Cameras
DIY Discovery Channel: Casio EX-F1 Slow-Mo Cam In My Backyard
Posted by Wilson Rothman at 12:00 PM on April 23, 2008
Tomato violence only marks the beginning of my love affair with the Casio's Exilim EX-F1, aka the Hiro Nakamura supercam. It's crazy addictive. Last weekend I went looking for fast-moving objects to capture in slow-mo, and in my backyard I came up with a freakin' menagerie of unexpectedly interesting little beasties.
Everything is a twitch here, a blur there—you have to realise that this whole two-minute video consists of just 10 to 12 seconds of real life, shown at 300fps or 600fps. (1200fps turned out to be too much of a novelty, too dark to be practical, as you can see in the tomato-blender vid.)
Shooting slow-mo takes some getting used to, and because you end up with long stretches of zero movement, the in-cam video editor is not just a luxury but a necessity. In the end, though, everything looks like it's ready for Discovery Channel. I think that chipmunk's gonna be a star. [Casio Exilim on Giz]


Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
pyr_dog
Posted 12:41 PM 23/4/08
Chipmunk scratching = fleas = plague = BLACK DEATH = Can I have the camera when you are gone ?
pyr_dog
mechfluff
Posted 12:34 PM 23/4/08
I love it! That thing is pretty neat.
mechfluff
Nintenboy01
Posted 12:31 PM 23/4/08
@bandit: It requires the Holy Light of God to show even a speck of detail.
Nintenboy01
DestroyerMTL
Posted 12:30 PM 23/4/08
@Barry99705: Yes. Completely.
DestroyerMTL
scarbrtj
Posted 12:29 PM 23/4/08
Grieg and sweet slow-mo footage go good together.
scarbrtj
bandit
Posted 12:22 PM 23/4/08
1200 fps is useless even in the daylight outside? Pretty lame.
bandit
Nintenboy01
Posted 12:20 PM 23/4/08
D'oh! I wanted to see your cat savagely attack the chipmunk, like when cheetahs pounce on gazelles.
Nintenboy01
Barry99705
Posted 12:20 PM 23/4/08
Is it wrong that I was waiting for the .30-06 round to hit the chipmunk?
Barry99705
ripfire4
Posted 12:16 PM 23/4/08
I like the shot of the wasps. Nice lighting.
ripfire4
Skorpius
Posted 12:15 PM 23/4/08
Haha. Nice work.
Skorpius
tankintheair315
Posted 12:11 PM 23/4/08
Nice
tankintheair315
takemetoyourtoaster
Posted 12:09 PM 23/4/08
it said in the article that it was only 60- 1,200, I didn't know you could do inbetwee the two
that would be great if I had the money
takemetoyourtoaster
thebigcheese
Posted 1:42 PM 23/4/08
I'd like to correct the article by saying that it's not SHOWN at any of the frame rates mentioned. It might have been shot at those frame rates, but it's shown at 30 fps (ish), which is why it appears slow.
thebigcheese
Nintenboy01
Posted 1:39 PM 23/4/08
@Kaiser-Machead: Were those wasps or winged ants?
Nintenboy01
karmakid
Posted 1:34 PM 23/4/08
looks sureal, kudos
karmakid
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 1:32 PM 23/4/08
lol caught some wasps doing the nasty. You cheeky devil you.
Kaiser-Machead
moukkis
Posted 1:30 PM 23/4/08
Are you getting paid to advertise the camera?
...well you should, I'm sold !
moukkis
soggy_cheerio
Posted 1:27 PM 23/4/08
I can see a lot of golfers/teachers using this to work on their games.
soggy_cheerio
AqueousBeef
Posted 1:24 PM 23/4/08
That chipmunk is excessively adorable when it's eating
AqueousBeef
myotheralt
Posted 1:23 PM 23/4/08
@Barry99705: oops, i mean this [www.liveleak.com]
myotheralt
myotheralt
Posted 1:22 PM 23/4/08
@Barry99705: you need this [www.photobasement.com]
myotheralt
strider_mt2k
Posted 2:03 PM 23/4/08
Cool videos!
How about a firecracker going off?
strider_mt2k
morcheeba
Posted 1:59 PM 23/4/08
@Nintenboy01: then I expect slo-mo videos of the Holy Hand Grenade exploding.
morcheeba
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 1:52 PM 23/4/08
@Nintenboy01: I'm pretty certain they were wasps.
Kaiser-Machead
GiltProto
Posted 2:51 PM 23/4/08
It's like Koyanasqatsi, but in reverse.
GiltProto
Kaiser-Machead
Posted 2:47 PM 23/4/08
If only I was back in Minnesota, I'd take some footage of the hummingbirds at the feeder of my old place with one of these.
Kaiser-Machead
skittlzncombos
Posted 2:40 PM 23/4/08
This is really quite awesome.
skittlzncombos
LastVigilante
Posted 2:20 PM 23/4/08
This will really twist your noodle: The slow motion presented in the video is similar to the speed at which those small birds and wasps perceive as real time, all the time. Woah.
LastVigilante
soggy_cheerio
Posted 3:03 PM 23/4/08
@GiltProto: I wouldn't know. I fell asleep. Good movie though.
soggy_cheerio
Nintenboy01
Posted 3:45 PM 23/4/08
@LastVigilante: My bwain asploded...
