What is a Slow Motion Camera?

A slow motion camera is one that films in high speed but plays back much slower giving the effect of slowing down time. The technical term for slow motion is overcranking but is most often referred to as slowmo. The term for the camera is 'high speed' rather than 'slow motion', the latter referring to result, not the means of producing it. The greater the number of frames that are recorded per second, the slower the film will look when played back. At 1,000 frames per second (fps) you record things that are too quick for the eye to see such as the wing beats of a humming bird for example.

Some of the things you can do in slowmo include:

• Showing action replays from sports events
• Showing natural events such as a drop of liquid splashing or a bird in flight
• Slowing down activities that require skill so that the precise movements can be closely studied
• Creating artistic effects such as a romantic atmosphere or a stressful scene

If you would like to try your hand at shooting slow motion videos but don't want to buy a digital SLR, it is possible to buy a compact camera with this function. Casio produce a range of high speed cameras in their Exilim range including the Casio EX-FC150 which lets you shoot 240, 420 and 1000 fps and also has a 120 fps shooting mode at VGA quality. At 1,000 fps you can catch movement that you cannot see with the naked eye. The pictures are clear and sharp and there is a High Speed Night Scene to let you take pictures at night. It also has a feature called High Speed Burst which allows you to preview the scene on the monitor in slow motion without actually recording it. When you are ready to record you just press the button and it starts. There are lots of other preset modes if you don't want to mess about with the controls too much.

Also available in the same range is the Casio Exilim EX-FH20 9.1MP which allows you to capture 40 high resolution, 7 megapixel images in one second as well as high speed slow motion video in 30-210 fps, 420 fps, and 1,000 fps.

Check out the whole range of Casio slow motion cameras by following the link.