It seems that GoPro is not quite done with camera updates this year. They just released a very small variant of the Hero 4 hardware called the GoPro Hero 4 Session. Some jokes have already come out about the name like the next Re-Session Camera to own. However this is more of an evolutionary and reductionist product than any release GoPro has ever made before.
The Hero 4 Black is a powerhouse little camera with great frame rates for slow motion and 4k video at 30p. Some have criticized the codec in 4k mode as being too lossy and we agree to a point. What interest us however is not the 4k mode for now which is absent from the GoPro Hero 4 Session altogether but the lower res Full HD and HD slow motion high frame rate modes.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Over the past week some footage from Sony and other real world uses has been surfacing. Many shows off the super slow motion modes and others tout the performance in 4k. The quality is for the most part good but not great and shows a clear aliasing and moire resolution loss at 480fps and 960fps. The codec at 50 Mbit is quite good and is not the weak link, the cameras suffer from line skipping as the readout frame rate increases to below 720p resolution in real terms while being saved on a 1080p wrapper.
We have compiled a series of footage samples found on the net for you to look at. Some are outright high speed samples and others are interface walk through samples. It should give a good idea of what quality we are talking about.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Samsung NX500 has just been updated with firmware 1.10 There are several improvements and like it’s larger sibling the NX1 now the slow motion mode of 120fps at 720p in this camera is more easily accessible. The NX1 has a better slow motion mode than the NX500 as it is 1080p Full HD instead of 720p but this camera is also much less expensive and has also 4k video. These enhancements add a lot of oomph to an already good pocket-able large sensor camera.
The biggest improvements are codec quality bit-rate up to 70Mbps and the large sensor readout for up to 60fps at full HD 1080p which reduces aliasing and moire in normal speed frame rates. It is rare for companies too add so much in firmware but it is encouraging to see Samsung not only try but constantly deliver useful firmware updates to their cameras. It shows they are serious for their camera imaging department.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Samsung has released an update to the Samsung NX1 4k Camera firmware now (Version 1.3) that among other things it improves the ease of use and selection of the high speed slow motion video 120fps mode. The improvements are varied and even ad a new USB control application to interface with the camera. Minor bug fixes and enhancements in workflow and usability are also added. The list of goodies below:
A few weeks ago the Kipon full Auto focus, Iris and IS enabled EF to M43 adapter was announced. Many huge doubts lingered to it’s effectiveness in Auto Focus as any other AF adapter for the likes of Sony cameras for example take several seconds to lock onto a target. The Kipon promises to be a seamless adapter for Canon EF lenses on Micro 4/3 system cameras like the Panasonic GH4.
Today it released a few videos showing the Auto Focus AF capability of the adapter in action and it is very impressive to say the least, it also works with EF-S lenses which is a plus.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The DVX100 was a huge camera for Panasonic way back in December 2002. So 13 years later and after a website built around that camera and it’s users, now a viable upgrade path; if they haven’t already upgraded to something else most likely.
The new Panasonic DVX200 full name”AG-DVX200” has that portable and production ready for factor with pretty robust specs and a much larger sensor.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
