An on-ride

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

is a camera mounted alongside the track of a

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

, log flume or other thrill ride that automatically photographs all of the riders on each passing

vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...

. They are often mounted at the most intense or fastest part of the ride, resulting in humorously distorted expressions due to

fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

or wind resistance. The pictures are then available for viewing and purchase as a

souvenir A souvenir ( French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and trans ...

. Upon exiting the ride, park guests pass a booth or shop where their vehicle's pictures are on display screens. Depending on the size of the vehicle used by the attraction, the entire car or groups of one, two, or four may comprise one photograph. The display images are numbered, and customers wishing to purchase a photo take the appropriate number to a cashier. This photo shop may be located in the same building as the displays or in a separate shop nearby. Many parks offer minimal editing tools (such as

red-eye effect The red-eye effect in photography is the common appearance of red pupils in color photographs of eyes. It occurs when using a photographic flash at low lighting or at night. When a flash passes through the eyes and rebounds at the back of the ...

removal) before purchase. The photo is usually ready within minutes of purchase. Single prints in varying sizes are available, provided in cardboard folio bearing the name of the park or ride. Often specialty products, such as

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

s, keychains or t-shirts, are available also. An unusual camera configuration can be found on the hydraulically launched roller coasters Top Thrill Dragster at

Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounc ...

and Kingda Ka at

Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located approximately southeast of Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelph ...

. Both had two cameras (Kingda Ka's second on-ride camera has since been removed), one during the high-speed launch segment and another at the final

brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, a ...

, providing riders with a before and after picture of themselves on those harrowing rides. Another unusual configuration is Hydra the Revenge at

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an Amusement park, amusement and water park located in Dorneyville, Pennsylvania, outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown, in the United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, Six Flags Entertainment Corpor ...

. The ride features two cameras; one takes a rider's picture before a loop and the other takes a picture while the rider is upside-down. Hydra the Revenge is, along with Mine Blower at Fun Spot America Kissimme, one of the few roller coasters to take a picture while the rider is upside down.

Video

A relatively new trend in the industry is on-ride

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

cameras. On some rides, on-ride videos are recorded by cameras mounted alongside the track, similar to on-ride photo cameras. This provides a third person montage-style of cuts which show the train entering, passing through and then leaving the frame. Rides that use this system include SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...

, and Mystic Timbers at Kings Island. Using the alternate system, videos are recorded by cameras mounted inside the ride vehicles, usually on the back of the seat in front of the subject. This provides a first-person

stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. It is usually in the form of an interior monologue which ...

-style film, showing the riders'

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

s close up from start to finish. Some coasters that use this system are Thunderhawk at Michigan's Adventure, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at

, Bluefire: Megacoaster at Europa-park, and Verbolten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. FireWhip at Beto Carrero World utilizes this style; a method also previously used by Saw: The Ride and The Swarm at Thorpe Park which no longer offer the service, with the camera mounted to the seat backs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:On-Ride Camera Cameras by type Roller coaster elements