When a set up takes a while to set up and you’re only filming for a fraction of a second, why would you want to use auto-exposure?
Well, even in a fraction of a second, the lighting requirements might change quite dramatically. Consider filming an airbag deploying (why are dashboards always black and airbags always white?) or a self illuminating subject like an explosion. Due to the high contrast between the two subject areas, a choice has to be made; do you set the camera up for the dark sections of the movie (the dashboard) or the bright areas (the airbag)?
Auto exposure on IDT high speed cameras works by setting the camera up manually, then highlighting an area of the image, which the camera will then keep at a constant exposure level by altering the exposure time (shutter speed). Limits can be set, so motion blur can be controlled, and the sensitivity can be adjusted, leaving you the choice of whether you want the exposure time to change frame by frame or only every few frames.
Now you can see detail of the dashboard as it deforms and splits AND the unfolding of the airbag in the same movie.
Now you can see the lay of the land AND the detail in the explosion in the same movie.
If you carry out tests outdoors, you no longer need to postpone the test until the sun comes back out. Let auto-exposure alter the settings for you.
“We manufacture automotive dashboards so we need to know how the dashboard flexes and splits. All our old high speed movies just whited out after deployment of the airbag. Now we can see the airbag detail too, giving us so much more information.”
Find out more about IDT high speed cameras – they all have auto exposure capability!