The DSLR Rig captures the moment.
The Argus Rig captures the event.
Two synchronised camera systems, designed, built and operated entirely in-house. They are not the same tool at two price points. Each is the right answer to a different brief. Here’s how to choose.
Built the same way
Both rigs build from click-together camera modules, so the array can take almost any physical shape: a straight line, an arc, a full circle around the subject, or wrapped to fit the set. Pricing is simple on either rig: per camera, per day. And a two-person crew sets up and runs the whole thing.
Captures the event
50 synchronised Z CAM E2 4K cine cameras recording continuous, frame-locked video, so the perfect moment is chosen in post, not guessed on set. Silent in operation, with near-instant preview for the director and client. The only cine-camera bullet time rig in the world, it does everything: bullet time, photogrammetry, 3D, plus moving 4D and volumetric capture.
Captures the moment
Up to 240 Canon DSLRs on a Tamron 18-200mm F2.8, driven by software we’ve built and refined since 2015. The result is the highest still resolution we offer, around 5.7K per camera, print-grade, with stills published in Vogue and GQ. True in-camera long exposure for light painting and light trails. Bullet time, photogrammetry and 3D, frozen at the triggered moment.
What each rig can produce
| Capability | DSLR Rig | Argus Rig |
|---|---|---|
| Bullet time / time slice | Yes | Yes |
| Photogrammetry | Yes | Yes |
| 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) | Yes | Yes |
| 4D Gaussian Splatting (4DGS) | No | Yes |
| Volumetric capture | No | Yes |
| True long exposure / light painting | Yes, in camera | Limited |
| Moving subject through the slice | Via video cameras at each end | Yes, throughout |
The Argus rig does everything the DSLR rig does, and more. Because it records synchronised video, a single extracted frame gives the same frozen-moment stills, photogrammetry and 3D; a sequence of frames adds moving 4D and volumetric capture. If you need photogrammetry or 3D on a shoot that’s already using the Argus, you don’t need a separate company. The rig already does it.
Long exposure
This is the clearest split between the two rigs. The DSLR rig holds its shutter open for seconds at a time, which makes it perfect for true in-camera long exposure and light painting: light trails and rear curtain flash work, exactly how we shot Emma Raducanu for Vodafone. The Argus has limited long exposure ability, because a cine camera can only expose for as long as a single frame lasts. It can add natural motion blur inside a frame, but if a long exposure carries the shot, the DSLR rig is the right tool.
Motion through the slice
The Argus records video on every camera, so the subject can keep moving all the way through the slice, and the sweep can start from any point in the take. The DSLR rig captures one frozen instant, so to move into and out of the freeze we place video cameras at each end of the array for the lead in and lead out, the way we shot The Cube for ITV.
Hardware & specs
| Cameras | ~120 Canon DSLRs (scalable to 240) | 50 Z CAM E2 4K cine cameras |
|---|---|---|
| Captures | Still images, frozen at the triggered moment | Continuous synced video, moment chosen in post |
| Resolution | ~5.7K per camera (Vogue / GQ print) | 4K up to 120fps · 1080p up to 240fps |
| Sync | Triggered fire (simultaneous or sequenced) | Pixel sync, frame-for-frame across all cameras |
| On set | Mechanical shutter · ~30s between takes | Silent · near-instant preview for director/client |
| Long exposure | True in-camera (light painting, light trails) | Limited, blur within a frame |
| Time control | Frozen moment only | Freeze, ramp, reverse, non-linear time moves |
| Pick this when | You need maximum still resolution, print output, or true long exposure | You need motion, 4D / volumetric, silence, or to choose the moment in post |
Both rigs build into click-together modules, take any physical shape, and are priced simply: per camera, per day. Run by a two-person crew.
Not sure which rig your job needs?
Send us a brief and we’ll tell you the right rig and the camera count.