NOTE: This is a VERY long post, but I'd appreciate you taking a few minutes to read it. Some of it gets a little technical, but I have tried to make it as understandable as possible. I also have tried to illustrate the various reasons that I believe the acquisition of this camera might be a momentous occasion, marking the beginning of a new era in the history of pool.
I love slow motion pool video. Put me down for $50. It will only take 149 more $50-contributions to make it happen.
Of course, the number of contributors needed gets reduced significantly if someone "of means" donates $500 or more.
Thank you!
Out of curiousity, how many frames-per-second do you need to do quality slow motion of pool shots? i.e. is a $6,000 camera overkill or bare minimum?
That is a fair question, and deserves a substantial response. So.....
Here it is, everything you could want to know about high-speed "slow motion" cameras, and why I believe this camera will deliver ground-breaking results...
Normal videos, like the ones we see on the internet, are typically shot at 30 frames per second. They are also played at 30 frames per second. Slow motion video is shot at a higher frame rate (for example, 240 frames per second), but played back at 30 frames per second. For the 240 fps example, that means the video will play back at 1/8th of real time. In other words, a break shot that was filmed for 5 seconds would take 40 seconds to watch. This allows us to see what's happening in much greater detail than a normal video would.
I like to think of frame rates in terms of what our human eyes can perceive. Human eyes typically perceive motion at an equivalent of somewhere between 30-60 frames per second. Most TV shows and internet videos are shot and displayed at 24 or 30 frames per second. These "normal speed" videos simply allow us to review what we may have been able to see and understand in real time.
Let's start with a normal video and work our way up to very high-speed video.
For our example, let's say we filmed a simple, straight-back bank shot. As the bank shot happens in real time, we can clearly see that the object ball is driven into a rail, then across the table into the opposite pocket. Not much to it...
If we watch a 30 fps video of this, we'll just be reviewing what we already saw.
If we jump to 120 fps, we might notice the object ball picking up natural roll on its way to the rail.
At 240 fps, we would be able to see how much spin the OB has as it enters and leaves the cushion. We may even be able to catch a glimpse of the shape of the deformation of the cushion at the moment of impact.
At 420 fps, we can start to see things that are basically invisible to us in real time. We may notice a cloud of chalk particles swarming around after the cue tip hits the CB.
At 600 fps, we may be able to actually see the subtly curved path that the OB takes on its way to the pocket.
So far, these frame rates are helping us gain a better understanding of things that we already know are happening from our own observations in real time. They just help us see those things with more clarity.
As we approach 1000 fps, we start to notice things that we were previously completely unable to see, like the OB rising off of the cloth/slate ever so slightly as it rebounds out of the rail.
At 2500 fps, perhaps we could begin to gain a general understanding of how the cue tip compresses as it strikes the cue ball.
At 5000 fps, we could perhaps begin to visualize the difference between a very hard tip and a very soft tip.
At 10,000 fps, we can begin to actually measure the duration of tip-to-ball contact.
At even higher frame rates, who knows what we'll see? To my knowledge, nobody has ever approached the 20,000 fps mark in any sort of cuesports video.
I've shot (literally) thousands of slow motion videos of various pool shots. Some shots, like a simple bank or jump shot, look great at around 240 fps. Others, like the wing ball leaving the 9-ball rack and heading towards the pocket, still defy comprehension even at 1000 fps. In one frame, the ball is tightly racked; In the next frame, it has already moved past the "4th row" ball and is heading towards the pocket.
How does that wing ball get past that 4th ball? We honestly don't know. There are various theories floating around - maybe the 4th ball moves out of the way before the wing ball begins moving, or maybe there is some kind of spin or even compression of the phenolic resin.
The truth is that we simply don't know for sure. There are many types of shots in pool and billiards that remain unexplained (or at least unproven). Just because we may know how to shoot them, it doesn't mean we fully understand them.
My goal is to illuminate the movements, deformities, interactions, and unknown actions that dictate the principles of various types of shots.
So far, I believe I've been able to shed some light on several areas of uncertainty, such as object ball skids, jump shots, masse shots, cue ball reaction to break shots, and collision-induced throw and spin.
However, there is a frontier in front of us, beyond which no scientist or pool player has ever been able to fully comprehend. This 18,000 fps camera certainly won't answer all of our questions, but it will definitely extend the frontier of our knowledge through observation.
About Slow Motion Cameras
Slow motion cameras are special because of their designed capability to record massive amounts of data at very high transfer rates. In fact, most high speed cameras use an extremely high speed memory buffer to temporarily store the information until it can be saved onto the relatively low-speed storage media, such as SD cards.
