you wanted to detect the sound of the bullet hitting the target). SO, I suggest that a SS laser diode and photodetector be located in the bullet's path and the signal from the photodetector used to trigger the flashes. That will require a bit of electronics knowledge and construction skills...not much really. I'd suggest a Darlington phototransistor be used to trigger the flashes directly. There will be some delay in the trigger and flashes. You'll have to experiment with how far up-stream the detector needs to be. Use an IR laser, so that the beam won't show in the pictures. Heck, I think an IR LED would probably work too and be much cheaper!

Set the two SB-600s on manual and select the lowest output...that will result in the shortest pulse width and stop more of the action.

Remember that it's only a photo and be safe...don't hurt yourself or your neighbors.

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info
Bridge Blog: http://www.here-ugo.com/BridgeBlog/

 

[sharkync]

There's a guy in the Panasonic forum who does this with an ultra zoom. Very impressive. Here's the link -

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=26448734
--



Photography - One of the few things you can still do legally - sort of.

 

[Bakes5]

Thanks all. I just found another sight that should help.

http://www.hiviz.com/activities/guidebook/eg_title.html

They have everything I need (basic instructions to kits for triggers) to start I believe.

Thanks

Bakes