[leoc]

I was wondering about using smartphone cameras as drum-head pickups, but the frame-rate problem put me off the idea. With the rolling-shutter trick it seems that it might be almost useful on bass drums, at least as a trigger rather than an audio source.

[tmandry]

I used to be a sound engineer for live shows. I could imagine high speed cameras being used to replace instrument microphones in live performances one day, much like optical mice replaced the roller ball style.

By keeping a fixed object in view of the camera (e.g. a reflector on the stage), a camera could correct for its own vibrations and achieve perfect rejection of outside noise, unlike most microphones which have a cardioid pattern.

Probably a pipe dream, but cool idea.