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Alice Camera and why the Future is Bright!

Alice Camera

The Alice Camera, launched to great success this month has to be the most hopeful product for the future of cameras that we have seen lately. It marries the Sony IMX294, a 10.7 megapixel 4/3 sensor with a custom chipset including the Edge TPU chip from Google for AI and an FPGA for calculations.  The result is a camera body with the same sensor as the GH5s which is a killer low light camera capable of excellent 4k footage and images with super low noise.

Then the camera back is attached to your Android or Apple smartphone to gain an interface and software to control it. The camera is capable of using the latest research for computational photography including HDR with multiple exposures merging, tracking, night mode, averaging of pixels, and as an open-source architecture, you can add features by other coders or your own to make the camera increase the feature set. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Slow Motion Video Watch Dec 2017!

Slow Motion Video Watch December 2017

There have been some incredible slow-motion videos produced recently and we want to showcase a sample of them in Slow Motion Video Watch. Thank you to our readers for many of these submissions, we really appreciate your help in finding these gems.

From super slow motion storm lightning to airplanes or breaking stuff there is something for everyone on this list. Make sure you visit the creators of these videos and subscribe to their channels which are linked on the descriptions. Only then can they continue to produce such awesome content.  If you have some you would like to share, make them known on our contact page!

 

Cardistry-Virtuoso : RISE feat. FW17 Virtuoso deck by thevirts:

4 Ton Wrecking Ball in Slow Motion -by The Slow Mo Guys: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Slow Motion Video Watch October ’17!

Slow Motion Video Watch October 2017

There have been some incredible slow motion videos produced as of late and we want to showcase a sample of them in Slow Motion Video Watch. It showcases slow motion examples that you should not miss and are designed to stimulate your creativity so you can produce your own slow-mo masterpiece.

Even cheap phone cameras or action cams are able to produce some of the most creative clips out there; with many lost in the eternity of internet video lists. If you have some you would like to share, make them known on our contact page!

See Through Suppressor in Super Slow Motion (110,000 fps) by SmarterEveryDay:

Awesome Video! Artillery Shells in Slow Motion by War Clashes: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Slow Motion Video Watch July ’17!

Slow Motion Video Watch

There have been some incredible slow motion videos produced as of late and we are starting a new feature here on HSC called Slow Motion Video Watch. It will periodically showcase slow motion examples that you should not miss.

While there will be posts by usual youtube stars, there will also be a mix of unknowns and just cool new slow motion footage from newcomers.  Some slow motion cameras that are just being tested out can produce some of the most creative clips and many are lost in the eternity of internet video lists. If you have some you would like to share, make them known on our contact page!

Microwaving an Airbag in Slow Motion – The Slow Mo Guys – 4K by The Slow Mo Guys

Burning Model Rocket Engine Underwater – in 4K Slow Motion by Warped Perception: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

OK Go Slow Motion Video Makes History!

OK Go Slow Motion

The Rock band OK Go has teamed up with Morton Salt to deliver a special kind of music video for Giving Tuesday which is tomorrow November 29th, we encourage you to give back.  The spectacular video was shot for the most part on a synchronized experiment on set in just 4.2 seconds.  The band’s lead singer Damian Kulash directed the music video which had thousands of hours of planning by the band members, Vfx crew and Camera operators for flawless execution.

The footage is not a single continuous shot but a series of takes that really last fractions of a second. The recording is anywhere from 60fps to 6000fps depending on the action.    A Bolt slow motion robotic arm was used for controlling camera motion with precise programming.

OK Go – The One Moment – Official Video

As to which specific slow motion cameras were used it is not precisely known; except that the Phantom Flex 4k is one of them.  Since that camera maxes out at 2000fps 1080p you will need a different kind of camera to reach 6000fps at 1080p resolution.  Our guess is that they also used a Phantom VEO 640 Camera which can deliver up to 2800fps at 1080p and near 6000fps at 720p. The Phantom v611 is also a likely suspect as the camera can deliver 6,933 fps at 720p; which means that parts of the video are probably upscaled to 1080p and parts are down scaled for 4k.

The result is a crisp looking video with barely a hint of resolution loss due to upscaling.  Credit goes to the post and vfx department for good planning.

There is a lot of cool technology being used here and you should read along the links below for more information. Congratulations to OK Go, the team of Vfx/ Pyro  and camera professionals behind it. You have truly made something great in an extremely short time! 

Behind the Scenes video explaining how they made it possible:

There is also an extensive background notes page that shows exactly how they arrived at the final shooting schedule using a control spreadsheet and timed explosives here: http://okgo.net/2016/11/23/background-notes-and-full-credits-for-the-one-moment-video/

Video Credits:

OK Go:
Damian Kulash
Timothy Nordwind
Andy Ross
Dan Konopka

Directed by Damian Kulash
Produced by Park Pictures
Exec. Producer: Justin Pollock
Line Producer: Pat Frazier
Production Designer: Bradley Thordarson
Director of Photography: Shawn Kim
Editor: Cass Vanini
Post Effects: Artjail, Steve Mottershead

Are Consumer Cameras About to Disappear?

Consumer Cameras sales

Tony Nurthrup has created a video eulogy of the consumer cameras along with a long explanation of why the camera as we know it will cease to exist. It is not only about the form factor change and plethora of options but the ability of camera companies to make money from their camera lines.

There has been a continued drop in consumer cameras of all kinds including SLR or ILC systems sales since their peak in 2011. The smartphone is killing the camera and no matter how many phone like features like WiFi, Bluetooth or Social Media share are incorporated in compact cameras; they continue to go down in sales and swamping the bargain bins of oblivion.

The DEATH of the Consumer Camera by Tony Nurthrup:

Tony’s video “Subscribe to his channel here”brings up the issue to the forefront and it is hard to argue with his views.  There will still be a super high end SLR market for sports and wedding  photographers but more and more DSLRs for the common photographer will continue to dwindle. The phone will continue to get better and to a point where carrying a huge DSLR would be like bringing a dinosaur to a modernist party.

What about slow motion cameras?

For the time being there will still be a very solid market for specialty cameras like high speed, thermal and spectral imaging devices.  These niche markets are already tiny compared to mainstream cameras and phones and will continue to be needed for diverse purposes.  With the advent of compact cameras that can shoot super slow motion things got a little competitive but there is still nothing out there that can match a 1000fps 720p or 1080p camera in consumer land.  They may shoot at those frame rates but the quality and resolution is not even close.  They do however go head to head up to 240fps but above that it is dedicated high speed camera land all the way.

16 Everyday Things In Slow Motion by We Love Buzz:

Therefore we will continue to cover the evolution of the slow motion camera in all it’s incarnations including the strong uptake on phones that do higher frame rates.   -HSC