What makes a Camera "High Speed"

Key Components of a High-Speed Camera System

High-Speed Imaging Sensor:
At the core of every high-speed camera is an imaging sensor capable of capturing rapid sequences with high precision. These sensors are specially designed to handle high pixel data throughput. A major leap in performance came with the shift from CCD to CMOS technology, which enabled faster, more efficient image acquisition.

Large DRAM Memory Bank:
Modern high-speed cameras generate vast amounts of data due to their high spatial resolution and frame rates. This requires a robust memory solution—primarily DDR RAM—to store sequences quickly and reliably. While volatile memory dominates current designs, non-volatile storage options are beginning to emerge, offering improved safety for long recordings or power interruptions. Storage capacity remains a key factor in camera performance.

Control and Interface Electronics:
The synchronization between the sensor and memory is handled by advanced electronics, ensuring no frames are lost during high-speed acquisition. These electronics also manage external signals such as triggers, IRIG-B, and PTP1588, acting as the command center during recording. Additionally, they provide the interface between the camera and the PC for setup, control, and monitoring.

User-Friendly Software:
Early high-speed camera software focused on basic image transfer. With advancements in PC performance, software has evolved into powerful suites that support image analysis, annotation, and automation. Today’s software not only manages acquisition but also enables advanced features such as intelligent triggering and post-processing using embedded algorithms.

Each of these components plays a crucial role in ensuring the camera's ability to accurately capture and process high-speed events.

The desire to make the unseen visible is as old as photography is. Soon after the invention of photography the first “high-speed pictures” emerged out of very basic cameras. A good overview of how high-speed photography has developed and advanced to today's technology can be found on Wikipedia. It effectively illustrates the evolution and inventions, from high-speed film cameras to early high-speed digital cameras, culminating in today's marvels of technology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_photography

As a fun side note: The term “frames per second” used in today’s high-speed digital cameras originates from the era of high-speed film cameras, where 16mm film spools were physically divided into individual frames. 

One of the core components of a high-speed camera is the image sensor. This sensor, with its specific resolution, has a fixed data throughput, typically measured in gigapixels per second (Gpixel/s). This throughput is usually constant and defined by the sensor’s architecture, determining the maximum frame rate achievable at full resolution.

The higher the throughput in Gpixel/s, the faster the sensor can operate overall.

By reducing the vertical and/or horizontal resolution, the frame rate can be increased—fewer pixels are read out per frame, while the overall data rate remains unchanged. This method, known as windowing, allows users to boost the frame rate by decreasing resolution. It’s especially useful in applications that require either higher temporal resolution (faster frame rates) or higher spatial resolution (more detail), depending on the test scenario.

In modern high-speed cameras, this flexibility is crucial for adapting to different recording needs using a single device.

A helpful rule of thumb: the Gpixel/s value of a sensor is its constant. This defines the maximum frame rate at full resolution. Lowering the resolution increases the frame rate proportionally, maximizing performance based on the application.