By the third day, they were out of time. They had one hour left on the rental. They turned the lights up to maximum intensity. The air shimmered with heat. The cinematographer focused the lens on a single feeder filled with sugar water.
On the first day, the bird refused to cooperate. It was a female Ruby-throated hummingbird, beautiful but neurotic. Every time the crew started the fans to simulate the wind and rain, she would retreat to the highest corner of the aviary. fastcam 8
Verdict: The Fastcam 8 is the "Goldilocks" camera—higher sensitivity than NAC, easier software than Phantom, and a rugged build quality suited for industrial vibration. By the third day, they were out of time
The setting was a controlled studio in California, but the goal was to capture something that happens in nature every day, yet is invisible to the human eye: the exact millisecond a hummingbird drinks nectar during a rainstorm. The air shimmered with heat
If you are ready to step into the world of high-speed imaging, contact a Photron distributor for a demo. Seeing a balloon pop at 50,000 fps on a Fastcam 8 monitor will change how you view reality.