We all remember the super slow motion shot of the Great White Shark Attack from Planet Earth’s first episode “From Pole to Pole”, back in 2006.

Super slow motion, which is the name routinely given to high-speed shots of more than 500p (frames per second) is a facility available to very few cameras and until recently, cinematic capture of 4K images has been almost entirely the preserve of the now ubiquitous, Phantom series cameras, which offer the gold standard 1000fps capture in 4K RAW.

However, things have moved on since then, so this article discusses the challenges and approaches of various cameras which is democratising availability of the incredible super slow-motion images that we all appreciate so much.

What is the Best Horse?

An equestrian friend of mine once memorably advised me that a horse that performs well on a dry course may not perform as well on a damp course, hence the famous idiom, Horses for Courses. (Wikipedia further volunteers that the Warmblood breed of horse is often considered to be one of the best for equestrian sports and has been the stars of many world competitions and contests, including the Olympics.)

When it comes to Super Slow Motion, you need to consider:

• What subject you are shooting (food commercial, running cheetahs, sword fighting)
  • This will determine the required workflow.
• Where you want to end up (website, UHD TV, 4K film)
  • If you need HD, 4K Prores or 4K RAW.
• At what budget level
  • (super shoe-string, medium, heroic)

Answering these three this can help you to decide what camera might be best to use for a given production.

Shoot RAW or Not To Shoot RAW – That Is The Question!
(If you do, then you need PHANTOM)

If we consider that the new standard image delivery size is 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels), then at the point of writing, the ONLY cameras capable of capturing 1000p in 4K RAW are the Phantom FLEX 4K and the Phantom VEO 4K. 

Vision Research Phantom series cameras all work in the same way – they are equipped with super-fast RAM which captures images at lightning-fast frame rates, with data rates too fast for conventional storage systems.  Afterwards, data is transferred to a separate storage device to permit archiving.

Will you have a resident DIT on location?  If you will, then you can consider using the Phantom FLEX 4K, which has an elegant and quick offload speed but convoluted two-stage transfer process, as you have to transfer from internal RAM to internal Cine Mag storage and subsequently offload to local laptop before you leave the set.

You have another option to consider, which is the Phantom VEO 4K.  Whilst the Phantom FLEX 4K offloads to a very fast type of storage called CineMag, the Phantom VEO 4K offloads to removable CFAST 2 cards, which is more convenient for portable applications and is easily handled by a camera operator, familiar with the workflow.   Best of all, it means that you usually only offload in the field to CFast2 cards and then transfer the CF2 cards after the shoot at your leisure.  (Whilst this too is a 2-stage process, in the field, it is really only a single stage transfer).

The FLEX is a much heavier camera than the VEO and more power hungry too. This is what acclaimed wildlife cinematographer, Mark Payne-Gill said when he was first introduced to the Phantom VEO 4K:

A lot of what I do is needing to be reactive and to just grab a camera and run with it, so anything that gives me more freedom to work in those situations in a way that is more efficient and more productive is attractive to me.  Just carrying the Flex for 50 yards to another position to catch different light is more of an effort than it should be which is why I was excited by the compact Phantom VEO 4K

Cinematographer Mark Payne-Gill.

Phantom VEO 4K – Camera Of Choice For Malaria Doc

The Phantom VEO 4K has become the camera of choice for countless Natural History productions and commercials, since the workflow process involves commonly involves shooting and simultaneously transferring clips, there is always a data store available for capture, so the experienced user is unlikely to be in a position where they run out of memory.

Read about how the Phantom VEO was used to slow down mosquito wings in a recent BAFTA and EMMY nominated film, Horizon: The Battle to Beat Malaria. 

Phantom 4K – a versatile super high-speed camera.

• Capable of 1000p/4K RAW Capture
• 72GB of Super High Speed Storage
• Phantom VEO 4K body weighs just 2.5kg
• Draws just 80W (body only) so can be powered for more than 3 hours with a paid of mini V-Lock batts.
• PL/EF lens mount
• Global Shutter
• 14 stop dynamic range
• Onboard C-Fast 2 cards for data off-load

Phantoms have Multiple Lens Mount Options

Phantom FLEX and VEO 4K have an interchangeable lens mount, so you can mount PL or EF mount lenses, though be aware that the EF mount is not electronic, so you can’t control the iris of non-electronic lenses.

Work SMART, Not HARD!

We consider the Phantom series cameras to be the best in class but it is still crucial to understand both the workflow and how to maximise the effectiveness of the super-fast data stores. 