When this "data pipeline" is filled and maxed out, recording stops. That's why most high speed cameras can only record for short periods of time. There is just so much data that when the temporary storage is full, there is no place for additional data to go.
As a result of this pipeline, there is a trade-off between frame rate and resolution. The faster the frame rate, the lower the video resolution. For example, let's compare the frame rates and resolutions of the two high speed cameras I now own (versus some well-known benchmarks):
Full HD TV: 1920x1080 at 30 fps
Regular HD: 1280x720 at 30 fps
My current high speed cameras:
1280x720 at 30 fps
640x480 at 120 fps
448x336 at 240 fps
224x168 at 420 fps
224x56 at 1000 fps
As you can see, by the time my cameras crank up to 1000 fps, the resolution is so tiny that it becomes hard to see what's even going on in the video. You may be familiar with the term Megapixels as it relates to photography, so let's think of it that way. simply put, a pixel is a dot. The more dots available, the clearer the picture.
High-quality DSLR still camera: ~25 MP
Full HD: 2.1 MP
Reg HD: 0.9 MP
120 fps: 0.3 MP
240 fps: 0.15 MP
420 fps: 0.04 MP
1000 fps: 0.01 MP
Here's what I'm getting at. Even if we were able to quantify something like tip-ball contact duration in the range of 1000 fps, the resolution is so low that it is difficult to even see when the tip makes contact with (and disengages from) the cue ball.
Now, let's have a look at the specs of this brand new high-speed camera that costs $6000. This camera is very flexible in terms of frame rate and resolution, but here are some examples of actual settings that are available on this monster:
1280x1024 at 500 fps
1024x720 at 700 fps
640x480 at 1850 fps
320x240 at 5725 fps
192x96 at 18,000 fps
That means we can get near-HD quality at 700 frames per second, yet with the same camera, we could capture 18,000 frames per second in a resolution that, while not necessarily pretty, would be sufficient for research purposes to accurately measure actual tip to ball contact time, potentially solve the conundrum of the 9-ball rack's wing ball, or even expose some new areas to research.
In addition to the frame rate and resolution, there are some very important factors relating to sensor size, light sensitivity, and lens availability that complement the raw processing power of high speed cameras. This particular camera rates VERY highly in all three categories. I'll save those topics for another time. This is already long enough!
BOTTOM LINE:
I honestly and absolutely believe that if the pool community gains access to a camera like this...
We will be capable of breaking new ground in understanding pool nearly every single day. We could settle long-debated issues, learn brand new, never-before-dreamed-of details of how pool balls deform, and gain incredibly valuable insight into the entirety of the tip-ball interaction.
---------------
I'm telling you, this would quite literally be a game changer.
---------------
Also, the sheer beauty of 700 fps HD pool footage would probably make most of us shed tears of joy when we first see it. Imagine seeing Shane Van Boening's 10-ball break in HD at 23x slower than real time. If that doesn't give you chills, you should probably check your pulse.
---------------
Fortunately, I have everything else that would be required to fully utilize a camera of this caliber. From storage space, to computer power, to video editing and analysis software, to extremely bright lights (see below), to tripods, sliders, jibs, steadicams, and all kinds of other equipment.
But most importantly, I have what I consider to be a fairly specialized level of knowledge and experience. After decades of shooting video as a hobby, I've done forensic-level video analysis for the police department for nearly 10 years, and I derive the majority of my income from producing and selling nature videos (many of which are in SloMo!) to networks such as National Geographic, NatGeo channel, Discovery, BBC America, BBC UK, and even the Smithsonian Institution.
I'm also a pretty good pool player. I'd say A-level on a good day, B+ on average. Although I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be, I am at least capable of shooting extremely difficult shots (albeit not always on the first try!). Check out the slow motion pool playlist on my YouTube channel to judge for yourself. Just search for SloMoHolic on YouTube.
And last but not least, to be perfectly honest, I truly feel like my mission in life is to study, capture, and share the beauty of this game with all of my fellow pool players. I feel like I've been heading in the right direction with pool photography, live streaming, and my current library of slomo videos, but ...
Acquiring a camera like this would basically allow me to fulfill my purpose in life.
---------------
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading this. I hope it wasn't too confusing, but I hope it helps you to understand exactly WHY I am so passionate about this camera, as well as slow motion video in general.
Thank you to all that have voiced your support so far. I would be honored to carry the torch of slow motion pool videos into the next era of knowledge, with the collaboration and support of the entire pool community, especially our pool family on AZ Billiards.
Sincerely,
-Blake Ormand
To see some of my work, visit these sites:
Videos:
www.YouTube.com/SloMoHolic
Photos:
www.BlakeOrmand.com
