Video: The Slow Mo Guys burst bubbles at 50,000 frames per second: Digital Photography Review

The Slow Mo Guys are back at it with more slow motion video. This time, the crew have recorded popping a giant bubble at 50,000 frames per second. How ‘giant’ are we talking? The bubble is large enough for Slow Mo Guys team member Dan to be completely encased.

Gavin and Daniel started recording at 1,000 fps using the Phantom Flex4K. The Flex4K is designed for cinematic applications, so while it doesn’t offer the same speed capabilities as some of Phantom’s other high speed cameras, the footage is 4K and looks excellent.

After having their fill of 4K 1,000 fps footage, it was time to switch to the Phantom TMX 7510. The TMX 7510, the world’s first high-speed camera to use a backside-illuminated sensor, trades resolution performance for extreme speed. It can record up to 76,000 fps at 1280 x 800 resolution. The Slow Mo Guys started at 20,000 fps, ramping up to 50,000 fps.

As they increase the framerate, new details about how the bubble moves and pops emerge. At 1,000 fps, you can see a lot that is impossible to see with the naked eye. At 20,000 fps and above, even more interesting observations are possible. For example, you can see the surface tension better at 20,000 fps than at 1,000 fps. What about at 50,000 fps? Check it out in the video above.

To see more great content from The Slow Mo Guys, you can head directly to YouTube or check out some of our previous coverage, including exploding capacitors shot at 187,500 fps and shattering glass at 800,000 fps.

If you want to see insects recorded in slow motion, check out these articles featuring videos shot by Dr. Adrian Smith: Moths taking flight at 6,000 fps and springtails bouncing and jumping at 73,000 fps.