We recommend partitioning the memory, to effectively create 3 x separate mobile stores, enabling the user to scrub media clips for trimming with one store, whilst offloading to CF2 card with a second store and whilst this is happening, simultaneously film in real time onto the third store – these are described in details on VMI Introduction to Phantom VEO 4K

Barry Bassett, VMI Managing Director

The majority of the functionality comes from two multi-use buttons on the back of the camera, which means that the operator needs to have easy access to the camera for basic operation use, so also consider using:

Optional Wireless Trigger/Remote Control Option

VMI can supply the optional Able Cine Cameo PCU2+ wireless control unit to operate all functions up to 100m (300ft) away, permitting the camera to be placed in a hide or on a jib/crane or other distance operation mode, allowingwireless control of up to 2 Phantom cameras simultaneously and can work in wireless or wired modes. 

It allows remote control of the phantom camera operations without a laptop, controls the capture process and allows playback mode of all controls playback & save and transfer commands too.

Also read The VMI guide to differences between the Phantom FLEX 4K and Phantom VEO 4K

Phantoms are great cameras but spoiler alert – there is a new kid in town…

Could 800P be Enough?
(If so, then consider FREEFLY EMBER)

Nothing can substitute 1000 frames per second but sometimes, this can simply be TOO FAST.  After all, 5.6 seconds of 1000p will create a clip of almost 4 minutes and that is a LOT of screen time to fill!

Enter Freefly’s second foray into Super Slow Motion with the introduction of the Freefly Ember, which was released at the end of 2023.  (Their first SSM camera was the Freefly Wave introduced in 2020 and which suffered from a lot of faults, which have been largely rectified in the Ember).

The Freefly Ember is a large sensor (S-35), super slow-motion camera, built into a compact cube (100mm x 104mm x 86mm) and which weighs just 820g but how it works is very interesting.  Freefly recognised that if you wanted to capture in 4K but 800fps was fast enough, then they could capture and record to a 4TB internal SSD in real-time by using an efficient codec and this would avoid the irritating intermediate stage of capturing to superfast RAM and having to offload scenes in short bursts which is necessary with the Phantom.

This actually works really well and its conventional workflow means that you simply press the record button, roll as long as you like and then share your best shots right from the app. It is important to recognise that the trade-off is capturing in high quality ProRes (Apple ProRes 422 LT), as the camera isn’t capable of filming 4K RAW. 

If this works for you though, then Ember is a very efficient super high-speed camera, capable of recording continuous high speed footage directly to a 4TB internal SSD, which is has a maximum record time of 36 mins in 5K and 45 mins in 4K. For reference, this equates to 14.4 hrs and 24 hrs of footage in real-time, respectively – try that on a Phantom!

Better still, the latest 2.0 firmware released in April 24, introduced many expanded resolutions and increased the maximum frame rate to 1,000 in 3K and to 2,000fps in 2.5K.

In any resolution, you can drastically increase your max fps by lowering the vertical resolution. For example, if you decrease the vertical resolution to 5K, you get to a max fps of 1,946.

iOS App for Camera Control, Media Export and Media Share

The Ember app for iOS means you can go from capture to sharing in seconds but you have to operate using the App, which works very well. The App even includes a stabilisation feature, which utilises data from the internal IMU to correct or maintain a stable orientation of the image, compensating for movements and vibrations.

Freefly recommend these devices because they feature a minimum 5Gbps USB-C which the App can use to expedite exporting and other wired operations.

• iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max
• iPad Mini (6th Generation, 2021)
• iPad Pro 12.9” (6th Generation)
• iPad Pro 11” (4th Generation)
• iPad Pro 11″/13″ M4

These devices are able to export, play clips and control Ember over WiFi, and slower speed wired connections, sometimes using adapters.

Freefly Ember Is Not Perfect

Because we like to tell things how they are, we feel that it is necessary to report of the Ember’s shortcomings too.

