Tag Archives: camera module

OnePlus 9 Slow Motion mode gains 4k 120fps!

OnePlus has finally released its new flagship 2021 phones. And they have built a new 3 year partnership with medium format camera maker Hasselblad to build their phone camera modules.  On this first iteration, we get Ultra Wide 50MP, Wide 48MP or standard and a 3.3x telephoto with 8MP which is the lower quality of the bunch.

OnePlus has respected its own heritage when it comes to frame rates as the new 9 handsets retain the 240fps in Full HD 1080p and 480fps in HD 720p mode for somewhat super slow motion and a new mode of 120fps in full 4k which is exciting. OnePlus had the edge in recording duration in previous phones and this new variant might keep that edge. However, we feel disappointed the resolution did not go up to full HD at 480fps and allow for a 960fps HD mode like many other phones out there. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Cheapest slow motion camera for $6 does 660fps!

Cheapest slow motion camera

We just received a video link for a Raspberry Pi imaging platform that allows for 660fps slow motion video capture using the computing unit along with it’s memory and a $6 USD camera to record slow motion video with better than expected results. The video from 2019 by RobertElderSoftware explains the way the camera and R-Pi were able to capture the footage using some scripting and writing a windowed wide but not tall imaging rectangle directly to memory to create the cheapest slow motion camera.

Of note is the apparent low resolution of less than VGA at 640 x 64px and the somewhat appraisal of rolling shutter artifacts on some of the coins. However, RobertElderSoftware also has a step by step instruction video set on how to get a $40 Raspberry Pi computer and a  $6 USD camera module to build your own homebrew slow motion camera with some scripting.  After a lot of scripting and patience, you should be able to mimic his results.

Cheapest slow motion camera using a Pi Unit:

It is literally amazing what a dedicated engineer with an extremely limited set of tools and cameras is able to do on a project like this. Now imagine RobertElderSoftware using something like a more powerful ARM-based Mac M1 or similar with way more RAM disk for capture along with a better camera and sensor combination.

You can visit and subscribe to Robert Elder’s Channel here and learn many more from his cool projects and coding guides!

Maybe in the future, we could see some homebrew project kit that could be able to shoot 500fps or even 1000fps in 4k for a limited investment. In any case, we feel that you should take a look at the project below and get inspired.  We thank our reader Nacho Simon for the heads up on this awesome project and Mr. Elder for his creativity and drive! -HSC

Video Sample and Step by Step Guides Below:

World’s Cheapest High-speed Camera For $6 With 660FPS!? by RobertElderSoftware:

Part 1) How To Record Video At 660 FPS On A $6 Raspberry Pi Camera – Part 1 by RobertElderSoftware: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Galaxy Note 20 Slow Motion The Good and the Bad!

Galaxy Note 20 Slow Motion

Samsung will start shipping to stores the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra on August 21, 2020.  This new phone is the latest and greatest on their line of ultra-performance devices that offer little compromise at a premium price.  It has a 108MP sensor on an f1.8 lens on the Note 20 Ultra 5G version that can do crazy zoom and pixel averaging in low light. The more pixels you record even if they are small let you do more computational photography processing to average noise and artifacts out to end with a crisper lower resolution image that is pleasing and punches above it’s weight.

However, not all is good news since the video mode in Samsung devices when it comes to slow motion has been stalling in the last iterations to a max 960fps mode in HD 720p which is now on this phone an interpolated 480fps mode that is slowed 2x to 960p.  This makes the Note 20 line an inferior slow-mo device to even the Galaxy S10 which offers real 960fps.  The good thing here is a full second of recording at 480fps on the Note 20 line which translates to 16 seconds playback at 30fps and 32seconds with interpolation.

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Main Imaging specs:

  • 108MP F1.8 wide-angle optically-stabilized camera module
  • 12MP F3.0 telephoto (5x zoom) from 64MP Sensor
  •  8K video at up to 24fps in either 16:9 or 21:9
  • 12MP F2.2 ultra-wide cameras
  • Laser AF module
  • Note 20 Zoom simulator online here!

Other specs:

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus in USA
  • Samsung Exynos 990 CPU for the global version
  • 4,500mAh battery
  • 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM
  • 128GB or 512GB of internal storage
  • Up to 1TB Internal Storage with Micro SD Card

Galaxy Note 20 Slow Motion Is stalled:

Samsung at least does the courtesy of showing the real specs of their slow motion implementation. With Interpolation, the camera that shoots slow motion is capped to 480fps and then bumped with a re-timing algorithm to 960p. We are no fans of interpolation for the most part read our article on this here!

