Chronos high-speed camera: Nearly 22,000 frames per second recording for US$2,500

 

 

High speed cameras are very cool, but typically very expensive, such as the Phantom Miro C110 which costs nearly US$12,000 and doesn't have the same capabilities as the Chronos. The Chronos hopes to help alleviate the high cost barrier to entry for photographers interested in high speed imagery. Impressively, the Chronos was designed by a single engineer, David Kronstein. Although limited to a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024, the camera can shoot at a blazing fast 21,649 frames per second and can be purchased for a mere US$2,500.

Youtube content creator Taofledermaus received the first testing unit of the Chronos and documented it in the video below.  When shooting at the maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024, the maximum framerate is 1,057 fps. At a 720p resolution, fps increases to 1,502. If you want to reach the maximum framerate of 21,649 fps, you need to reduce resolution to 640 x 96 pixels.

The Chronos has a throughput of 1.4 Gigapixels per second, uses a Nikon EN-EL4 battery, and features a LCD touchscreen. Its ports include an RJ45 Ethernet, audio I/O, HDMI output, USB host socket and more. It accepts C mount lenses, but adapters are available to attach other lenses from companies such as Canon and Nikon. It is worth noting that the video below is technically from a prototype, although it's a production-ready prototype.

To learn more about the Chronos, which is competing with cameras that cost over ten times as much, check out the overview video below. The Chronos is roughly DSLR-sized too, which is very impressive given its capabilities and price point. 

Be watching out for the upcoming funding campaign for Chronos because this camera looks very interesting and may well be positioned to disrupt the market.

(Seen via DIY Photography)