What is the resolution of the camera?

The sensor is native 2K, 2048x2048 (a big square). The record resolution is selectable for the given application, which in turn expands options on record time and frame rates. The camera uses a single CMOS sensor and a 35mm film format PL lens mount. (Other available lens mounts include Panavision, Nikon, Canon FD, Hasselblad, Mamiya 645 and ARRI Mega PL.)  Common resolution choices are 1920x1080 (aka 1080p) and 1280x720 (720p). Other resolutions are also available for Digital Cinema use, for example 2048x1112 (1.85 aspect ratio). The resolution is selectable in eight pixel increments for custom framing options.

What is the size of the sensor?

The full size of the sensor (2048x2048) is 25.6mm x 25.6mm. When shooting 1080p, the width of the image used is 24mm, which is almost exactly the same as Super-35 (the full measurements are 24mm x 13.5mm). In 720p the image area used is 16mm x 9mm.

How fast can it shoot?

Frame rates are dependent on the choice of resolution. Only the vertical pixel count effects the maximum frame rate, so 2048x720 and 1280x720 will have the same frame rate options. Exposing the entire chip (2048x2048), the Phantom HD is capable of 555fps. At the more common 1080p, top speed is just over 1000fps. At 720p, top speed is in excess of 1500fps. The camera can shoot at slower speeds as well, down to one frame per second.

How big is the camera?

The Phantom HD body weighs just over twelve pounds. When viewfinder, riser, CineMag and other standard accessories are added, the camera weighs approximately twenty pounds. The Phantom HD is 12” x 10” x 6” (LxHxW) with standard Abel accessories. This is by far the smallest, lightest high-speed Digital Cinema camera available. It can fit inside underwater housings, mount on Steadicams and lightweight jibs, and with its ability to frame sync can be used in motion control and 3D rigs.

How light sensitive is the camera?

The Phantom HD is rated at approximately 500 ISO with a dynamic range of exposure in excess of ten stops. Common metering practices generally place the camera closer to 320 ISO.

How long can it shoot?

Currently, the most common versions of the Phantom HD are equipped with 16G of internal RAM. Runtime is determined by resolution, as a given resolution will yield a given number of frames that will fill this memory. So, in 1080p the memory can hold 4385 frames, which translates to 4.4 seconds when shooting at 1000fps. Played back at 30p (common for NTSC video use) this translates to 148 seconds of material. At 24p, this would be 185 seconds of material. At 720p, the memory can hold 6658 frames. At 30p playback, this runs for 222 seconds; at 24p, this runs for 277 seconds.

32G internal RAM is also available on option. If the Phantom HD you are using is a 32G model, the frame and time length capabilities described above would be doubled. Longer shots can be achieved by recording directly to a CineMag (see below).

A convenient calculator for this is located on the Vision Research website.

How can I view the shot?

The Phantom HD has an HD-SDI port, which can feed directly to a standard HD field monitor.  Material is immediately available for playback at selectable frame rates with no additional rendering or processing delay. Shots in the camera’s internal memory or saved to a CineMag (see below) are available for immediate playback.

What do I do with the material once it is captured on the camera?

Captured material can leave the camera in three ways. The camera has an HD-SDI port (single wire, 4:2:2), which can be used to feed directly to an HD deck in a variety of formats. Using the laptop computer controller some basic color correction can be performed on the image output over the HD-SDI. Downloading in this manner is in real-time, so a full file of 1080p material (4385 frames) played at 30p would take 148 seconds. This is not the recommended output method of the Phantom HD, but is an excellent way to monitor the image on set and to deliver a signal in a live event “instant-replay” environment.

The second way to output material is by direct data transfer. The camera captures in Uncompressed RAW, which is considerably more information than any video format can handle. This is excellent for complicated post-grading and effect work and offers the richest material for Digital Cinema production. To copy this material, the files are downloaded from the camera’s internal RAM via Gigabit Ethernet through the laptop computer controller to a hard drive. Currently all our rental laptops use USB or FireWire800 drives. Downloading Uncompressed RAW is not a real-time operation; it takes more than 10 min to transfer the entire memory buffer from the camera. However, there are ways to make this process more efficient (see below).

