High Speed Photography with the Camera Axe

Right from the get-go, I have to bump Maurice Ribble, the inventor and creator of the Camera Axe system. He single-handedly designed, acquired parts for, and began distributing this system online. Check out the Camera Axe site for more details. What it is is a controller with a number of sensors and cables that can be attached to it. I personally just got the projectile sensor, which allows you to precisely place a projectile of any kind in your frame. Just hook up the sensor to the Camera Axe, hook up a flash to the Camera Axe as well, align the barrel of your projectile-launcher (I use a pellet gun from Walmart) so the pellet will pass through the sensor, and fire. The Camera Axe receives its information from the sensor and triggers the flash at exactly the right time, freezing your projectile and exposing your picture.

After receiving my Camera Axe in the mail today, I had my electronics-whiz little brother assemble it for me and then experimented with a friend and my brother for a couple of hours. Here's the best of our results from tonight:




Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 3.2 seconds (1/50,000th effective)
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 50mm
Tripod





Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 4 seconds (1/50,000th effective)
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 50mm
Tripod


Pretty rad. I'm particularly happy with the card shot. Looking forwards to taking pictures of shooting all sorts of stuff in the future.

I know that first part sounded like a commercial. Don't worry, Maurice Ribble isn't paying me. The Camera Axe really just is that awesome. Go buy one.