Golf Project Cameras

Table of Contents

Objective

To meet the goals of the project, a high speed camera was used to capture the golf ball at high speeds. It was important to capture the golf ball at high speeds and capture a number of frames to get data that could be used. An average dSLR would not be able to capture the camera at high speeds and would capture a blur of the ball.

The video footage collected would later be used for the tracking software. Since the cameras selected did not have a virtual connection with the computer, the collecting and exporting had to be two different tasks.

More information on the specifics of a high speed camera can be found on the High Speed Camera page.

Sony DSC-RX100M7

An example of a high speed camera is the Sony DSC-RX100M7 which was used for the golf project. The fastest shutter speed for this camera is 1/32,000 of a second [1]. As well, it has a wide aperture of F2.8 allowing for more light to enter. Other brands and models may offer different speeds and technical features, such as different aperture size and fast shutter speed.

When the camera was used, the background was considered to be as simple as possible and have the golf ball in frame. When the golf ball is hit, it would go across the frame in it's parabolic shape or linear shape if it rolls on the ground.

The challenge with this camera was the frame speeds. The fastest it could go is 120 frames per second.

An image of the golf ball from the high speed camera from our project

Krontech Chronos Camera

This camera was able to take photos at a frame speed of 1,000 frames per second which is considerably faster.

There were some noticeable things upon using the camera. First, it was more difficult to use, as it was not an unconventional camera. Second, the lens was prime and could not be zoomed in or out. Third, it had a faster frame speed. This is expanded in the comparison table below.

An image of the golf ball from the Chronos camera

Comparison of the Two Cameras

In the end, both cameras offer different benefits and disadvantages for the golf project. The limitations of both cameras were looked into.

A summary table of the two can be seen below:

Feature	Sony High Speed Camera	Krontech High Speed Camera
Frame Speed	Collects up to 120 frames per second	Collects more frames in a matter of a seconds: up to 10,000 fps
Shutter Speed	32,000 of a second	Up to 100,000 of a second
Range of View	Zoom offers wider and more zoomed in capabilities to capture more of the golf ball trajectory With zoom lens, can adjust easily. Zoom offers wider and more zoomed in capabilities to capture more of the golf ball trajectory	It is a prime lens with no zoom capabilities.
Battery		Needs to be powered most times, as the power is lost quick
Video saving	Video saves right away once it is taken. It takes a few seconds before the next video can be taken	Slow save times (40 fps)
Download Times	Both cameras can have the SD cards removed and download

References

Contributors:

User	Last Update
Lesley Lang	1073 days ago
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Former user (Deleted)