Category Archives: Reviews

Reviews of Hi Speed Cameras!

Fake Slow Motion Is It Worth It?

Fake Slow Motion

There has been a lot of work put it developing software that can interpolate frames for video editing and compositing applications. Twixtor in the late 90’s was perhaps the first time the technology could make something worthwhile and really produce acceptable results in a computationally acceptable timeframe.

Today the most used algorithm is Adobe’s Optical Flow in Premiere or Time Warp in After Effects which use vector directional plus acceleration of pixel values to derive in between frame data to generate new frame information from the preceding frame as point A and the next frame as point B.  The results can do some wonders to really slow down things above the frame rate ceiling of the camera. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Panasonic GH5 vs Red Epic Slow Motion!

Panasonic GH5 vs Red Epic Slow Motion

The Youtube channel CRFTSHO has created a guessing video game that pits the Panasonic GH5 vs the RED EPIC Camera in a slow motion 1080p match.  The fun is that even for the trained eye there is no easy way to tell which camera is actually on screen playing until you get the revelation footage which is the 2nd part of the game.

What is interesting about the results is that the RED Epic a camera worth over 10 times more than the Panasonic Lumix GH5 is almost indistinguishable and in some shots the cheaper camera is preferable in sharpness and detail.  It probably has to do with the GH5 doing full sensor downsampling up to 120fps at 1080p vs the RED doing sensor windowed mode. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia XZ Premium Slow Motion Shooting!

Sony Xperia XZ Premium Slow Motion

We already stated that the Slow Motion performance of the Sony Xperia XZs & XZ premium should be identical given that they share the exact same camera module based on a stacked memory sensor design. However many readers have asked if there is a difference between both phones.  Considering the latest samples released we can state that when it comes to slow motion shooting the XZs & XZ premium are identical.

The camera has a slow motion mode that takes very short bursts about 0.2 sec each to generate slow motion video in a 720p H.264 video stream. It is limited and you need trial and error to succeed but in the end, you can get terrific looking high-speed video that simply is unmatched by any other smartphone to date. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Chronos 1.4 Production Update 3!

Chronos 1.4

The Chronos 1.4 Kickstarter Project is advancing forward with FCC and CE approval which is crucial for shipment. Also the battery shipment issue seems to have been sorted out which could have halted delivery. Li-Ion batteries have special shipment requirements that make it hard for such electronics to travel by air for example or in tightly packed containers.  No details on the fix are specified.

There has been a setback however and that has to do with the LCD panels having a quality control issue. So the supplier will take 4 weeks extra to ship them. So all backers will have their camera deliveries pushed back by 3 weeks. The first week has already passed.  Other than that it seems to be ready for mass production. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Slow Mo Quality!

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

We have gotten a few questions about the EOS 5D Mark IV when it comes to it’s 120fps 720p slow motion mode.  We covered it back in August but samples were hard to find back then; all that has changed and now we can rate and position the camera in our HSC Camera Guide ranking.  While it will not win any contests for resolution or frame rate we think it is a good all around camera with useful features for video enthusiasts.

The negatives like high price,  Moire & Aliasing prone slow mo resolution, huge inefficient 4k bit rates on an old codec, 1.74x crop in 4k recording and big system bulk still apply for this camera.  The Panasonic GH5 for instance destroys the 5D Mark IV in the video spec department but that is ok considering the 5D Mark IV is a stills workhorse with a full frame sensor first and an excellent AF and high ISO performance package. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

OnePlus 3T Slow Motion Samples!

OnePlus 3T Slow Motion

The OnePlus 3T is a phone that is really a near clone of the OnePlus 3 but with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 / Quad-core Kyro CPU vs the Snapdragon 820 on the previous one. The main improvement is that the 821 chip is able to run at full speed without overheating the phone and force a throttle down.   Another improvement is a 3400mAh battery instead of 3000mAh on its older brother.

For slow motion however the camera should be the near the performance as camera improvements are “Intelligent Pixel Technology” which reduces noise in low light, New Saphire coated lens with slightly enhanced electronic image stabilization. The front selfie camera however offers 16MP on the 3T vs the 8MP of the  OnePlus 3 which should yield much more detail for these types of captures. → Continue Reading Full Post ←