7D can Catch a Bullet

Caught A Bullet---7D, 24-105L, 1/8000, f4, iso 800


Look closely just above the larger green bush just in front of the pistol---pay attention to frame two. Can. you see the bullet


[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.23/bullet0001.JPG[/img][img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.23/bullet0002.JPG[/img][img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.23/bullet0003.JPG[/img][img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.23/bullet0004.JPG[/img]

Here is the bullet:


[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.23.23/bullet0002circle.jpg[/img]

Amazing shots Bob! That's incredible!

that doesn't look anything like a bullet, it could be an out-of-focus insect. You should post a 100% crop too.

I'm a believer, and @ f/4 it is just a blur anyway. Try any @ f/22?

I'm not sure, but it's interesting.we should have more thread like this.

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Originally Posted by Sinh Nhut Nguyen

that doesn't look anything like a bullet, it could be an out-of-focus insect. You should post a 100% crop too.
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Nate your killing me: and you need better glasses[8-|]


Bob

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Originally Posted by Shea Design

I'm a believer, and @ f/4 it is just a blur anyway. Try any @ f/22?
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Nope, But I will----I was trying to keep the shutter speed up high---Next week I should have the opportunity to do it again---Ill check lighting and see if I can push a higher f-stop

just work a 9-hr graveyard, I just need some sleep[:P]

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Originally Posted by JJphoto

I'm not sure, but it's interesting.we should have more thread like this.
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JJ, Did you change your remark? My email had additioanl commentary: "


I'm not sure, I see the same dot in picture 2, maybe the bullet was hitting that dot?http://community.the-digital-picture.../emotion-8.gif"


I am guessing you see the dot[;)].





Anyway---thanks for posting.

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Originally Posted by Sinh Nhut Nguyen

just work a 9-hr graveyard, I just need some sleep[img]/emoticons/emotion-4.gif[/img]
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Nighty-night Nate.

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Originally Posted by bob williams

I'm not sure, I see the same dot in picture 2, maybe the bullet was hitting that dot?[img]/emoticons/emotion-8.gif[/img]

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Picture two dot is the bullet----Picture 1, 2ndpost is the bullet with a circle---same picture

Man, You guys are a hard sell.





Bob

After reading the title of this thread, I thought you had literally shot the poor 7D... Maybe I need some sleep. I agree with the above though, maybe try to get a clearer shot of the bullet the next time you can do this.

wow.......great shots......and whoever the shooter is - what an amazing shot he is[:O]......he hit that insect in frame two with one shot....notice in frame 3, the insect is no longer there? [:P] lol.......just kidding [;)] i also like frame 4, catching the ejected casing


jim

Ok, Just to put this in perspective: Assuming the bullet travels at 1450 feet per second and the shutter speed is 1/8000 of a second---I calculate that a half inch bullet travels at 2.1 inches while the shutter is open. The 7d, at best, will only deliver a 2.1 inch blur of a 1/2 inch object----Now if I had the skill to time a flash at precisely the right moment, Then maybeI could capture a frozen bullet in the air----But I just ain't that good.


Where are the engineers and math whizzes----are my assumptions and calculations correct? What does it take to capture a frozen bullet ?


Just a drill,


Bob.


P.S. Is lightning this difficult?

Triggering the strobes with a circuit that detects the gunshot, and adjusting the flash positions until you find the sweet spot could work. Remember 1/8000th is actually a stroboscopic flash as the second curtain has to chase the first requiring the flash to sync to each segment of the exposed sensor.


I have a setup with 3 580exII's on a single light stand that should work.


BTW - I'm saving for the radiopopper PX system as I want at least 1/500th sync speed. This will cost a bit with 4 flashes, but I've come this far! -Shea

Cool shots Bob!


Perhaps it's an idea to shoot some video with high shutterspeeds? And then do some print-screening [;)]Dunno, but it might work...


Have fun out there!

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Originally Posted by bob williams

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Originally Posted by JJphoto

I'm not sure, but it's interesting.we should have more thread like this.
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JJ, Did you change your remark? My email had additioanl commentary: "


I'm not sure, I see the same dot in picture 2, maybe the bullet was hitting that dot?[img]/emoticons/emotion-8.gif[/img]"


I am guessing you see the dot[img]/emoticons/emotion-5.gif[/img].





Anyway---thanks for posting.
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yes, I edited my post after I found that out, those were 2 same pictures, sorry! and I tend to agree that was a bullet now.

Looks like a UFO to me.





Nice photo and timing.

Don't forget the angle of the dangle this shot was taken at. Your 2.1 inches will look shorter from the angle that the 7D was placed at for the shot.

I think you did the math pretty well......assuming the correct bullet velocity (which can vary alot depending on the particular ammo)


1350 ft/secX0.000125 sec= 0.16875 ft


0.16875ft X 12 in/ft = 2.025 inches


It will certainly look like a streak butyou might have been lucky and got the timing right....in the second shot you can see the slide on the gun has started backwards and there are exhaust gasses visible so the bullet has definitely left the barrel....so maybe it is the bullet but.....


