BBC reveals stunning sample footage shot with TyphoonHD4 camera
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 7th 2009 4:17PM
posted May 7th 2009 4:17PM
The BBC has already proven itself to be quite the source for some impressive HD images, but the network's Natural History Unit looks to have really outdone themselves for their forthcoming South Pacific documentary, which makes use of a modified, $100,000 TyphoonHD4 camera. Of course, those exact modifications appear to be a closely-kept secret, but it has apparently been outfitted with a special underwater housing designed by German high-speed camera expert Rudi Diesel, and the camera itself is able to shoot in high definition at 20 times the speed of a normal HD camera, which results in some pretty amazing super slow motion footage. You can get a taste of that after the break but, trust us, you'll want to head up the read link below to really get a sense of what this thing is capable of.
[Via SlashGear]
[Via SlashGear]
Sweet.
Epic!
totally!
Amazing! Incredible! AWESOME!
Mere mortals will never touch a camera like that. Freaking amazing though.
I'd hate to see what the final cost of the camera is... though the footage they're getting is absolutely killer!
There was so much awesome from that surfing video, I puked the excess awesomeness.
I didn't want it to end!
Sweet video!
jeanjean.c.la
Coolio.
Random abundant affirmative expletives!!
Nice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md0c_toWvWc
Wow =O
Do I want too much from them if I want them to sell it to me? :p
I agree with @Rich UK :)
Ah crap i clicked the wrong reply button xD
See comment and replies below :P
The BBC always do awesome documentaries. Now, if they'd actually transmit an HD signal over terrestrial TV, that'd be very nice - I shouldn't have to fork out for a satellite dish or a cable TV connection just to receive BBC HD. What's the TV license for then?
is that even possible? And at least you can use Freesat: One off payment for HD TV...
You need to use iPlayer. I use my 32inch Bravia as a computer screen over HDMI to my Dell Studio 17, and all BBC programs on iPlayer look crisp.
iPlayer is fine, but how about some HD for live TV? The 2010 World Cup will be filmed in HD, are you really gonna watch the matches after they finish on iPlayer to see them in HD?
I really can't believe people complain that you don't get BBC HD for the fee £12 a month? When the switch over happens BBC HD will eventually come to terrestrial. Besides, if you shell out £150 for a freesat, you will. If you step but back and look at what you get from the BBC its great value for money, its not all for everyone, but i would take it over commercial channels any day. Personally I don't watch any other channel.
Isn't it a bandwidth issue or something?
Yeah, the analog switch off is meant to free up a lot of that bandwidth so they can finally start broadcasting HD over DVB. There are several standards for HD over DVB and I don't think the UK has settled on one yet.
The standard will be DVB-T2, it will be MPEG-4 AVC, broadcasting trials are to start in 2010 in london iirc
You do know that when they start broadcasting HD over terrestrial you will have to buy a new box anyway? DO you think the BBC should be giving out £150 HD receivers with their £120 licence fee? The BBC is leading the way making its programmes available as possible. BBC is a founding partner in Freeview and Freesat, as well as pushing digital radio and internet streaming radio on its website and iPlayer as well. Apart from having the people come round and act/present in your front room I don't know what more you could expect of them
Looks great. Of course its going to look ten times better when it comes out on TV rather than Youtube.
Its a real shame that despite putting all that effort (and cash) into filming HD footage like this, they're not showing it on the HD channel on Sunday night when its on in SD. Instead you'll have to wait till Tuesday 12 May to see it in HD.
BBC did this with they're Yellowstone documentary series too.
anyone wanna link me to a torrent of this? lol I kinda wanna see it now
Youtube HD isn't good enough for you?
I was just reading this article on the BBC
Sweet! Any chance of this little gem making to the Engadget's recession antidote? j/k
Whoa, 100 grand?! Isn't that even more expensive than movie cameras? Anyways, that shot was incredible. Hopefully in the coming years cameras will have improved so much that I can shoot that with a home camcorder.
no not really... Even high-quality film cameras easily be 250K or more with all the components..
The inherent restrictions in size for a consumer camcorder aren't likely to change the next few years, I bet :)
holy.......frigging........crap
Ha. I was watching the video in full screen and I was so captivated and then all of a sudden a big '2' came and engulfed the screen and then I remembered I was watching a youtube link.
I love the smell of napalm in the morning!
hmm, this or the casio...
amazing i love it
You'd want to make dam sure the underwater housing was total watertight before sticking your $100,000 camera in it!!!!
Man that was breathtaking!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqzHvcwJmQY
20x 24fps = 480fps. Great for a HD video camera; but film's been doing more for years (specialty film cameras can shoot 10,000fps). "Step Into Liquid" has nearly identical shots on film - from 6 years ago.
no HD is still 30fps. so its actually shooting 600fps here. also with the 10000fps cam's, they have to be completely still. this photographer was in the middle of the ocean... and yes, step into liquid has some pretty sweet slo-mo footage but its not 600fps like these shots. oh and *actual* film is a whole lot more expensive than harddrives capable of recording the same amount of frames.
Holy christ that's awesome.
So, 1080p @ 600 FPS? Woah.
Pilot to bomb-a-deer! Where did they get the design for this? A B-42? It also can swim! Those Germans are outpacing us in technology, I dare say.
And while I love nearly all the US firearm manufacturers, this is why I still entrust my life to a SIG P226, at least when I have a say about it. I got one that's about 85% manufactured in W. Germany, had to replace the bbl and extractor.
...And they chose to show off this stunning footage using the amazing quality of YouTube 'HD' video? Genius.
Wahoo.
Oh we (UK) paid for this. :(
Now waiting for the wife to tell me off about this extravagance.
@Jules:
The BBC is a real credit to your country's culture. As far as I know it's unique in the world and produces a wide variety of world-class services. All my online news (well, except engadget) comes from news.bbc, we pay for BBC-A on our cable, and of course, co-produced projects like Planet Earth make their way onto channels like Discovery and DVDs at the store. Sure, it's expensive to produce but it's anything but a waste of money. I think it inspires generations to what to know more about the world.
absolutely stunning!
That narrator sounds like a 20-years younger Jeremy Clarkson lol
I've seen a lot of great BBC documentaries, but I HAVE to have this one. I've just pre-ordered it on Blu-ray from the BBC Shop (2 discs). I cannot wait to "Ooh" and "Ahh" over this, but I'll have to wait until June 15 at least.
They just keep blowing mind.
Everytime you think you've seen it all, they amaze you.
Knowing that most of the wild-life programs with David Attenborough where allready superb. This is very promising.
This just made my day, a little bit more.
Wow is that cam made of carbon fiber? That's incredible!
Actually, the only commonly available high speed 35mm film camera is the Photosonics 4E.
Top speed is 360 fps.
The camera has 15 pull down claws and sounds like an aeroplane engine.
It is quite a machine.
However there are quite a few 1,000 fps HD cameras.
The Vision Research Phantom is quite popular and very available world wide.
150K is chump change when it comes to professional video or movie cameras.
The Sony F35 HD camera (top speed 50 fps) is 4 times this cost for the body, recorder and viewfinder alone.
Double this to add accessories and lenses.
Just to wake you up, those images are often 'enhanced' in postproduction with the help of CGI you know, make no mistake, they all fake everything, the news, the documentary makers, and the cops and pentagon and CIA and congress, all of them, none aren't friends of complete honesty and respect for truth and reality.
Oh and they also put fake sound on documentary footage too.
Sorry if I woke you up when you weren't done resting.
non are* (too many edit makes double negatives)