The third method is to data transfer to a CineMag, a portable flash memory device that clips to the top of the Phantom HD. A 16G RAM memory in the camera takes just ten seconds to transfer to the CineMag, which can then be downloaded later. The CineMag is available in 256G and 512G models. The CineMag stores or “packs” data differently from the internal RAM using a 10-bit Log structure rather than a 14-bit Lin one. By doing this, a 512G CineMag can hold 132 minutes of 1080p when played back at 24fps. The CineMag can be later downloaded using the camera or through a CineStation docking station. When downloaded and returned to Linear files the RAW material will unpack to approximately 850G, so Abel suggests planning to use a one terabyte hard drive for each 512G CineMag of footage. For more on the CineMag and CineStation, see below.

As a matter of practice, Abel Cine Tech does not supply hard drives as rental items, since these would almost always be kept by the production at the end of a shoot. Instead, we offer some of the most suitable models for sale. For example, products from WiebeTech, G-Tech and CalDigit, uses a pair of hard drives in a small raid (which we recommend setting in a mirror configuration so that both drives have the identical material should one fail or if the production wishes to mail one to the post facility while holding the other for insurance purposes). An appropriately sized unit to hold enough memory for a 512G CineMag sells for around $650.

How can I shorten download time during my shoot (direct download)?

There are a few procedural ways to keep the downtime on set as minimal as possible.
First and foremost is to realize that the entire length of a shot does not need to be transferred. Most extreme slow motion shots are used to capture events of a limited duration, such as a water drop or ball bounce. For these events, 1000fps footage would have perhaps 30 seconds of useful material. Using the laptop controller, IN and OUT points can be selected (they can also be selected for the HD-SDI output). The camera’s memory can also be partitioned into multiple CINE files, so that a number of takes can be captured before selecting IN & OUT points on each and downloading. Often it is the nature of this type of shooting that the required reset time on set, due to the nature of the subject, is longer than the download time of the Phantom system.

What are the CineMag and CineStation?

The Phantom is limited by its internal RAM recording capabilities, but it is also able to record to 256G and 512G capacity CineMags, which are interchangeable flash-based memory magazines that clip to the top of the camera. The 512G CineMag can record up to 132 minutes of Uncompressed RAW (1080p played back at 24fps). There are two ways to work with the CineMags. One can record directly to them, but the capture speed capability is a little less than half that of the internal memory, so the top frame rate in 1080p is 450fps. It takes approximately seven minutes to fill an entire 512G CineMag at this resolution and frame rate. The CineMag fills its memory sequentially, so a shot cannot be “thrown away.” Instead the entire CineMag must be cleared all at once, akin to exposing a roll of film. The other method is to capture to the Phantom’s internal RAM and then transfer to the CineMag. One advantage to this is that the shot can be trimmed quickly and easily at the camera before transfer. Even if an entire 16G shot is transferred, this process only takes ten seconds to complete. This is by far the most efficient system for shooting, as bad takes need not be saved and only the valuable parts of good takes are saved, saving both time and memory space.

The CineStation is a downloading dock for the CineMags. The camera can be used to download the files, however it is limited to Gigabit Ethernet speed, and this also ties up the camera. The standard CineStation has component HD and dual-link 4:4:4 HD-SDI outputs, as well as Gigabit Ethernet connectivity. An optional module upgrades the CineStation to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE) output. With a standard laptop computer and a reasonably fast portable hard drive, a 512G CineMag will download over Gigabit Ethernet in approximately seven hours. Using a 10GE CineStation with an optimized workstation and hard drive array that same 512G CineMag can download in about one hour (depending on other conditions).

Using a pair of CineMags and a CineStation, the Phantom HD can be used in a style similar to a standard production film camera. One need not fill an entire CineMag before downloading it. If just a few shots are captured to a CineMag and then it is swapped for another CineMag on the Phantom, and the first CineMag is downloaded at the CineStation, then this will limit the amount of downloading needed at the end of the production day.

