Photron

Photron is a Japanese company specializing in the manufacture of high-speed digital cameras, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with offices in San Diego, California and the United Kingdom. The company's FASTCAM series is utilized to capture high-speed images for slow motion playback in scientific and industrial applications. Photron's high-speed cameras are applied in fields such as: flow visualization,^[1][2] flame propagation,^[3] ballistics,^[4] firearm studies,^[5] material science,^[6] weapon development,^[7] biological science,^[8] biophysics,^[9] vehicle impact studies (crash safety),^[10] manufacturing, mining, automotive, and scientific research.

Photron

Industry	high-speed digital cameras
Founded	1974
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Products	Photron Cameras: FASTCAM, SA Series
Website	www.photron.com

History

1968-1991

In July 1968, Osawa Laboratories, the predecessor of Photron, was founded by J. Osawa & Co. as a subsidiary.^[11] The founding date is named as July 10, 1968.^[12] Photron Limited, a subsidiary of J. Osawa & Co., was founded in June 1974.^[11] Photron's name combines photon and electron, the fundamental process of creating electronic digital images from light. Photron's early high-speed cameras were only available in Japan. Photron began manufacturing professional film, video and photo-instrumentation equipment in Japan. Photron expanded into photo optics and electronic technologies including the manufacture of high speed digital cameras.^{[citation needed]} Osawa Laboratories and Photron Limited merged to form Photron Limited, still a J. Osato & Co subsidiary, in September 1983. In May 1984, J. Osawa & Co. sold the entirety of Photron Limited to the Japanese company Chisan Limited.^[11]

Photron closed its Komae Plant^{[citation needed]} in June 1985, and also opening a plant in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, as well as a Nagoya branch office.^[11] In 1987,Photron signed a distributorship agreement to sell Cintel telecine equipment in Japan.^{[citation needed]} Photron opened a San Jose, California office in 1988.^[11] Photron advanced their sensor technology in 1990 by working with Kinki University in Japan on a new design based on a block readout multichannel NMOS architecture. This new development produced a 256 pixel x 256 pixel x 4500 fps NMOS sensor which surpassed the fastest high-speed camera at that time, the Eastman Kodak SP2000 Motion analyzer (240 x 192 x 2000 fps).^{[citation needed]} In March 1991, Photron opened the Yonezawa Plant in Yamagata Prefecture.^[11]

1992-2011

IMAGICA Corp. bought all of Photron Limited from Chisan Limited in July 1992.^[11] After 1991, Photron continued to manufacture and sell high-speed cameras into Asia. However, Photron wanted to make available their new sensor technology to serve other applications outside ASIA. Photron reached an agreement with Eastman Kodak MASD to manufacture for MASD two high-speed cameras, the HS 4540 and the Kodak Ektapro(Motioncorder) products. These two products were sold by Eastman Kodak MASD in Europe, North America and parts of Asia until 2000, after which Photron assume worldwide responsibility for the products, renaming the HS 4540 the Photron FASTCAM SE and the Motioncorder as the Photron FASTCAM Super 10K.^{[citation needed]}

In 1994, Photron opened an office in Fukuoka City. The company went public and started offering stock over the counter in September 1997.^[11] In 1997, Photron started sales of the SLSM Super Slow Motion System made by EVS, a Belgian company.^{[citation needed]} In January 2000, the company established the subsidiary Photron USA in San Jose, California. Photoron acquired I-Chips Technology Limited in June 2000, making it a subsidiary. In April 2001, Photron established Photron Europe Limited, a subsidiary, in the United Kingdom. Photron established Photron Vietnam Technical Center Limited in late 2001.^[11] Photron acquired a ISO9001:2000 certificate for product quality in 2002. In 2003, Photron moved its head office, Ebina Plant, to the present location at Fujimi, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo. In 2007, Photron established Photron Medical Imaging Inc. as a subsidiary. In 2010, Photron's ISO certificate status changed to ISO9001:2008.^[11]

2011-2024

In 2011, the company became a fully owned subsidiary of IMAGICA Robot Holdings,^[11] a Japanese company which traditionally has been involved in film processing businesses.^{[citation needed]} Photron merged with IMAGICA DIGIX Inc. in 2012.^[11] In late 2013, Photron Inc. in San Diego came out with the FASTCAM Mini UX100 high speed camera for ballistics testing and other uses.^[13] In 2016, it introduced the FASTCAM Mini AX200.^[14] In 2020, the president of Photron was Takashi Takimizu, and the head office remained in Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, in the Jimbocho Mitsui Building.^[12] That year, Photron Group acquired Photonic Lattice, Inc.^[12] In 2021, Photron acquired TRASC, TASKEE, and ISLWARE. In 2022, it acquired Media Solutions, Inc.^[11] Since 2011, Photron operates as a wholly owned subsidiary and a business unit of IMAGICA GROUP Inc. (formerly Imagica Robot Holdings), collaborating on technologies including color science, broadcast applications, and image processing.^[15][16][17]

Cameras and applications

The FASTCAM SA5-RV Digital High-Speed Camera is a 1 megapixel 12-bit camera recording at 7,500 FPS.

