Tag Archives: HEVC

DJI Mavic Air 2 has a 240fps 1080p mode that you won’t use!

DJI Mavic Air 2

DJI has unveiled the Mavic Air 2 consumer drone with incredible specs and a fit and finish that rivals their more expensive lineup. We have been waiting for a successor to the original Mavic Air to see where the platform was taking high frame rates but while we now have a 240fps 1080p mode, it hardly what we would call usable for production.  There is a softness and compression that while they look ok for amateur and some Youtube videos it fails for professionals that need that quality output.

There is a lot to like here like the 48MP sensor with 8k hyperlapse and stills mode with RAW along with a better than most other drones 4k UHD mode at 60fps with 120Mbps codec.  It is really a steal if you were waiting for a drone that can do it all and not break your budget.  You get many high-end features on a minute package that while a little big compared to mini drones, it is really small compared to the full-sized Mavic line. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

P40 Pro Super Slow Motion extends Huawei’s reign!

P40 Pro Super Slow Motion

Last year the Huawei Mate 30 Pro was our slow motion phone of the year with its real 1920fps 720p with interpolated 4x mode to 7680fps and real 960fps at full 1080p. Now Huawei has again brought back the same performance with an even better optical system and what looks like better interpolation algorithms to the new P40 Pro and Pro Plus phones.

The phones have gathered little attention outside of China as Android cannot be updated and the Play Store is not accessible due to US restrictions on Huawei as a technology company that poses a risk to national security. Most of these phones are acquired by the use of importers or the pre-owned market and no US carriers offer them. Still, it is the amazing hardware design and the best slow motion performance on any phone to date that makes it impossible to ignore. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Fuji X-T4 Slow Motion is the new king of APS-C!

Fuji X-T4 Slow Motion

At the end of February right before the Pandemic really got going worldwide and when the world seemed a lot simpler, Fuji surprised us with the launch of the Fuji X-T4 APS-C 1.5x crop sensor body.  It comes completely unexpected to the community of slow motion enthusiasts as the majority of cameras only support a maximum of 120fps with a few Panasonics doing 180p and only the GH5s doing 240fps 1080p.

What makes this camera different is the quality of the output at 240p which is far and above the king in the APS-C format and destroys the GH5s aliased image with a very good and detailed rendition of the scene with a codec strong enough to allow for enough detail and color to really push the format further than any EVIL mirrorless camera before it. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Octopus Cinema Camera Upgradeable Slow Motion Kit?

Octopus Cinema Camera Upgradeable Slow Motion

The recently announced Octopus Cinema Camera with a modular sensor, mount, and other components could, in theory, become a customizable professional solution slow motion camera that is unencumbered by firm specs but by a fluid and upgradeable sensor and component path.  The Axiom camera is also something akin to this but has yet to ship. The Octopus has in prototype form been fitted with a 4/3 sensor capable of up to 240fps in 2k RAW and a full-frame that allows 3k up to 100fps.

The body looks eerily similar to Phantom cameras with the white machined exterior with fans and ports protruding the body.  While 240fps at 2k is not what we could call really professional slow motion, it is based on an open architecture in hardware and software that could window the sensor down and possibly offer more frame rates at 1080p and 720p for maybe a 480fps RAW capture in HD. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

iPhone X Slow Motion Samples 240fps!

Now that the iPhone X has been released to the public, it is time to examine its slow-motion quality when shooting at 240fps 1080p mode.  There is a lot of expectation for what this phone can do but in the end you will get a mild bump in camera quality compared to the iPhone 7 and the exact same camera module as the iPhone 8 Plus.

It is of note that the phone is smaller than the 8 Plus and that battery life should be about the same since the screen is not feeding that extra real estate.  We were very excited about having 1080p finally hitting 240fps on a phone but as you will see; it may not be as good as claimed.  Looks pretty close to 720p upscaled and quite soft which means information is being thrown away to have the high frame rates. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GoPro Hero 6 Black Slow Motion Samples!

GoPro Hero 6 Black Slow Motion Samples

With a few weeks of use around the world, the GoPro Hero 6 Black is becoming one of the favorite slow motion affordable cameras for all sorts of activities.  While the quality is not the best out there compared to cameras like the Sony RX series, it is competitive within its price bracket.   Aliasing and moire at 240fps are apparent but mostly non-intrusive for action shots. If you need it as a broadcast quality recorder then the slow-motion mode is not at the required level.

The camera does not have a 480fps mode or higher which could have been a fantastic surprise for high-speed fans. After all, GoPro had been the go-to camera for higher frame rates in the affordable category for nearly a decade.  The Hero 6 Black is still an excellent option with the highly improved sensor, processing, codec, and frame rate varieties that should be able to produce anywhere from broadcast quality 4k 60p to pretty good 120 2.7k and 240fps web ready 1080p. → Continue Reading Full Post ←