Nintenboy01
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
Posted 3:16 PM 23/4/08
Wow, nice! Impressed with Macro on video also...
I'd get that instead of a camcorder if it had external mic input...
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
danger_the_pirate
Posted 4:36 PM 23/4/08
@Barry99705: dont you thing a thirty ought six is a bit overkill for a chippy? it would just leave a bloody smear.
... i guess it would have made the video that much more entertaining.
danger_the_pirate
B
Posted 4:20 PM 23/4/08
Why don't you just get a video camera if you like slow motion video. I'd be interested to see the FULL SIZE images of these pictures. I doubt the quality is up to par. Nevertheless, I like the idea of being able to choose the EXACT moment you like best from a scene.
B
thechansen
Posted 4:17 PM 23/4/08
the super slow mo may be niche as hell but I want this.
thechansen
fastmike
Posted 4:37 PM 23/4/08
excellent , nice cat btw
fastmike
Curves
Posted 9:53 PM 23/4/08
Totally cool vid, perfect music for it too. The chipmunk on the grill with fleas was very funny too. I never knew a rodent shaking itself could look so awesome. He looks the size of a bear in slow mo. Thumbs up.
Curves
gibson042
Posted 9:49 PM 23/4/08
The chipmunk looked downright visionary.
Right before it started scratching itself.
gibson042
Neodiablo22
Posted 9:44 PM 23/4/08
needs more frames
Neodiablo22
Airport_Whiskey
Posted 11:09 PM 23/4/08
Apparently, more frames=more cute.
Who'da thunk it?
Airport_Whiskey
jdunns4
Posted 11:27 PM 23/4/08
did noah's ark just pull up beside your house? quite the menagerie of animals you got roaming your "backyard."
jdunns4
strider_mt2k
Posted 11:25 PM 23/4/08
I'm surprised you didn't get a shot of that flying fox.
"Flying Fox in the yard?"
"Shuttup!"
strider_mt2k
snowninja
Posted 11:55 PM 23/4/08
cool video. The edit needs some work. Make the creatures fly away on the intense parts to the song. Or dont. Just a suggestion
snowninja
D-Train
Posted 12:32 AM 24/4/08
@B: Simple. Because you cannot get a "full size" video camera capable of these frame rates for the EX-F1's ~$1,000 price point. Some units cannot even be rented for that.
This provides previously nonexistent option to small producers. The F1's 512x384 @ 300fps video won't look horrible in a SD production. Used appropriately the detail in motion will more than make up for the loss of resolution.
D-Train
Rain-man
Posted 12:22 AM 24/4/08
Awesome! My favorite part was when the chipmunk did a little dog-type shake.
Rain-man
Zazu_Yen
Posted 1:15 AM 24/4/08
@gibson042: True about oh so many people too.
I bet we can expect a whole lot more "bullet time" segments in home videos from here on out. Youtube be afraid... be very afraid.
Zazu_Yen
dead_red_eyes
Posted 1:56 AM 24/4/08
@AqueousBeef:
Agreed!!
dead_red_eyes
m4ximusprim3
Posted 1:51 AM 24/4/08
@N@tedog: I want to see fat people running at 600fps.
Really though, I want this for golf. that would be amazing.
m4ximusprim3
Barry99705
Posted 1:39 AM 24/4/08
@danger_the_pirate: Yea, totally over kill. Which was the point. "Poof" no more chipmunk. Actually I hold no ill will to chipmunks, squirrels on the other hand, should be exterminated. Rabies shots are not fun.
Barry99705
N@tedog
Posted 1:22 AM 24/4/08
I want to see slow mo shot's of people running in fear. Mailmen, the stalked, the Japanese in movies, Pamplona spectators, etc.
N@tedog
Lester56
Posted 2:20 AM 24/4/08
I kept looking for the super-imposed crosshairs. Disappointing.
Lester56
ZeroCorpse
Posted 2:38 AM 24/4/08
I look forward to the rush of 600fps amateur porn.
ZeroCorpse
toyotaboy
Posted 3:23 AM 24/4/08
I heard there was issues with focusing when taking pictures, but even still a $1k pricetag for a camera that can do 600fps decently in a consumer camera is amazing.. still I'd wait for the price to come down.
toyotaboy
Scott
Posted 4:51 AM 24/4/08
I have to say I was not real impressed with the camera after the first review. However this puts it under an entirely new light. I really like that camera!
Scott
nerdsavant
Posted 5:45 AM 24/4/08
Who's playing Peggle in the background, that's what I want to know?
nerdsavant
jzulli
Posted 2:27 PM 24/4/08
@B: What video camera under $100,000 do you know of that shoots 600FPS? Or even 300FPS? I shoot on a Sony XDCAM EX-1 and that only shoots 60FPS/720/24p. And that is a professional CineAlta camera just under $7,000.
jzulli
stonefry
Posted 2:38 AM 25/4/08
I don't see the point of having a cat in the video if that cat doesn't...
a) get attacked by something.
b) attack something.
How about tossing the cat toward one of the creatures in the video.
stonefry