Photron

Photron We offer digital high-speed video cameras for slow motion analysis world wide.

Photron is the world's leading manufacturer of high speed digital imaging systems. Photron high speed camera systems have become trusted by leading research customers worldwide to provide reliability and high performance in the most challenging imaging applications.

🌬️ Visualize the Invisible with High-Speed Schlieren ImagingChanges in pressure, temperature, density, and refractive in...
10/16/2026

🌬️ Visualize the Invisible with High-Speed Schlieren Imaging

Changes in pressure, temperature, density, and refractive index can be impossible to see with the naked eye. Schlieren imaging makes those changes visible, revealing shock waves, heat plumes, gas mixing, jet boundaries, combustion behavior, and high-speed aerodynamic flow.

For demanding schlieren applications, the Photron FASTCAM Orion S40 combines high sensitivity, short exposure times, and ultra-low temporal noise to capture subtle flow structures with exceptional clarity. The Orion records 1,280 × 1,024 at 31,250 fps and reaches up to 312,500 fps at reduced resolution.

Applications include:
- Shock waves and pressure disturbances
- Supersonic and transonic flow
- Heat plumes and thermal convection
- Combustion and flame fronts
- Jets and gas mixing
- Aerospace and wind-tunnel testing

📷 Featured Camera: FASTCAM Orion S40

Learn more: https://smpl.is/an7b7

🔥 Application Spotlight: Visualizing Hydrogen Ignition at 400,000 fpsHydrogen combustion can be difficult to observe bec...
10/14/2026

🔥 Application Spotlight: Visualizing Hydrogen Ignition at 400,000 fps

Hydrogen combustion can be difficult to observe because it produces relatively little visible light. In this application, a Pharsighted E9•100S was paired with an image intensifier to visualize ultraviolet chemiluminescence from OH radicals during hydrogen combustion.

The setup was used to capture pre-chamber turbulent jet ignition in a hydrogen gas engine at 400,000 frames per second, with a resolution of 640 × 368 pixels and a 2 μs shutter speed. The resulting footage helps researchers study ignition and flame behavior during an extremely fast combustion event.

📷 Camera: Pharsighted E9•100S
⚡ Recording speed: 400,000 fps
🔬 Application: Hydrogen combustion / turbulent jet ignition
🌈 Imaging method: OH-radical chemiluminescence at 310 nm with an image intensifier

The E9•100S combines ultra-high-speed recording with high sensitivity, making it well-suited for experiments where both speed and low-light performance are critical.

This is a great example of how ultra-high-speed imaging can reveal combustion phenomena that would otherwise be extremely difficult to observe.

Learn more on the Photron Japan website: https://smpl.is/an7c8

💧 Research Spotlight: How Surface Texture Changes Droplet ImpactA study published in Langmuir investigates how triangula...
10/12/2026

💧 Research Spotlight: How Surface Texture Changes Droplet Impact

A study published in Langmuir investigates how triangular ridged superhydrophobic surfaces affect the forces generated when water droplets strike a surface.

Using high-speed imaging at 10,000–20,000 frames per second, researchers captured the droplet’s spreading, retraction, rebound, and surface-wave behavior in detail. The study found that ridged textures can significantly alter how momentum is transferred during impact and can reduce the second force peak compared with flat surfaces.

The researchers used two Photron high-speed camera systems, the FASTCAM Nova S12 and FASTCAM Mini AX200, to observe the event from complementary perspectives and connect visual droplet behavior with measured impact forces.

🔬 Application: Droplet impact and surface-texture analysis
📷 Cameras: Photron FASTCAM Nova S12 + FASTCAM Mini AX200
⚡ Recording speed: 10,000–20,000 fps
📄 https://smpl.is/an7a1

This work highlights how high-speed imaging can help researchers understand the interaction between engineered surface geometry, fluid motion, and impact forces, with potential relevance to areas such as deicing, condensation heat transfer, and advanced surface design.

🧬 See Biomechanics in MotionHigh-speed imaging gives researchers a clearer view of the rapid movements, forces, and inte...
10/09/2026

🧬 See Biomechanics in Motion

High-speed imaging gives researchers a clearer view of the rapid movements, forces, and interactions that shape how living systems move and function.

Photron cameras are used across biomechanics research to capture details that conventional video can miss, from joint and limb motion to takeoff, landing, impact, tissue deformation, animal locomotion, implant behavior, and bio-inspired robotics.

Applications include:
- Human movement and gait analysis
- Sports science and performance
- Orthopedics and implant testing
- Animal locomotion
- Biological materials and tissue mechanics
- Bio-inspired robotics

High frame rates, resolution, sensitivity, synchronization, and flexible camera configurations help researchers capture fast events while preserving the detail needed for analysis and measurement.

