New Phantom TMX Cameras Use Back-Sided Illuminated Sensors to Capture 1.75M FPS

In the category of "things we drool over," Vision Research has released two new high-speed cameras, the TMX 7510 and TMX 6410. Both offer ridiculous high frame rates using a back-side illuminated (BSI) sensor. 

This is the first time a BSI sensor has been used to capture such high speeds. Both cameras feature a 1 Mpx sensor with a standard resolution of 1280 x 800 as well as different binned modes down to 640 x 64. At full width, the TMX 7510 can record 76,000fps, while the TMX 6410 captures 65,940fps.

Though the sensor technology is the same, the two cameras deliver different speeds with a max throughput of 75 Gpx/second on the TMX 7510 and 64 Gpx/second on the TMX 6410. It allows the TMX 6410 to top out at 1.5M fps at a resolution of 640 x 64 using the FAST option with a 95ns minimum exposure time. The TMX 7510 raises the bar at 1.75M fps at the same resolution using the FAST option.

Both cameras offer up to 512GB of onboard RAM and are compatible with Phantom Cinemag V, which is the same storage used for the Flex4K, UHS, and T-Series camera models. The cameras come standard with Nikon F mount but are also available in Canon EOS, PL, C-Mount, and M42. 

What makes this interesting is that the front-side illuminated (FSI) sensors have photodiodes that are typically further away from the light source, and the circuitry sits in front of the photodiode. With BSI, it's the opposite and offers an improvement in light sensitivity and maintains a better throughput as the frame rates increase. It's partially why Sony always pushes its BSI sensors and why they perform so well in low light. As frame rates increase, you can get larger resolutions than FSI sensors. 

Makes you wonder what cool stuff The Slow Mo Guys or visual engineer Steve Giralt would do with them.