Also the shutter lag has to be considered which is in the range of 0.05 to 0.080 sec. So... to get it right without a trigger and mulit-flash set up is a bit lucky. The bullet could move60 to100 feet between the time you push the button and the picture is taken!


If you try again, attempt to get the sun angle on the bullet and look for a featureless background so it might stand out better.


Joel

PS.....here's a way tophotograph a bullet everytime.......





http://www.highspeedflash.com/flashultra.cfm





Just a bit pricey though!!!

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Originally Posted by Joel Eade

PS.....here's a way tophotograph a bullet everytime.......





[url="http://www.highspeedflash.com/flashultra.cfm]http://www.highspeedflash.com/flashultra.cfm[/url]





Just a bit pricey though!!!
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Too pricey for my needs--this was just one of those "let's see if we can moments", but not an obsession I am willin to spend high dollar on.

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Originally Posted by Joel Eade

I think you did the math pretty well

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Thanks for the back up Joel, and your right with a little angle change I might be able to do better---I'll have another chance on thursday---we will see then if a few adjustments helps.





Thanks

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Originally Posted by TucsonTRD

Looks like a UFO to me.





Nice photo and timing.
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Thanks Tuc, at least it looks like something[^o)]

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Originally Posted by Sheiky

Cool shots Bob!


Perhaps it's an idea to shoot some video with high shutterspeeds? And then do some print-screening [img]/emoticons/emotion-5.gif[/img]Dunno, but it might work...


Have fun out there!
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Good Idea Jan, I think I will try a dual setup next time --one video and on still camera.

You'll never see it in video. A sound trigger is probably available as a cheap kit if you don't mind a little iron work.

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Originally Posted by Shea Design

You'll never see it in video

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Can you tell me why?


If your camera films at 24/25 or even 60 fps with a shutterspeed of 1/8000th you must at least have an opportunity to take out one of the frames as a still? Alright your photo will only be 1920*1080 or 1280*720 pixels, but in my eyes it should be do-able right? Or am I looking the wrong way?

I was visiting my brother-in-law over the 4th and he is an avid clay target shooter. Although a shotgun shoots a group of small pellets the velocity is similar to a 9 mm pistol bullet.....by shooting a bunch of frames I was clearly able to get a couple of pics where the "projectile" is clearly visible. So...it can be done with a han held camera and no elaborate flash setup....these were taken with my 1D MKIII and the EF 28-135mm 3.5 "kit lens" that came with my 40D. Shutter speed was 1/2000 ISO 640 f/5.0. Manual flash with a 430 ex at 1/8 power just for shadow fill. I have outlined the shotgun pellets in flight.


[img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28/343V9923.jpg[/img][img]/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.00.32.28/343V9953.jpg[/img]

Something that needs to be pointed out here is that imaging a fired bullet is not intrinsically difficult--but imaging one so that it can be seen as a sharp, clearly defined object, is much more challenging, and NOT possible without the use of strobes.


For any shutter speed faster than the sync speed, there is no point in time during the curtain travel in which the entire sensor is fully exposed to light. A 1/8000s shutter speed, for example, does not mean the shutter curtains are traveling any faster than at any other shutter speed. For all shutter speeds, the curtain travels at the same velocity across the sensor. The speed of the curtains imposes an upper bound on the sync speed.


A fast exposure is attained by simply narrowing the gap between the first and second curtains so that only a small fraction of the sensor is exposed at any given time during the curtain travel. The consequence of this with respect to imaging a bullet is that:

1. It is not possible to predict where the bullet might show up in the frame, or depending on the scene geometry, it may not appear at all.
2. The bullet may be blurred due to the fact that it is still traveling too fast.
3. The bullet's shape is likely to be distorted (example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fo...istortions.jpg)
   

The only way to actually completely freeze a very fast-moving object is to light it with a strobe. This is how Harold "Doc" Edgerton did his high-speed photography (e.g. the iconic milk drop and bullet through an apple photos). The shutter is left open and a single precisely timed strobe is the sole light source. The effective exposure is then determined by the strobe duration and lens aperture.

Wickerprints.....you're correct.....to "freeze" a fast moving object you must use a short duration pulse of light as the sole light source at which point shutter speed is almost irrelevant. For a bullet you probably need a flash duration of 1/20,000 sec. orless to"freeze it"


Commonly used camera flashes in manual mode will shorten the flash duration as you dial the power down but of course the light output gets lower as well. That is why many who photograph things like hummingbirds will use severalflash units synchronized together.


The point of this postis merely that you can actuallyhand hold a camera and be ableto captureeven a blurred image of such a fast moving object. The timing is a guess and I had to shoot about 100 frames to get 2 that showed the projectiles in flight.


It CAN be done but requires some lucky timing or many repeated attempts.


Joel