Sitting home in our easy chairs we can enjoy the thrills that come from a NASCAR race – up close and personal. The reason for this is because of the lenses that the car-mounted cameras use. From the fast-rushing landscape to rear bumper shots to near misses and close-ups of the driver, lost in concentration as he navigates the track at top speeds, camera technology allows us to enjoy it and feel as though we are part of the action.
Because of the mini camera lenses that are mounted in and on the vehicles we are treated to breathtaking shots. As viewers, we have come to expect these close up spectacular shots and camera and lens manufacturers work hand in hand to assure that we are getting what we want.
When cameras first made their way into sporting events, from car-mounted cameras in NASCAR to mask cameras for baseball, goal cameras for hockey and more viewers were treated to sometimes-grainy, rarely smooth camera shots. Technology today with anti-vibration camera lenses, high quality lenses, high resolution video and cameras that have shrunk in size help to draw in more viewers and sponsors.
NASCAR Track
What goes on behind the lens?
In a NASCAR event, holes are drilled into specific areas of the vehicles and cameras are fitted into the holes. It is a delicate balancing act because while the driver may want to be seen on camera (and a sponsor may dictate it), the drivers and teams don’t want their cars to become a swiss-cheese of holes for camera mounting. It’s been said that because of “tiny cameras there has been big business growth” and this is evident in many sports, especially NASCAR as there are sponsors waiting for the opportunity to have an in-car camera.
In the beginning in-car cameras were something that the drivers didn’t care for but they eventually realized that they were the price of doing business and NASCAR is big business.
Universe Optics manufactures high resolution lenses for machine vision, instrumentation, inspection and vibration-sensitive applications including standard and custom hi-res lens assemblies.