Explore Photron high-speed imaging for biomechanics: https://smpl.is/an7b3

🚨 Coming Soon: FASTCAM POLARISBuilt for high-resolution, high-speed performance, the upcoming FASTCAM POLARIS F5 deliver...
10/05/2026

🚨 Coming Soon: FASTCAM POLARIS

Built for high-resolution, high-speed performance, the upcoming FASTCAM POLARIS F5 delivers:
- 4096 × 2208 at 5,000 fps (4K)
- 2560 × 1664 at 10,000 fps (4 Mpixel)
- 12-bit BSI sensor
- Up to 432 GB internal memory
- Optional removable 1.6 TB U.2 NVMe SSD

At 2560 × 1664, POLARIS reaches 10,000 fps — approximately 7% higher frame rate than a leading competitor operating at 9,350 fps at the same resolution.

📍 We’ll be showcasing the FASTCAM POLARIS at the VISION Conference this week next week, giving attendees an early look at Photron’s newest high-speed imaging platform. Stop by Booth 10A11!

More details are coming soon.

Learn more: https://smpl.is/anc8k

See Rheo-IRIS in action at the 97th Annual Meeting of The Society of Rheology.Photron will be in Boston this October sho...
10/05/2026

See Rheo-IRIS in action at the 97th Annual Meeting of The Society of Rheology.

Photron will be in Boston this October showcasing the Rheo-IRIS system, along with the CRYSTA Nova P16 high-speed 2D polarization camera.

Visitors are invited to bring their own samples for testing and see how Rheo-IRIS can help visualize and analyze material behavior in real time.

📍 Hilton Boston Park Plaza — Boston, Massachusetts
📅 October 25–29, 2026
🔬 Exhibitor booths open October 26–28

Also on display, the CRYSTA Nova P16 offers full-frame recording at up to 16,000 fps with exceptional light sensitivity for advanced polarization imaging applications.

You can also view Rheo-IRIS test results on the Photonic Lattice YouTube channel.
We look forward to seeing you in Boston!

⚡ Research Spotlight: Capturing Lightning at 14,400 Frames Per SecondA recent study published in the Journal of Geophysi...
10/02/2026

⚡ Research Spotlight: Capturing Lightning at 14,400 Frames Per Second

A recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres reports the first time-resolved spectroscopic observation of an upward positive leader initiated from a tall tower. The researchers used a high-speed spectroscopic system operating at 14,400 frames per second to examine how optical emissions changed as the lightning developed.

At the heart of the recording system was a Photron FASTCAM Mini AX200, providing the speed needed to capture these rapidly evolving atmospheric events.

The study helps connect changes in spectral emissions with different stages of lightning development, offering new insight into the physics of upward positive lightning.

🔬 Application: Time-resolved lightning spectroscopy
📷 Camera: Photron FASTCAM Mini AX200
⚡ Recording speed: 14,400 fps
📄 https://smpl.is/an76z

This is a great example of how high-speed imaging can support field-based atmospheric research where critical events unfold in fractions of a second.

📸 Photron is heading to VISION 2026 in Stuttgart!Join us October 6–8, 2026 at Messe Stuttgart for VISION, the world’s le...
10/01/2026

📸 Photron is heading to VISION 2026 in Stuttgart!

Join us October 6–8, 2026 at Messe Stuttgart for VISION, the world’s leading trade fair.

Visit the Photron team to explore our latest high-speed imaging technologies and discover how high-speed cameras can help capture, analyze and understand fast-moving events across a wide range of industrial, research and machine vision applications.

📍 Messe Stuttgart, Germany
📅 October 6–8, 2026

We look forward to connecting with customers, partners and industry professionals in Stuttgart!

✈️ Photron is at the Aerospace Test & Development Show 2026 in Toulouse!Join us September 29–30 at MEETT, Hall 7 to expl...
09/29/2026

✈️ Photron is at the Aerospace Test & Development Show 2026 in Toulouse!

Join us September 29–30 at MEETT, Hall 7 to explore high-speed imaging solutions for aerospace testing, engineering, and research applications.

Photron is exhibiting alongside AOS Technologies AG, bringing together high-speed camera technology for both ground-based testing and airborne applications.

From impact and deformation analysis to flow visualization, propulsion testing, shock waves, and component testing, high-speed imaging helps engineers capture the details that happen too quickly to see with conventional cameras.

📍 MEETT – Toulouse, France
📅 September 29–30, 2026
🔹 Stand 211

Stop by and see the technology in action.

FASTCAM Orion in Action at What happens when high-speed imaging needs to capture both intense highlights and subtle deta...
09/28/2026

FASTCAM Orion in Action at

What happens when high-speed imaging needs to capture both intense highlights and subtle detail within the same scene?

A recent visit to provided the opportunity to put the Photron FASTCAM Orion S40 to work in demanding laser welding and high-speed schlieren imaging applications.

The evaluation demonstrated how Orion’s low-noise performance and high dynamic range can help reveal information that may otherwise be difficult to capture, from weld behavior and spatter to rapidly changing flow structures surrounding the process.

For researchers and engineers, it’s not simply about recording more frames. It’s about making sure those frames contain the detail needed for meaningful analysis.

We’re looking forward to sharing more images and results from this work.

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