Questions Concerning Slow-Motion Editing to Capture Pellets in Flight

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Ezana4CE

Ezana4CE

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Jan 15, 2021
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Texas, United States
I am not a video editor. With that said I have a few questions. I am experiementing with some footage taken while chronographing different pellets. I have slowed down a couple of shots to 1/8x speed. The audio of indexing the round and the shot are pretty slow, but I am unable to see the pellet in flight. What I do see is a sudden hole appear on the target.

My footage was recorded on a Pard NV007a in color mode. Information I’ve found online suggests that the Pard NV007a records at a frame rate of 30fps. I’ve read that a minimum of 24-30fps is necessary to produce slow-motion video, but I’m wondering if a higher frame rate is required for filming projectiles in flight. When I recorded the footage I was shooting from 65 yards around 845-850 fps. As stated above the video was slowed down to 1/8x. This is the slowest that I’ve been able to run my footage while editing clips using a free video editing app that I found called VN. 


My primary question is, within the above stated parameters is it possible to capture a pellet in flight on video? If so, what do I need to do that I haven’t mentioned? Advice from experienced members who’ve successfully filmed and edited some of their shots and POIs in this fashion would be greatly appreciated. 
 
generally you want a video setting of a high framrate on your cam .. 120fps would be typical ...
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I was afraid that might be the case, but it makes sense considering the speed of the projectile. I could see maybe slowing down a baseball being thrown recorded at 30fps.

I saw an older post where someone was asking about slowing down airgun shooting footage taken at 30fps with a Casio xlim camera (I think that was the model) because at higher frame rates that camera failed to record audio. I was hoping there might be a way to pull it off with what I have. 
 
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Not familiar with the PARD but my Tactacam is usually set at 120frames per sec. Imho don't think 30fps is picking up flight path of pellets.
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You are the first person I thought of after I realized it wasn’t going to happen with the footage I have and the app I used to edit it. I remembered how your footage looked when you started posting Tactacam footage. I’ve had my eye on an FTS setup for a while. At the moment I’m trying to use what I have, but my Pard setup isn’t an ideal when I’m not using a tripod. I primarily got it for nighttime pesting. You can see the setup on pgs 2-3 of this thread https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/new-tripod-setup-advice-and-criticism-are-welcome/page/3/
 
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Back a few years ago when I first started experimenting with a scope cam, I found 60fps to be inadequate. Like others are saying, 120fps does the trick. Here's a short clip done with a cheap action camera...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnVv-4k278k

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Thank you. What type of mounting system did you use when you captured that footage?
 
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Thank you. What type of mounting system did you use when you captured that footage?
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The mount is shop made with PVC fittings and uses a right angle prism so I can look through the scope normally while recording (like a Sideshot).

The finished assembly can be seen on this QB project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCuQXORDjZw

prism: https://www.amazon.com/Haoyipu-Rotate-Standard-Picatinny-Mounts/dp/B082K8WWXP
narrow lens to replace action camera's fisheye lens: http://www.ebay.com/itm/12mm-F1-8-Boarb-lens-1-3-Monofocal-23-Degrees-M12-IR-Cut-Filter-for-FPV-/273425483169
 
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I have an ATN 4K Pro that records at either 60 or 120 FPS. I can generally slow either frame rate enough to see the pellet in flight. Another trick I do is get a white oil paint pen and dab a drop of white paint on the back of the pellet. I have experiments with a lot of different colors, to include iridescent and florescent colors and have found white to work the best. As another member stated, if you shoot with the sun to your back, the camera picked up the pellet much better.

I also have a Tactacam that will record up to 240 FPS, and I believe Slo-Mo on the iPhone 11 and new is either 120 or 240 FPS.
 
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An old GoPro Hero 4 shoots 240 FPS in 720p quality. All you need is a really cheap 2x telephoto adapter and make some kind of a mount for it. There are great mounts available but do cost some money.

Downside of doing it directly on the scope's rear end is that you see very little of what you are aiming for on your phone but to see the pellet fly it is enough

Something like this:

https://youtu.be/e3v0nT9f8vQ




 
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Thank you all for your responses and continued input. I’ve watched most of the videos posted. @nervoustrig I like that DIY setup you posted. I’m not so great at building things. 


Considering all of the feedback it appears I’ll have to graduate to a different camera setup for daytime shooting which works for me. I have the Pard set up for larger rifles and primarily for nighttime pesting. I’m thinking a Tactacam system will work for something as small as my Lelya without adding too much weight as well as being convenient and easy enough to move to and from my other guns for daytime hunting and target practice. I’ve been contemplating this move for a few months, but y’all just confirmed the need to move upon the inclination. I also found a thread created during the summer on Tactacam cameras posted by @jungleshooter to be extremely helpful (https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/🔴-scope-side-cam-tactacam-specs-advice-current-prices-new-used/?referrer=1). 
 
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I use the Tactacam FTS for filming my shots. It took me a while to get it focused on my scope correctly. My problem is focusing at different distances. The scope has to be perfectly focused or the image is blured. My eye can correct for the blurriness but the camera can't. I have to take the time to focus for each shot. Get the sun behind you for picking up the pellet and use 240 fps for the smoothest video. Good luck.
 
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I use the Tactacam FTS with 240fps -- to check my hunting shots:

Where I hit, how much I was off, what the pellet did on its way (and after), and how the critter died.

Works great: Download the video from the camera to my cellphone. Open it in the iCLOO app (free; Android). With my finger I "crank" through the footage frame by frame, or using an adjustable percentage of the actual speed. Go back, go forward, etc. Even make annotations and record them.



But 240fps require good light. Or a scope with a big objective lens. Or very good glass that has high light transmission.

And so far I'm recording hits with around 650fps velocity and slower -- I haven't tried it with guns that throw lead at higher velocities....



Let us know how it goes! And any recommendations, I'm pretty new at this! 😊

Matthias
 
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