It is no small achievement to create a high speed camera of any kind; and to do it at 1/5th the regular price of competitive hardware is more of a balancing act between offering a robust product while still remain under budget.  In our review of the edgertronic SC2+ Color we saw that the camera not only performed as advertised but exceeded our expectations when it came to image quality, dynamic range and dependability.

In this ten question interview we ask Mike Matter, the CEO of Sanstreak the parent company of the edgertronic camera and the main hardware engineer behind the edgertronic SC2 and SC2+ Cameras, what the camera means for the high speed market, competitors, clients and the motivation for the choices behind it’s design.

Mike Matter Interview September 2016:

Questions: HSC    Answers: Mike Matter

1) What was the main goal for creating the SC2 and SC2+?

You can never have too much horsepower. The same is true of frame rate.

Basically, they get higher frame rates and image quality. For example at 720p, the SC2+ will record up to 4456fps vs 701fps for the SC1. Maximum frame rate is ~31K up from 18K, and the minimum exposure is 1.2µs, down from 4µs. The SC2(+) uses a new sensor that has lower noise and better overall image quality compared to the SC1, especially at high ISO settings which are important when using very short exposures.

Absolutely. The SC2+ offers a performance level that should make Vision Research (Phantom), Photron and all the other high end companies worried. We offer similar performance at less than 1/5th the price.

Our primary markets are scientific, industrial and defense. For these customers, a 720p camera makes more sense as it offers a 2x higher frame rate and light sensitivity compared to a 1080p camera based on similar technology. 1080p is primarily an artistic and video production requirement.

This is answered in #2 above.

edgertronic SC2+ Review Footage Samples – 2:

Yes. You can genlock a mix of SC1 and SC2(+) cameras. Of course, the settings of all the cameras must be compatible in terms of frame rate.

Yes. Sanstreak’s business plan is to use excellent engineering to drive down the cost of high speed cameras. The SC1 initially sold for about 1/5 the price of similar cameras from Fastec, AOS and others. Actually, our cameras were not only cheaper, but had more features and better image quality than other cameras using the same sensor. Similarly, there are other cameras that use the same sensor as the SC2(+), bus we are not only less expensive, we offer higher frame rates and image quality. Excellent engineering is when you can design and sell a product that is both lower cost and higher performance. This is what we do and we take great pride in it.

Ballistics, explosions and other energetic phenomenon are obvious. Less obvious are destructive testing like drop tests. Brittle fracture in materials like glass and plastic happens very rapidly and requires high frame rates. As before, we expect our customers to use the SC2+ in ways we could never have imagined.

edgertronic SC2+ Review Footage – Water Balloons: