Air-gap flash project

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iainfm

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I wasn't sure where to post this, but this forum seems the most sensible.

It's a project (not mine, I'm not that clever :lol:) to build a cheap air-gap flash for ultra-short bursts of light to capture very fast objects (eg bullets).

He seems to have had some good results, like the one below.

shot_squash.jpg


Full story here: http://www.glacialwanderer.com/hobbyrobotics/?p=490

There's a comparison to his flash, and the Canon 580EX as well.

Enjoy!

Iain
 
Saw this on the strobist blog - very interesting. Wonder if he uses a softbox of beauty dish :D
 
WOW! that is one hell of a DIY project! love the picture of the bullet hitting the balloon!
 
Yes, this is very interesting - but in the examples with the Canon flash v the air gap flash, it isn't a bullet that's being used, it's a pellet from an airgun!

Bullets from real guns really do have a muzzle velocity of around 1000 feet per second (.22 lr or some handguns) and others are much faster - I have a rifle with a muzzle velocity of 2550 fps, and some rifles can fire at around 4000 fps - now those would need a very fast flash if the bullet is moving across the field of view...

Airgun pellets are light so move fairly quickly, but not at 1000 fps, or at least not in the UK, where their power is restricted to no more than 12 ft pounds of energy for an air rifle or 6 ft pounds for a pistol (compared to around 105 ft pounds for the humble .22 lr)
 
4000fps is 1220meters per second or 1.2km per second, that is seriously fast - 4320kmh or 3.5x the speed of sound!
 
rob_c said:
4000fps is 1220meters per second or 1.2km per second, that is seriously fast - 4320kmh or 3.5x the speed of sound!
Click to expand...

You're right, but there are several sniper/hunting rifles and ammo combos that achieve those figures. 4000 fps is of course just muzzle velocity, they slow down pretty quickly...
 
You can have an air rifle above 12 ft pouinds, but you'll need an FAC.

I suspect Garry knows lots about guns (as well as lighting). One of my Lencarta orders turned up in cardbox that was once the home for shotgun cartridges :)
 
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