High Speed High Dynamic Range Video

High-speed digital video is a common measurement tool used in the analysis of explosive or similarly energetic events. The dynamic range of a digital camera is limited to bit depth of the analog to digital converter and deep well capacity of the sensor. The dynamic range of an explosive event can exceed the camera's dynamic range by many orders of magnitude, often in excess of 120 dB causing loss of data from sensor saturation. A method has been developed to utilize current off the shelf synchronized high-speed cameras to film events consisting of extremely high dynamic range events. This paper will describe the process for the design and implementation of an optimized system composed of any number of cameras, and demonstrates the capabilities of a constructed system to capture a video spanning 169 dB range (28 stops) at 79,000 pps using three and four high speed cameras.