NAB 2016 has turned out to be subdued in product announcements when it comes to cameras. Sure there are a few of not but nothing earth shattering for price conscious video enthusiasts. The Sony FS5 is still a great camera and the new firmware to be released in May-June 2016 will give it more features and power.
The New firmware update v2.0 will be free but if you want the high frame rate capabilities you will need an external recorder and $600 USD or $500 Euros. Also you will need an external recorder to handle the RAW output.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Sony has rocked the slow motion 4k world today with the Sony HDC-4800 Professional Live Event and Sports shooting camera released today at NAB 2016 in Las Vegas. It has a very impressive spec sheet for slow motion enthusiasts. And it is the first true super slow motion camera from sony that shoots above 250fps in 4k resolution. Quite a beast!
If you were thinking about getting excited about this camera’s price, let it be known that Sony has not shared the pricing details but we expect it to be high four figures maybe more.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Resolution is one of the most important aspects of any camera image. In slow motion it could be the difference in showing important details or just obscure an event all-together. In machinery failures during manufacturing; low resolution and high resolution can mean the difference in spotting a crack or bend in the process and that is hugely important.
For film makers and videographers resolution weights a lot when deciding upon a slow motion camera solution. Not to long ago slow motion cameras at or under 1 megapixel 1024*1024 for example was a novelty and a luxury. Nowadays 1280*720px or the lower end of HD resolution is easy to find and widely used. However 1080p and or 4k are the resolutions that seem to cause the most interest.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Aalborg University’s Drone Research Lab based in Denmark has tested a catapult contraption with a Drone rotor and propeller against pig flesh. The results seem to be as you would expect even before you attempt the experiment. A given hypothesis is that a high speed propeller can cause some damage to skin or flesh as any sharp object would.
It is interesting as an experiment but there seems to be a lot of negative press about this from several news and tabloid sources. Drones get a bad rap and continue to be a favorite of regulation advocates for privacy and security. There will be more experiments made with larger and diverse drones as time progresses.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Lytro started in the consumer space a few year’s back by enabling light field camera sensor technology in a portable package. Back then it allowed the user to select the focus point in the image to control depth of filed after the shot had been taken. This is emulated by Panasonic on the GX8 and GH4 with Post Focus but that is a feature that does some tricks with multiple images and lens focus points to select final depth of field.
Lytro does this by capturing all the rays of light entering the sensor at different angles and times to create a light field or three dimensional map of a real subject or scene. The consumer cameras sold in less than stellar numbers due in part to low resolution and while they tried with the Lytro Ilum to bring a more SLR like camera with 40 mega-rays or down-converted to 4 traditional megapixels. It also bombed as the post focus feature was not enough pull to get consumers to adopt the platform; along with claims of low dynamic range and artifacts in bright spots. The Ilum camera is still available for purchase at under $370 USD from the 1299 introductory price; quite a drop!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Seems that Samsung has hit a home run with the Galaxy S7 smartphone release. It has broken their order records and they are positioned to report improved earnings of 10.4% in part because of the S7. It seems the decision to re introduce water resistance, a swappable battery and expandable memory has given back some of the identity they lost with the S6 line.
This time we look at the recent footage from owners of the phone to see the slow motion quality improvements made to the phone. While they skipped full HD 1080p 120fps which the iPhone 6s has; they did improve the 720p mode with 240fps. It is time to see what they were able to achieve for high frame rate quality.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←