how to DIY photo finish

A

aalleexx

Veteran
ok guys this is a bit off the wall but hopefully someone can point me to the right direction, I have a client that I do commercial work for, he happens to own a private horse race track and he asked me to brainstorm a way to have a photo finish for each race, now him and I know that the systems they use on the high end races cost in the hundreds of thousands, he gave me a 15 grand budget
now I have researched all over the net, and there are a few laser shutter trigger systems out there but they are very difficult to make, he just wants something to get the job done and clear any doubts after the face

here is my idea so far

first of all, I am not using a picture camera

I would get a hpx170 connected to a monitor via component just for viewing purposes, the camera would be in frame exactly on the finish line, just like a regular picture camera would be, shooting 60p with a super high shutter for sharpness

now this same camera is connected to an imac via usb at the same time where the p2 footage can be taken to fcp immediately for viewing and a picture can be printed if needed on a printer connected to the imac

I know this is kinda crazy but is what I've got so far

any crazy ideas?
 
aalleexx said:
now this same camera is connected to an imac via usb at the same time where the p2 footage can be taken to fcp immediately for viewing
Click to expand...

If you really need IMMEDIATE playback you might want to consider capturing directly to the IMAC (using something other than FCP, obviously).

That would allow you sidestep transfering the files, as well as log and transfer.
Even if you used Raylight, you'd still have to transfer the files over from the P2 card.
 
I think the video cam with high shutter speed is the way to go. If you really wanna get clever over it, you can buy a Sony Z5 or Z7 and use the overcranking slow motion feature. You could capture the end of the race at 200fps. You would need to record to the flash unit on the back of the camera, and if you really needed an instant playback, there is a button for this which will play back the last recorded clip.
 
I would check out the Casio Exilm EX-F1 which can do the following frames rates/resolution :
512 x 384 (300 fps), 432 x 192 (600 fps), 336 x 96 (1200 fps)

It's also pretty affordable at just under $1000 US Bucks.
 
The Casio is a terrible high speed camera. 200fps at HD is much more useful than 300fps at 512x348.

If you have 15,000 dollar budget, consider getting a Photron Fastcam PCI. They will shoot 1000fps at 512x512 and is a proper highspeed camera, not a compact camera with an extra feature.
 
Now how about the peoblem to trigger the system? I'm seeing that no matter what there must be an operator present to capture and playbacl, no matter picture or video
Any ideas to have an automated system on the cheap?
 
if anyone can point me to someone or a company that can help me out, I will more than happy pay a consulting fee so I can figure this out

Thanks
 
Try Security camera company

Try Security camera company

Hi

Might try a Security Camera company. Axis is the leader. call them and pick their brains for free. You are talking about monitoring and they have huge world wide experience.

Hope this helps. Good luck, sounds like a fun project.
 
Not sure about horse racing, but with athletics, the finish-line camera only shoots the finish line, not the areas around it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_finish

The resulting still image is basically the finish line repeated over time..
rr%20photo%20finish.jpg


Basically imagine rolling shutter, but you keep scanning the same line again and again.

What you have is instead of the area around the finish line at a single time; you have the finish line at multiple times.

This of course requires combining multiple exposures. Done manually this would take at least a couple of minutes each time to take successive frames and crop out the finish line and place them side by side.

Another option is to look at regular live instant-replay technology - outside the camera.
Depending on the system, you might even be able to have something that automatically triggered a start point a few moments before the horse crossed the line and then played back the next few seconds at a slower loop.

- Mikko
 
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