28,800 BPS Captured in a Photo
I wanted to photograph a sweeping second hand of a mechanical watch. What I got instead was a photograph showing what 8 beats per second looks like. Exposure time was supposed to be 2 seconds, but it appears the shutter was open for slightly longer.
18 comments
Sort by
Harry
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” — Albert Einstein
New Jersey
Member since
Last active: 2 hrs ago
16.51 cm
That is really cool and captures the passing of time perfectly!
Looks like it captured 19 beats, so the shutter was open for about 2.4 seconds.
Looks like it captured 19 beats, so the shutter was open for about 2.4 seconds.
Could the movement be fast? Is this what happens when it gains a few seconds a day?
Very cool image! Could also look interesting with some lume and a longer exposure time.
Cool shot! What camera?
Cool shot! What camera?
Sony a7iii. Macro tube extension attached to 50mm 1.8 lens. Taken at 100 ISO.
Sony a7iii. Macro tube extension attached to 50mm 1.8 lens. Taken at 100 ISO.
Canon T7 here, with a Tamron 18-400mm, which gives me a 28.8-640mm effective range. I take one lens on vacation!
Absolutely love these long exposure shots!
That is absolutely crazy!! What a shot, gotta try this for myself! 👏
Stunning photo man. Makes me realize I need to get my DSLR out for some real photos instead of relying on the iPhone.
Excellent photograph.
Those with cheaper quartz movements get to see this in real time with how much some seconds hands recoil.
Very cool shot. As @JBird7986 mentioned, there appear to be 19 distinct positions, yet the "distance" travelled appears to be about 2 seconds or less (the first one is 2/3 of the way between the 52 and 53 second mark, and the final one is slightly short of the 55 second mark).
It would be interesting to see similar photographs for various other movement frequencies, such as Spring Drive, hi-beat 5Hz, 3Hz, and old electronic movements such as the Accutron or Omega 1250 as used in their f300Hz models.
I'll have to try this.
Very cool shot. As @JBird7986 mentioned, there appear to be 19 distinct positions, yet the "distance" travelled appears to be about 2 seconds or less (the first one is 2/3 of the way between the 52 and 53 second mark, and the final one is slightly short of the 55 second mark).
It would be interesting to see similar photographs for various other movement frequencies, such as Spring Drive, hi-beat 5Hz, 3Hz, and old electronic movements such as the Accutron or Omega 1250 as used in their f300Hz models.
Great idea
Love the visual depiction of tiny amounts of time. Great use of a wristwatch and camera if only for how fascinating it is that it is possible.
So I tried again. Two second exposures for all photos. I think I got lucky yesterday with such a clear shot. Three watches. Anyone care to guess what’s happening to the minute hand in the last photo?
In the first two, it appears to be accurate. Two seconds. 16 beats?
Super cool shot!!
Very cool shot. As @JBird7986 mentioned, there appear to be 19 distinct positions, yet the "distance" travelled appears to be about 2 seconds or less (the first one is 2/3 of the way between the 52 and 53 second mark, and the final one is slightly short of the 55 second mark).
It would be interesting to see similar photographs for various other movement frequencies, such as Spring Drive, hi-beat 5Hz, 3Hz, and old electronic movements such as the Accutron or Omega 1250 as used in their f300Hz models.
So I tried again (see in comments of post) and got better results. There must be an optical/mechanical reason the numbers didn’t add up.
Awesome, I've tried that with a few watches.