• Ember currently only stores media on its internal 4TB store, so this means that when the storage is full, you have to stop recording and can’t continue until you have offloaded the material.
  • (This is being rectified with a new module due for release in Q1 2025 – see below).
  • One client who wasn’t aware of this, entirely filled up the camera cache and then had to wait 40 minutes to offload the entire data store. They later told us that they would have preferred to hire a second camera had they been previously aware of this limitation.
• Ember has just 11 stops of dynamic range, which Freefly claim is less than a typical 24fps cinema camera and they claim is an inherent tradeoff of high-speed imaging. (Freefly volunteer, “Imagine trying to count a few hundred coins on a table: your answer would be a lot more precise after five minutes than it would be after five seconds!”)
• There is no LOG capture, just REC709.
  • Freefly claim: Rec. 709 and HLG Beta tone curves are available. See OETF for more details. There is no LOG profile for Ember because LOG recording typically requires at least 13 stops of dynamic range. Ember’s 11 stops of dynamic range forced onto a LOG curve would either clip highlights at very low values or amplify shadow noise unacceptably. Rec. 709 and HLG Beta are a better fit for this sensor.
• There is no Apple ProRes 422 LT in all resolutions and frame rates. Freefly claim that ProRes 422 LT maintains excellent image quality with only intraframe compression (approximately 6:1 compared to uncompressed RAW) and keeps the file size and data rate reasonable for high-speed imaging. Freefly volunteer that ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 HQ may be added (at lower frame rates) in a future update.
• There is no HD-SDI output presently – just one HDMI output for monitoring, so you can’t presently output to a large monitor – see Ember 2 update below, as this will be rectified in early 2025 with the new module.
• There is no pre-record presently on VMI systems. This became available with the installation of a 2.56TB pSCL SSD card only after VMI purchased its cameras, though this will become unnecessary in early 2025 with the release of the new module.
• Be aware that the media is internal to the camera and you can’t shoot and offload media simultaneously, as is possible with the Phantoms.
  • Export your media to Mac or PC with a USC-C cable
  • Clients have reported that it can take 40 minutes to fully offload the media prior to being able to reshoot with fresh storage.
• Lens Mounts
  • VMI supplies the Ember with a PL mount, as it is usually used with film lenses.
  • Whilst the first Embers purchased had native passive E mounts and passive EF mounts, these are being steadily upgraded to active electronic E mounts and EF mounts, so please stipulate that this is required when you book, else like with Phantoms, you will need to use non-electronic lenses, as there is no facility to operate the lens iris otherwise. EF lens compatibility here
• Wireless functionality is limited by the Bluetooth range of the iOS device being used to run the App.

Ember Used by Marketing Agency Linney for McDonalds

The fast production process was very attractive to Matt Dean, Director of Photography for creative marketing agency Linney. 

Despite Ember’s limitions, the camera has several fans who love it. For its most recent project with established client McDonald’s, Linney took the technical specifications of the shoot in a different direction and needed a high-speed solution that used less light but still gave us great quality footage.

This made them consider using the Freefly Ember, which they say, worked very well for them and they were sufficiently impressed that they have used the camera on several food productions since.

Click here to read the recent Linney Case Study of the McDonalds production.

If a lettuce wilts or a product gets too warm then we have to start again and you’ve wasted an hour styling a burger because of how hot the studio lights were

Matt Dean, Director of Photography

What’s New For Ember in 2025?

As a final word on the Ember. 

The basic camera didn’t feature a pre-record facility until very recently, by offering a pricy manufacturer upgrade. 

• However the exciting news that Freefly shared with us recently is that they want to introduce features to make it fit intuitively into every production – this is ambitious but were their words!
• The major news is that they are planning to release a new add-on dockable module featuring both a removable SSD with pre-record capability (this is a bugbear with some users) and most importantly
• It will also include an HD-SDI monitoring output (sorely needed)
• and also timecode in/out sockets, both of which are lacking on the present camera. 
• VMI will be amongst the first to have these on our cameras when they ship in early 2025.

Budget Production – great for web use
The Chronos 1.4 Could Be For You!

Whilst the best Phantom and Ember super-slow-motion cameras carry a rental price reflecting their capabilities and purchase cost, the Chronos 1.4 High Speed Camera released in 2019 offers the requisite 1000fps capability of the Phantoms but in a much more affordable and compact HD camera body. 

Similar in size to a DSLR camera, this self-contained and portable camera records H.264 video to SD-XC cards and is surprisingly good and although it can record 1280×1024 video at 1057fps, it is capable of higher frame rates of up to 38,500fps by reducing acquisition resolution.  

Surprisingly, the small sensor can also be a real advantage to the cinematographer, since the depth of field is shallower, meaning that more of an exploding shot is in focus, without the need to throw huge amounts of light at it!  Better still, since the Chronos features a C-mount lens fitting which is not a commonly used mount, we include a 12.5-75mm f/1.2 zoom lens as part of the package bundled in.

So if you are shooting for the web and just need a short clip of the hero bullet-time speed slow-motion, then consider the Chronos HD 1000fps HD Super Slow Motion Camera.

Summary

Super Slow Motion generally is the ‘money shot’ which adds production values to any program.

• As such, whether you are shooting for a big screen theatrical release, or a UHD Netflix drama, a TV commercial, music video or website promo, you will have to balance the technical requirements against the cost and convenience of the various camera solutions.
• The Phantom FLEX 4K and VEO 4K are undoubtedly the best in their class but they are also the most expensive too. 
• The workflow is now well understood and whilst this works well for natural history ‘events’ with an effectively infinite ‘preroll time’ with their constantly looping memory, the real time capture of the Freefly Ember better suits certain applications, like drone shoots and food commercials. 
• The compact size of the Ember too can be a positive advantage too and not having to mess about with data transfers in the field has both advantages and also disadvantages, depending on the application.
• Indie productions can use the Chronos to great effect and at very low cost.  If you can work within its capabilities, then you can access the great super slow-motion look without breaking the budget.

So different horses do really suit different courses, after all!

Barry Bassett
30/9/24