Samsung description:

Super Slow-mo up to 960fps

The super-speed camera shoots up to 960 frames per second and slows way down for the ultimate slow-motion takes.5

(5) Super Slow-mo only supports HD resolution. Users can record approximately 1 second of video captured at 480 fps and digitally enhance the video to 960 fps with approximately 32 seconds of playback. Playback time can be edited in Super Slow-mo player.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 event in under 9 minutes by The Verge: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 5 is a Cheaper Xperia 1!

Sony Xperia 5

Sony continues to recycle the same features over their phone lineup with a slightly dumbed down Xperia 1 phone which is their flagship with the same camera arrangement, screen, and main features. The 1080p 960fps mode is still here with a duration of 0.1 seconds and at 720p of 0.2 seconds.  The resolution and quality are not real 1080p as we have discussed before and the reduced time makes it nearly unusable.

However, the feature many are calling a bad omen is the disappearance of the 3.5mm headphone jack.  The phone is slimmer and smaller than the Xperia 1 but shares the best traits at a lower price. For many, it will not be enough to counter the popularity of other phones that are more full-featured and offer a vast array of video modes.

Sony Xperia 5 Camera Specs:

CAMERA Specs Triple 12 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/2.6″, 1.4µm, predictive Dual Pixel PDAF, 5-axis OIS
12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, predictive PDAF, 2x optical zoom, 5-axis OIS
12 MP, f/2.4, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm
Features LED flash, panorama, HDR, eye tracking
Video 2160p@24/30fps HDR, 1080p@60fps, 1080p@30fps (5-axis gyro-EIS), 1080p@960fps

Sony Xperia 5 Hands-on Review | What’s Changed vs Xperia 1? by Tech Spurt:

The Xperia 5 also has the cinema pro app which made the Xperia 1 so coveted for video shooters. The AF with Eye AF also is here so this phone is probably a better deal than the Xperia 1 considering it has almost identical specs in just a smaller screen size.

So after looking at what the Xperia 5 is capable off we have no problem recommending it as the best Sony phone ever based on its price. However, we cannot recommend it as a slow motion solution due to the lower than expected quality and recording time of the 960fps mode.

Xperia 1 960fps Slowmotion test by kao winson:

The sample above is from the Xperia 1 which shows the 6.4 seconds slow motion mode at 720p 960fps. Quality is ok but you can clearly see the jagged edges of lost line information.

In contrast, the sample below by McLarty Films shows the Xperia 1 at 1080p 960fps which equates to 3.2 seconds playback per clip. There is more resolution but also suffers from loss of resolution. Clarity is better but you cannot claim this is a professional-looking image and or worthy of using it for serious production work. It is a fun feature that could be bettered by a larger buffer and better resolution only if, Sony decides to give us that real performance upgrade.

Sony Xperia 1 – Slow Motion Camera Test – Taiwan Surfing by McLarty Films: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Google Pixel 3 Slow Motion is Lackluster!

Google Pixel 3 Slow Motion

The newly announced Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones do impressive things with machine learning when it comes to their camera app. The ability to do resolution comparable 2X  zoom to an optical lens by using exposure merging is genius.  Their portrait mode is also the best ever made on a phone with incredible separation of background and foreground depth of field based on learning algorithms that can tackle hair transitions and other objects all with only a single lens.

When it comes to video however it is not as good as either the Samsung’s or Apple’s latest flagship phones. The pixel tops at 4k 30p and the slow motion while doing 240fps which matches the iPhone XS it is only 720p instead of 1080p. Google seems to have beefed up the phone for still images and selfies and left the video features on a secondary plane. The slow motion mode is essentially identical to last year’s Pixel 2 and 2 XL at 120fps 1080p and 240fps 720p.

Google Pixel 3 Main Imaging Camera Features:

  • Rear Camera
  • 12.2MP dual-pixel
  • 1.4μm
  • Autofocus + dual pixel phase detection
  • Optical + electronic image stabilization
  • Spectral + flicker sensor
  • f/1.8 aperture
  • Field of view: DFoV: 76°
  • Rear Camera Video
  • 1080p @ 30fps, 60fps, 120fps
  • 720p @ 30fps, 60fps, 240fps
  • 4K @ 30fps
  • Dual Front Cameras
  • 8MP wide-angle and normal FoV cameras
  • Wide-angle: f/2.2 aperture, 97° FoV
  • Normal: f/1.8 aperture, 75° FoV

The Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones are competitive and according to initial reviews, it shows it to be the main contender for the still image and selfie picture crown for the year.  Video mode seems improved in dynamic range, low light, and stabilization but there are no new frame rates or even a timelapse feature that is included in other phones.

