A DiveCam operator (right) releases the camera. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Now that the Beijing Olympics are over, I’m left wondering what to watch on TV every night. What will I do without swimming or diving? Not that I’m a big fan of diving or have a clue what makes a good water entry. While the divers where spinning and twisting, I was wondering how the they got such cool angles. And why was there’s a guy pulling on a rope behind the diving platform? The answer is the “DiveCam” as it is called. The camera is mounted on a pole and is dropped by just the force of gravity and it continuously shows a diver as he jumps off the top of the board, then follows the divers in the air, and splashes into the water. The Wall Street Journal has a detailed article.

Other cool shots:

MobyCam - underwater camera that tracks a swimmer during a race

FlyCam - wire suspended use in canoe and scull races. This is similar to the cool shots in the NFL games hovering over the players. One actually fell onto the field last season during a game.

Rail-Cam - camera fixed on a rail system that runs along side some track events. It’s also used in the gymnastic vault.

Camcorderinfo.com goes into detail on the camera technology of the games.