SAN DIEGO – Photron Inc. is supplying the high speed Fastcam SA1 camera for the slow motion imaging of fascinating phenomena, animal behavior and human feats on Discovery Channel’s new hit television series, Time Warp. Photron, a manufacturer of high speed cameras and motion analysis software systems, has teamed with co-hosts Jeff Lieberman, an MIT scientist and teacher, and digital photography expert Matt Kearney of Tech Imaging Services (Salem, MA). The slow-motion camera offers super-fast frame rates, capable of broadcasting extremely high resolution, high definition TV (HDTV) up to 5,400 frames per second (fps). The camera can also achieve near HD resolution at up to 10,000 fps for the popular TV series.

Time Warp uses advanced imaging technologies to present natural “everyday” activities and extraordinary human achievements or other phenomena, slowing the imagery down to the point that viewers can see virtually every remarkable detail in an event or process. Photron’s Fastcam SA1 camera has produced the extraordinary high speed imagery, including an extremely slow motion sequence of popcorn popping at 10,000 frames per second (fps), a water balloon popping at 20,000 fps, a samurai sword slicing through a tatami mat, a tattoo needle piercing a man’s arm 80 to 150 times per second, a Kun Tao master breaking through a stack of concrete blocks with approximately 5 tons of force, and much more. Shown each week on the Discovery Channel, Wednesday evenings, from 8 to 9 p.m. (ET/PT), many of the sequences can also be viewed online at the Discovery Channel Web site.

Photron’s Fastcam SA1 was also used during the Beijing Summer Games for recording various Olympic events and providing instant replay in extreme slow motion. Photron and their exclusive northeastern U. S. distributor, Tech Imaging, have also provided the Emmy-award-winning slow motion imagery for Golf on CBS with the “SwingVision” high speed imaging system designed by Tech Imaging specifically for capturing golf for slow motion playback.