The ASUS ZenFone 5Z (ZS620KL) Phone is a new addition to the company line but seems it was a little rushed in the camera department. IT has just started shipping to customers worldwide and there is already a firmware update. The phone is a flagship device with a starting price of $499 which is not bad at all considering it sports some of the best hardware features in Android land. With dual cameras, 6GB of RAM and the latest Snapdragon 845.
The 5Z Phone is a midrange slow motion performer with 120fps and 60fps 1080p recording and the super slow motion mode capping out at 720p 240fps. The improvements in the new firmware improve the recording quality overall and codec bit-rate of the 240fps 720p mode. Since ASUS does not give out the particulars in the bit-rate department it is hard to say how much better it will be.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Chronos 1.4 team has been hard at work on firmware improvements. The latest pre-released software patch shared with HSC improves the h.264 file quality at the pixel level by using a new demosaic algorithm to better match the real camera output. We did a few sample tests to see how big an improvement it is and also to maybe ditch the slow and space eating RAW 16bit workflow which is our preferred file saving format as it retains all the sensor information.
The new improvements are already available to the community as a beta in this post. It is very stable it should immediately improve the way you work with the camera. Also, a new roadmap of upcoming firmware releases was shared in the forums which include HDMI monitoring and a complete OS change to Debian Linux from the current Arago distro for the camera which should improve development and speed in implementing features.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
In what may be described as a practical home application of a stroboscope, the Slow Dance frame by Wonder Machines makes it possible to see the deformation of objects without motion blur with your naked eye and or a typical camera. The Picture frame makes extreme vibrations on deformable lite objects i.e. a flower or bird feather and then uses a synced led light to match the deformation wave period. In essence, creating a snapshot of the motion in real time while your brain is processing the data to create a fluid almost magical effect.
At just $299 for the Slow Dance product, it becomes a very unique gift proposition or conversation starter piece. Electronic Stoboscopes have been with us since1931, when Harold Edgerton (“Doc” Edgerton) employed a flashing lamp to study machine parts in motion. Now you can have a somewhat limited but beautiful display to experiment using the technique. The results are quite mind-blowing as the still life objects appear to take on a spark of life.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Sony has decided to release the RX100 VA worldwide and it effectively replaces the RX100 V production line. The new camera will have a better EVF refresh, modern Autofocus with improved tracking and a larger buffer of 233 images. We considered the newly announced RX100 VI camera to be just a longer lens version of the RX100 V but with an increased price tag. That camera does have a touchscreen and the reach but the fans of the faster f1.8-f2.8 lens of the RX100 V now can get a more up to date version.
We favor the RX100 VA to all other RX100 cameras as the $999 price tag is more in line with the segment. If you already own an RX100 V camera there is no reason to get a VA version as there will not be any improvement to the slow-motion component which is already one of the best out there.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Sony has released specs for a new IMX Cellphone oriented sensor that has a whopping 48 Megapixel photosite grid with a new Bayer altered pattern of quad pixel colors that aims to quadruple the dynamic range of the signal and increase detail retention significantly by supersampling every photosite and creating a final 12MP image with excellent characteristics.
As far as frame rates go we were glad to see very high-end read-out speeds for this sensor as full 4k video can max out at 90fps and other high fps settings include 1080p 240fps full area downsampling and 720p 480fps but with a cropped windowed frame extraction. At 48MP or 12 regular De-Bayered then we expect the crop to be quite extreme at the 720p mode unless they do a 4 or 6MP downsample.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones shipped with 720p 960fps slow motion capability but the recording was limited to 0.2 seconds which is just too short a time span. This made it difficult to capture things in manual mode since the reaction time of your finger is about the same as the recording time making you miss moments. Pre-record made it easier but still limited to just 6.4 seconds playback in regular 30fps video timelines.
The new S9 update allows for manual high-speed recording to be used in 480fps slow motion mode at 720p for now 0.4 seconds or twice the recording time. This allows for easier capture of moments but in real time playback at 30fps it is the exact same playback time of 6.4 seconds. Since only 192 frames are recorded in the 0.4 seconds same as in the 960fps mode of 0.2sec then the only thing you gain is double the time to capture the moment. It would have been ideal to get also double the playback time. Memory buffer seems to be the limiting factor here!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
