Digital synchroballistic schlieren camera for high-speed photography of bullets and rocket sleds

A high-speed digital streak camera designed for simultaneous high-resolution color photography and focusing schlieren imaging is described. The camera uses a computer-controlled galvanometer scanner to achieve synchroballistic imaging through a narrow slit. Full color 20 megapixel images of a rocket sled moving at 480 m/s and of projectiles fired at around 400 m/s were captured, with high-resolution schlieren imaging in the latter cases, using conventional photographic flash illumination. The streak camera can achieve a line rate for streak imaging of up to 2.4 million lines/s. (C) 2013 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)