I was trying to find out what kind of high-speed camera is used on the Mythbusters TV show, so I decided to start at the source. Finding no email link (understandable, as it would get flooded regularly), I tried the message boards.
I find message boards to be remarkably unhelpful, and this was no exception. In fact, it went beyond your standard level of obnoxious sidestepping, most of which takes the form of “What a stupid question! Stop pestering us, n00b.” No, this was even better. A quick forum search brought up several posts asking in plain language, “What brand of high-speed camera do they use on the Mythbusters TV show?” Invariably, if anyone responded at all, they received one of two answers: “Lots of companies make them. Google ‘high speed cameras’ and you’ll find tons.” or “They cost a lot more money than you can afford. You’re better off looking up rental companies.”
No FAQ or thread links, no “this is what they use but it’s extremely expensive,” just blatant misdirection. I looked all the way back to the beginning and not once did anyone actually answer the question, though there were a couple of unhelpful “this has been asked before, do a forum search” responses. One guy was looking for the frame grabber software, was presented with the costs-too-much answer, and repeated that he was looking for the specific program name, not how much it costs. Nobody answered.
In case you’re curious, it’s likely that they use many different brands and models on the show, but one company who freely admits to their camera being used is NAC. (And no, that wasn’t found on the message boards. I finally wised up and Googled “mythbusters high speed camera”.)
Oh yeah, and speaking of such things, I really enjoyed these high-speed clips.
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