In the past decade, Photron has introduced advancements in high-speed imaging technology, with some camera models capable of recording at over 2.1 million frames per second at various resolutions."^{[18][19][20][21]} Photron high-speed cameras can operate 20,000 fps at 1024 x 1024 pixel at 12-bit pixel resolution to ultra high-speed cameras operating over 2.1 million frames per second. Designers, manufacturers, and test engineers employ high-speed cameras for motion analysis, which assists in identifying details and phenomena not visible in real-time observation. Cameras vary by size, resolution and Frames Per Second (fps). For example, the SA5-RV model is designed for use in environments with high heat or vibration, addressing conditions that may challenge conventional camera systems.

The following list is an incomplete list of Photron-related camera models.

FASTCAM Super 10K

The Photron FASTCAM Super 10K is a 512 x 480 High-speed camera. It is part of the Photron FASTCAM line of cameras, introduced in 1996. Photron FASTCAM Super 10k was introduce in 2000. However, the camera was trade branded previously in 1992 as a KODAK MASD product. The Kodak Motioncorder and the Photron FASTCAM Super 10K are the same camera, just different trade names.

The FASTCAM Super 10k native resolution is 512 x 480 pixels x 8 bits at 250 FPS. By reducing the resolution, the frame rate for recording can be increased. As an example, 1000 FPS is achieved with a resolution of 256 x 240 pixels at 8 bits. The 10,000 FPS requires the resolution be reduced to 128 x 34 pixels at 8 bits. The FASTCAM Super 10K came with three different memory storages capabilities. The Processor could hold either 128 MB, 384 MB or 512 MB. With the maximum memory, the camera can record 2,184 images or 8.73 seconds of record time at 250 FPS. Digital image data could be read from the Processor through a SCSI interface. Live video images could be displayed on NTSC or PAL monitors. Ancillary information would be display as OSD (On-Screen-Data). The camera cable could be up to 16m from the Processor. The system could be controlled from a computer through an RS-232 interface sending simple ASCII commands.

It has been verified by the manufacture that over 4000 Motioncorders/Super 10K cameras were produced from 1996 to 2005.

FASTCAM Ultima 40K

The Photron FASTCAM Ultima 40K is a 256 x 256 High-speed camera. It is part of the Photron FASTCAM line of cameras, introduced in 1996. Photron FASTCAM Ultima 40K was introduce in 2000. However, the camera was trade branded previously in 1992 as a KODAK MASD product. The Kodak HS4540 and the Photron Ultima 40K are the same camera, just different trade names.

The FASTCAM Ultima 10K has been used in ballistic studies, airbag design and qualification studies, combustion studies, flow visualization studies such as aerosol dispersion and many other high-speed camera applications. Photron manufactured various version of this high-speed camera system (Photron Rabbit, Kodak HS4540, Photron Ultima 40K and the Photron FASTCAM SE all using the same image sensor) from 1990 to 2006.

FASTCAM SE

The Photron FASTCAM SE is a 256 x 256 High-speed camera. It is part of the Photron FASTCAM line of cameras, introduced in 1996. Photron FASTCAM SE was introduce in 2000. However, the camera was trade branded previously in 1992 as a KODAK MASD product. The Kodak HS4540 and the Photron SE are the same camera, just different trade names.

FASTCAM Spectra

The Photron FASTCAM SPECTRA is a 256 x 256 High-speed camera coupled with an image intensifier. The image intensifier can shutter to 20 nanoseconds and has a spectral response between 180 nm to 800 nm. It is part of the Photron FASTCAM line of cameras, introduced in 1998.

FASTCAM Ultima 512

The Photron FASTCAM Ultima 512 is a 512 × 512 high-speed camera. It is part of the Photron FASTCAM line of cameras. The Photron FASTCAM Ultima 512 was introduced in 2001.

See also

• Japan portal
• Photography portal
• Business portal

• Open Design Alliance
• High speed photography
• Electronics industry in Japan