What do I do with the Uncompressed RAW files?

IRIDAS software can read the CINE files natively. The GlueTools Phantom Component is a third-party application that will play the CINE file natively within a QuickTime wrapper. Using Compressor, another GlueTools product, can seamlessly convert the files to .dpx stacks. Often the RAW files are converted to .tiff or .dpx, and Abel gives clients some basic software for free to convert the files after production if there is not enough time to do so on set. Abel can also perform these file conversions or convert files to various HD and SD video formats for a fee at Abel’s Post Services department.

What is included in a typical rental package?

The Phantom HD base rental package includes

• Phantom HD camera with 35 PL mount and 16G internal RAM
• Laptop computer controller
• Color viewfinder or small HD LCD onboard monitor
• Riser plate to marry to standard 15mm or 19mm sliding baseplate
• 15mm or 19mm sliding baseplate (client choice)
• AC power supplies
• Various appropriate cables

The package does not include lenses or a hard drive. Other accessories such as mattebox, tripod and monitor are available a la carte. CineMags and CineStations are also additional items.

In the summer of 2009, Abel Cine Tech introduced the Phantom Breakout Box (BoB) as standard issue with all of its rental cameras. The BoB allows the camera to power from common 12v batteries and provides multiple 12v and 24v power ports to run common camera accessories. Abel also includes our new 400w JuiceBox heavy-duty power supply to run the Phantom with a full compliment of accessories. As an additional rental item, there is a handheld system with handgrips and an onboard battery mount. The camera is both small and light enough for extended handheld operation.

Abel’s policy is that a trained Phantom technician accompanies the Phantom camera on all jobs. There are a growing number of technicians that have experience with the Phantom. Abel Cine Tech holds periodic Phantom Training Seminars in both our New York and Los Angeles offices. For a list of trained Phantom Technicians, click here.

Sensor Cleaning

The sensor on the Phantom HD is a very expensive item. We do not recommend cleaning it without special tools and training. If any dust should land on the surface of the sensor, then it can be blown off using a hand-squeezing bulb syringe. Never use compressed air, lens cleaning fluid or lens cleaning cloths on a sensor.

Lighting for High-Speed

Lighting issues are not specific for the Phantom cameras but for high frame rate photography in general. Even with the great sensitivity of modern cameras, be prepared to use a considerable amount of light. Beyond illumination, the largest issue in high-speed lighting is flicker. Tungsten lights actually have a flicker rate. When powered by alternating current (AC) electricity, the power cycles 50 or 60 times per second (depending on the country and its power system). During the down cycle the tungsten lamp filament can dim slightly, causing flicker. The amount of dimming is related to the type of bulb, wattage and physical size of filament. In general, we have found that lamps larger than 2000 watts use tungsten filaments so large that they do not have time to cool and dim before the power cycles back up. Therefore, we recommend using 2K or greater tungsten light fixtures when shooting above 120fps in 60hz countries and 5K or greater when shooting above 100fps in 50hz countries. Be aware that a unit such as a nine-light is NOT a large fixture but is actually an array of smaller lights and as such can flicker.

Some additional recommendations are to use DC power for tungsten lights, which eliminates flicker entirely. HMI and fluorescent lights are generally fine for speeds under 120fps as long as they use electronic ballasts. Magnetic ballasts should not be used. HMI lights can suffer from “arc wander,” whereby a plasmatic “hot spot” can move about within the bulb, causing an amorphous shifting movement in the light output. LED lights are subject to the electronic circuits driving them which can create a vast array of refresh rates, but generally we have found that LED fixtures designed for the production community will not flicker as long as they are not dimmed.

Finally, the shutter angle on the Phantom can affect flicker as well, as a greater shutter angle allows for a longer response time from the light. When shooting extremely high frame rates, it may no longer be necessary to retain a 180-degree shutter to capture the motion generally preferred for a filmic look. A 360-degree shutter allows both more light sensitivity and reduced flicker possibilities.

For further technical questions, feel free to contact Sean Coles in our Los Angeles office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Jamie Alac in our New York office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .