Tag Archives: HDR video

Sony Xperia 1 III is Slow Motion Capable!

Sony has now released the third iteration of their Xperia 1 series which are the flagship phones from the company that really push the capabilities of the brand. Many point out that Sony smartphones are excellently made and perform admirably while also including the now coveted 3.5mm audio jack which has been removed at the behest of Apple iPhone influence in the vast majority of phones. We will say it once more, USB C audio adapters are terrible connections compared to 3.5mm jacks which offer the best possible audio transmission possibilities without compression and other trade-offs.

The new Sony Xperia 1 III continues the 120fps 4k HDR pedigree of the Xperia 1 II which is clearly a much-coveted feature for video enthusiasts. This time around the phone improves color, compression, and HDR fidelity to deliver an outstanding image when light allows it. The phone also has the typical 1080p 120fp and 240fps frame rate that have been showing up as commonplace features in flagship smartphones but absent is any higher frame rates that were included the Motion Eye TM technology used in previous Sony phones allowing 1000fps 1080p recording for a short time. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion Samples!

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion Samples

Now that the Sony Xperia 1 has been reviewed by more people, there are now sufficient video samples at 960fps to make a judgment on the performance of the slow motion mode. As you may recall, the phone is only capable of recording 0.1 seconds at 960p at full HD 1080p and 0.2 seconds at 720p at the same frame rate. That translates to a maximum of 3.2 seconds at 1080p played back at 30p and 6.4 seconds at 720p 30fps.

There is no increase in recording time from the XZ2 and XZ3 phones which had essentially the same feature as the Xperia 1.  We, however, saw a little better color reproduction and slightly better artifact handling on the new phone but so minute an edge that we simply cannot recommend upgrading for this feature or considering it over other 720p slow motion phones like the Galaxy S10 or OnePlus 7.

Same feature, different year:

Before you start looking at the samples, be aware that this is the exact same feature spec found on the Xperia XZ2 and XZ3 phones when it comes to 1080p slow motion.  There was no change or big improvement made; even when the camera app has gotten an extremely professional makeover based on Sony CineAlta Color Science. We recommend you look at other options in the phone space instead like the Galaxy Series or OnePlus Phones.

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion Samples:

Sony Xperia 1 – video sample – camera test – slow-motion 960 fps FHD by GSMONLINE.PL:

Sony Xperia 1 My daughter Slow Mo part 1 by Sony Xperia Fan Channel: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 1 First Slow Motion Samples 960fps!

Sony Xperia 1 First Slow Motion Samples 960fps

So now that the Xperia 1 phone has started shipping to some parts of Asia and Oceania it is time to see what the initial slow motion 960fps samples look like.  It seems that the length of the playback video is unchanged at 6.4 seconds for 720p and 3.2 seconds for 1080p. So 96frames are recorded at 1080p 960fps and 192frames at 720p. This is the same restrictive spec for three years in a row by Sony.

You would think by now the phone could have increased the slow motion buffer to something useful like at least half a second instead of 0.2sec for 720p and 0.1sec for 1080p. Think again, it seems we will not get anywhere near usable times in 2019 from the Xperia Line again. Your best bet for recording on Sony will be to get a camera like the excellent RX Series that allow much longer recording times and greater resolution.

Sony Xperia 1 First Slow Motion Samples 960fps:

So here are the confirmed initial samples we could find for this handset. We are not recommending it for the slow motion feature due to the low recording times. See the OnePlus 7 and Galaxy S10 for what we believe to be better high frame rate specs.

Sony Xperia 1 960 fps movie by DCFever Video Demo:

Sony Xperia 1 Super Slow Motion vol.2 by Alexander Hansen: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 1 Continues 960fps FHD Legacy!

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion

This week Sony Announced Xperia 1, the successor to their previous flagship the Xperia XZ3 with a few new features and a very ultra-wide 21:9 CinemaWide™ 4K HDR OLED display which creates cinematic like aspect ratio UHD video with what they claim Cinealta HDR color science. The footage does look impressive at first glance but we have to remember the small sensor on phones simply cannot compete with an APS-C or Full Frame Cinealta camera sensor.

The good news is that the phone continues to offer the 960fps Full HD 1080p spec as in previous phones the XZ series. Sony chose to not allow initial samples of footage shot in various modes including the high speed because the phone is not finalized. From anecdotal evidence, it seems to compare favorably with their Xperia XZ3 but with some better color characteristics due to the Cinealta heritage color LUTs.

 

  • Cinema Pro powered by CineAlta – 21:9 movie recording
  • LOOK colour settings
  • 4K HDR movie recording
  • BIONZ XTM for mobile
  • RAW noise reduction
  • Eye AF
  • Up to 10FPS AF/AE
  • Dual photo diode
  • RGBC-IR sensor
  • Hybrid OIS/EIS video stabilization
  • 960 fps Super slow motion video (FHD/HD)
  • 2x optical zoom & 5x digital zoom
  • Bokeh effect
  • HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo
  • Hybrid Autofocus
  • 3D Creator
  • Exmor RSTM for mobile memory-stacked sensor
  • 1/ 2.6” sensor size
  • Pixel pitch 1.4μm
  • 78° angle
  • F1.6 lens
  • OIS photo stabilization
  • Hybrid OIS/EIS video stabilization

More Camera Modules To Get Around Limitations:

As you may have seen lately, phones area adding full camera and lens modules to get around the limitations of small spaces that cannot allow a full-fledged zoom lens on a thin phone form factor.  As to why the call a 50mm lens a telphoto that is up for debate. Usually, these focal lengths are called standard or portrait lenses. On a phone that has such wide view lenses, we estimate that a 2x is now considered a tele focal range.  A 3x or 4x with a minimum of 100mm would be ideal here to really spice things up. Problem is the sensor would be further reduced to accommodate such a lens on a thin phone.

Slow Motion 960fps Mode!

Since the main camera on the Xperia 1 has the largest sensor of the bunch with the preferable Pixel pitch of 1.4μm, we estimate the slow motion feature will only be attached to this module to have the stacked MotionEye memory module capable of super slow motion.

Sony Xperia XZ3 Super Slow Motion 1080p 960fps Camera Test by Phone Battles:

In previous releases from Sony the slow motion feature was only for 0.1seconds at 1080p full HD and for 0.2sec for 720p. We have not seen any samples from the feature on the Xperia 1 yet but we estimate there might be a direct feature translation from the XZ3 which means no improvement in time recording.  Sony has not given any specifics for the feature and initial reviewers were not allowed to share any details on this.

Until the phone is released we will have to wait for direct comparisons. What is encouraging is that the phone has more onboard memory and faster processing which in theory could allow for more recording time. Right now 3.2 seconds slow motion in a 30p timeline at 1080p and 6.4sec at 720p is just too short to be useable.

Sony Xperia 1 hands-on preview by GSMArena: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

iPhone Xs Slow Motion Official Apple Sample!

Apple has released a preview video showing the video capabilities of the iPhone Xs in 4k 30, 4k 60 and slow motion 1080p 240fps.  You can see in the liquid and sound part of the demo the quality delivered by the full HD slow motion but it is hard to judge per pixel sharpness and or artifacts from such a short high shutter video. We will need more real-world samples in order to see if there has been an improvement from the iPhone X of 2017.

We have isolated a part of the footage to see the slow-motion compression and we could detect aliasing in the edges, softness and compression artifacts which are typical of mobile phone high frame rates. The iPhone Xs seems to still have them to some degree. Color and motion on the codec seem to be excellent especially in 4k which looks extremely detailed and with more than acceptable dynamic range.

iPhone Xs First Shot On Footage Sample:

Shot on iPhone XS – Experiments in 4K, Slo-mo, and Time-lapse by Apple:

As you can appreciate from Apple’s cool demo movie the iPhone Xs is capable of excellent results in controlled situations and should easily achieve the best color and resolution in 4k and the rest of the video modes compared to previous iPhone releases.  4k 60p footage seems to be a clear step up from earlier attempts by Apple and the increased memory and processing along with a better codec implementation seem to be taking it one step above last year’s iPhone X and iPhone 8.

In the Frame Grab below you can see the typical softness and aliasing associated with higher frame rates on mobile devices. The iPhone Xs seems to be skipping lines and throwing away some information at the 240fps slow motion frame rate.

We will have more samples from the iPhone Xs as soon as they become available. From what we have seen so far it seems that if you are an iPhone user, you simply can’t go wrong with an iPhone Xs or Xs Max for images and video capture.

Marques Brownlee has added his initial honest review of the iPhone Xs Max which shows that the phones are just refinements and not really a big step up.

Apple iPhone Xs Review: A (S)mall Step Up! by Marques Brownlee: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

iPhone Xs Slow Motion Lacks Improvement!

iPhone Xs Slow Motion

Apple just released 3 new iPhones and a 4th generation watch.  These are all about the screen and speed and not really big new capabilities. It is all refinement and flawless execution but video fans will look at these phones as a continuation of last year’s specs with a better codec and possibly better bit rates and image quality but not much else. The iPhone X and 8 still remain relevant which is expected in an “s” upgrade cycle.

Gone are the big leaps of frame rates and Apple is capping at 1080p 240fps while completely ignoring rivals like the Galaxy S9, OnePlus 6 and Sony Xperia XZ series when it comes to super slow motion video. Apple was at the forefront of these technologies with the iPhone 6 but now have really rested on their laurels while the competition leapfrogs in video capabilities when it comes to frame rates. Others will point out that even when the high speed is restricted you will now get better quality footage in all modes which is certainly an upgrade.

iPhone Xs Video Recording:

  • 4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
  • 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps
  • 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
  • Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps
  • Optical image stabilization for video
  • 2x optical zoom; digital zoom up to 6x
  • Quad-LED True Tone flash
  • Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
  • Time‑lapse video with stabilization
  • Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p)
  • Continuous autofocus video
  • Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video
  • Playback zoom
  • Video geotagging
  • Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264
  • Stereo recording
  • A12 Bionic chip
  • Next-generation Neural Engine

Introducing iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR — by Apple:

iPhone Xs Camera Specs:

  • Dual 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras
  • Wide-angle: ƒ/1.8 aperture
  • Telephoto: ƒ/2.4 aperture
  • 2x optical zoom; digital zoom up to 10x
  • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
  • Portrait Lighting with five effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono)
  • Dual optical image stabilization
  • Six‑element lens
  • Quad-LED True Tone flash with Slow Sync
  • Panorama (up to 63MP)
  • Sapphire crystal lens cover
  • Backside illumination sensor
  • Hybrid IR filter
  • Autofocus with Focus Pixels
  • Tap to focus with Focus Pixels
  • Smart HDR for photos
  • Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
  • Local tone mapping
  • Advanced red-eye correction
  • Exposure control
  • Auto image stabilization
  • Burst mode
  • Timer mode
  • Photo geotagging
  • Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG

iPhone Xs TrueDepth Camera:

  • 7MP camera
  • ƒ/2.2 aperture
  • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
  • Portrait Lighting with five effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono)
  • Animoji and Memoji
  • 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps
  • Smart HDR for photos
  • Extended dynamic range for video at 30 fps
  • Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p)
  • Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
  • Retina Flash
  • Backside illumination sensor
  • Auto image stabilization
  • Burst mode
  • Exposure control
  • Timer mode

The cameras on all three phones share the same frame rates which go from 120fps 1080p to 240fps at the same resolution. 4k footage still shoots at a maximum of 60fps but now has the ability to shoot in extended dynamic range mode at 30p which is similar to what the Sony Xperia XZ2 and XZ3 series of phones do. We may see the iPhone as the go-to phone for the best quality 4k footage on a handset with Sony being similar or a close second.

iPhone Xs 2018 Pricing:

  • iPhone Xs from $999
  • iPhone Xs Max from $1,099
  • iPhone XR from $749

The OLED panels on the Xs and the Xs Max are similar to what we see on the Sony XZ3  but with a much more expensive entry point. There is no denying that these are the best iPhones released by the company as they are refined super-fast systems with an excellent design but they are not a reason to upgrade even from the still very capable iPhone 8 plus.

5 things that are smaller than the screen on Apple’s new iPhone Xs Max by Washington Post: → Continue Reading Full Post ←