Dpreview did an incredible interview with the Pixel 3 camera team that goes deep into what the phone is capable of and what is really new and innovative. See the interview here!

Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL hands-on by The Verge:

The video by The Verge above should give you a good indication of the features.

iPhone XS vs Pixel 3 XL Slow Motion?

In the video below it is clear the Google Pixel 3 video mode is inferior to the Apple iPhone XS in almost all metrics except for image stabilization. There is a good direct 240fps comparison at the 16min mark between both phones!

Pixel 3 XL vs iPhone XS Max – The ULTIMATE Camera Comparison! by ZONEofTECH: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Fran 8k Camera by Cinemartin First Manufacturing Sample!

Fran 8k Camera

The people at Cinemartin have publicly released new specs and images of the first industrial prototype of the cinema camera.  There are some killer features like 8k RAW video at 24p and up to 96fps RAW recording in both 4k DCI and1080p HD. Some other frame rates include 48p and 60p in a variety of resolutions which are needed for cinema production in either higher fps or just as a shooting necessity like 48p to get the Hobbit look.

One of the most impressive features listed is the ability to shoot in true Vista Vision format at 7920 x 6024 pixels for 8k at 24p that turns out to be 47.7MP; also the Dual ISO recording feature which will be available by August 2019 which allows dual recording capability for an extreme Dynamic Range improvement.  Other features include: Global Shutter, Internal full sensor downsampling, and in-camera electronic image stabilization.

Fran 8k Frame Rate Table:

As you can see from the above table, frame rates will cap on the high end at 96fps for both 4k and Full HD 1080p.  These will be activated in the Spring 2019 update after the camera launches.   The camera will probably be shown at IBC 2018 in Amsterdam this 13-17 of September. By that time pricing and pre-orders should be available.

Fran 8k More Specs List:

  • SENSOR – FRAN GS 47.7 MEGAPIXEL CMOS SENSOR
  • EFFECTIVE PIXELS – 7920 x 6024
  • SENSOR SIZE- 37 mm x 27 mm (Diagonal 46.2 mm)
  • LENS MOUNT: EF and PL by (2019)
  • DYNAMIC RANGE -15+ stops
  • MAX DATA RATE -2500 MB/s using FRAN (media) M.2 1TB -2300 MB/s using FRAN (media) M.2 2TB
  • PLAYBACK FPS 24, 25, 30, 48 frames per second
  • REC. FORMATS: RAW BAYERED / DE-BAYERED
  • POST FORMATS: LOSSLESS PNG, DNG
  • POST ENCODER: TO PRORES / TO AVID DnxHD DNxHRTO H.264TO HEVC H.265
  • HDMI Clean 4K 60p output
  • Thunderbolt 3 To connect high-speed external drives
  • mini Jack
  • Audio mic. input (mono) and output (st)
  • USB 3 To connect high-speed external drives
  • SD card
  • Load and Store LUT’s and camera settings
  • Power: Idle 25W   Max 60W

The camera will also be programmable which makes it possible to allow object recognition and automation of recording and archiving tasks.

“Fran can be reprogrammed to suit many needs. Stabilization is a featured provided by OpenCv architecture. Third parties or c++ developers can develop plugins for Fran. The programmable architecture option allows users to use their own software, or write a new one based on Fran default software.
The programmable architecture option includes the stabilization and a few examples of object detection, as well as documentation in order on how to program the camera.”

While the Fran 8k camera is overkill for many uses it may become a compelling option for production houses looking for RED and ARRI alternatives that deliver extreme image quality at a more affordable price to competitors.  We have seen this trend with the advent of cameras like the Kinefinity cameras which offer a lot of value for money while delivering superb image quality however teh Fran Camera will offer 8k images. We have high hopes for the Fran camera to go head to head with the best of them and deliver a true 8k RAW image for cinema production. 

The body is similar to modular cinema cameras and offers enough control and expansion for production users.  Large Standard battery modules ensure continuous operation and easy on-set continuous power solutions.  The LCD should provide most shooting information at a glance.

We will continue to cover the evolution of the Fran 8k camera and will share video samples of higher frame rates when available.  Expect the quality to be excellent at all frame rates.

For more information and updates on the camera visit the official site at:

Fran 8k Official Site  http://www.fran8k.com