Quite a few of our readers have asked for HSC to comment on the rumors of a Canon R5 Mirrorless camera that according to unsubstantiated information claims 120fps at 4k and 8k at 30p. The R5 may be the modern non-DSLR successor camera to the EOS 5D Mark IV and could become a major release for the company for this decade. As rumors go we can probably believe some of it but we have to be skeptical on the full specs because Canon has not shown the willingness to push the envelope as far for many years and has calmy let Panasonic and Sony take the firsts spots on video features.
We would love to see Canon go ahead and push the envelope with amazing video features that can revive the platform for serious video production the same way the 5D Mark II did back in 2008 when it took the video world by storm and made it possible to shoot quality video that looked a lot like the 5D still images that have dominated certain segments of still imagery business like weddings.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Spanish Association of Broadcast, Cinema and TV Producers or PNBE for short, is sharing some information about a camera they are custom building for the purpose of shooting a new series for Spanish Television that explores Nature and Astrology “Or maybe Astronomy” which could be a translation error. The new camera will be able to shoot at pretty remarkable specs like 10k and 8k video including higher frame rates at many resolutions that surpass anything in its class.
The camera needs to have extreme detail and low light performance with RAW capabilities. Only a dozen will be built for the TV program but we assume they share the information in order to see if there is interest in the market for DPs and other professionals to own such a camera. We were happy to see that the spec sheet is very detailed with both H.264 and H.265 support aside from RAW and Cinema DNG formats in recording.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The new Sony PXW-FX9 XDCAM 6K Full-Frame Camera is what Sony fans have been waiting ever since the APS-C cameras Super 35 cameras like the FS5 and FS7 made the rounds. It is all that those cameras offered but now on a state of the art Full Frame sensor with Dual ISO capable of 800 and 4000 depending on the needed use. By being extremely sensitive the camera needs ND filtration and it doesn’t disappoint on that feature either by including a ramping – smooth increments ND filter from 1/4 to 1/128 which adjusts on Auto Mode depending on the scene without ruining the shot. An industry first.
On the Slow Motion front, the camera is consistent with Sony pedigree with now offering 120fps Full HD and with a promised firmware update 180fps Full HD and also 16-bit raw 4K/2K footage up to 120 fps to an external recorder. This is close but not quite what the FS5 is capable of in FHD which includes 240fps. The FS7 has in contrast 240fps @ 2K RAW Ext Rec & 180fps 1920*1080 Internal. Much closer to what the FX9 is capable of doing.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Z Cam E2 has finally started shipping and is now available for direct order at their site. The camera caught our attention for its low price of just $1999 and the high frame rate features of 240fps 1080p and 120fps 4k. It seems to be using the same 4/3 sensor as the great Panasonic GH5s but with extended features.
The camera company ZCam has also released some samples in a variety of scenarios so you can see what the camera is capable of. At first inspection, it is clear this camera is a clear step up from the Z Cam E1 which had some image quality issues. The E2 seems to go out of the box ready to produce class-leading imagery and offer some very nice high frame rate action. There are also some rumored comments that suggest the team is testing 300fps at 720p as an added bonus for future software.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
We liked the Insta360 Pro released last year because it upped the ante in resolution and immersion compared to other off the shelf camera solutions. This new Pro 2 camera essentially increases the performance by stitching six 4k images to truly bring VR recording to a point where resolution blends with realism at 8k 3D. VR has always suffered from the resolution Achilles heel which can kill the experience as you notice image errors like aliasing, softness or stitching artifacts.
The new Insta630 Pro 2 camera has 6 lenses and 6 full camera systems to capture the scene. If using H.265 for Post stitching it can reach 4k UHD at up to 120fps binned. All six cameras used at maximum resolution can build a 12k still image but for VR video you will be outputting an 8k stream in 2D or 3D with outstanding visual crispness. The demos shown do make it seem like headsets are now the technology that needs improvement to increase resolution and catch up.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Z Cam the relatively new Camera company from Shenzhen, China has announced the Z Cam E2 at NAB 2018 MSRP $1,999.00 USD. It is not a direct replacement for their ambitious but half-baked Z E1 m4/3 camera which costs $399. The new camera is a beast specs wise with up to 120fps 4k and full HD 1080p at 240fps. The codecs will be H.264 and H.265 at 10 bit but no RAW support so far which might be acceptable if the codec is clean enough and their promised Log Flat curve preserves the estimated 13.5 stops of dynamic range.
The camera is still being developed for a June 2018 estimated ship date. It lacks a back screen and relies on a Wifi or Gigabit Ethernet link to their dedicated control application. They intend to support iOS devices and or a PC client. No mention of Android support or Mac which should be included in order to maintain the widest compatibility. We feel lacking Android control is a big deal and should be promised in a future update. It is also unclear if the camera will be possible to use by using a touch screen field monitor which probably will not be the case. Using an iPhone or an iPad as the control interface is probably the best use case.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
