Canon Japan has released a sample video showing the Canon ME20F-SH Super High ISO full frame multipurpose camera in action. It is impressive to see ISOs as high as on a camera that is as portable as this. Even with a high price of $30k US it is something news gathering and documentary outfits like Nat Geo and Discovery will gravitate to in order to extract new levels of color and light information from extremely challenging low illumination environments.
Filmmakers will also find it useful for shooting in extreme low light for a specific take, but we feel that scientists and biologists in particular will benefit most from these advancements. Underwater videography is probably the most peculiar use to study bio luminescent organisms in complete darkness like never before.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Sony today has announced a pretty important pair of products the Sony A7s II and the Sony FS5 Pro Model. On the one hand video producers that adopted the Sony A7s last year due to it’s impressive dynamic range and extreme low light ability at up to ISO 409,600; were in a bind as recording 4k with the camera needed an external recorder in order to do it. It also had no sensor image stabilization which is a very useful feature. Not anymore the newly announced Sony A7s II has internal 4k with S-Log 3 flat profile mode and it also boosts last years 120fps at 720p to Full HD and full sensor readout 1080p at 120fps. From the samples the quality seems impressive and artifact free, it will be a matter of looking at non Sony samples to see if the quality is that good in the 120fps FHD mode.
The newly announced Canon ME20F-SH Camera besides it’s overly unpronounceable name and a price tag of $30,000 USD has what could be a record for any sensor to date. The ISO 4 million mark on this camera/sensor is able to record footage in full color at night. It over exposes footage only lit by a full moon. The Sony A7s last year was a revelation of where sensor technology is going with it’s close to 1/2 million ISO at 409,600 . It could shoot in near complete darkness and could do a good job at it. What Canon has done with the ME20F-SH is build their peak sensor technology into a 35mm Full Frame Sensor but with only 1080p Full HD resolution. The Sony A7s can shoot 4k footage with the HDMI output on an external recorder. This makes the pixel size on the Sony more constrained even with a Full Frame Sensor.
The pixel pitch size on the Sony A7s (12MP on a full frame CMOS Sensor) is around 8.4 µm; in contrast the new Canon ME20F-SH has a 19 µm pixel size in a Full Frame Sensor. This is an amazing performer in low light and probably the most sensitive sensor ever made for commercial purposes. At 2.26 Megapixels this is the state of the art for large pixels with impressive dynamic range and low light. It is unclear how the low resolution in such a large sensor will behave when it comes to moire and aliasing artifacts.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
At first glance the LG G4 Android smart phone with it’s RAW image capture and completely manual camera might seem like the best ever camera phone to date and it is in many respects but; when it comes to slow motion it is barely mentioned in the specs. It does have a slow motion mode but after looking at samples it is far away from an iPhone 6 in quality and even below the Galaxy S6 which disappointed.
16 Megapixels
Aperture f/1.8
Sensor size 1/2.6
Image stabilization
Auto focus type: Laser
4k UHD 30p Video
1080p 60fps – 120fps 720p*
Flash Single LED
RAW+JPG capture
HDR And full manual aperture and shutter
Full Manual White Balance
5.5″ 1440 x 2560 pixel Display
The 120fps mode is limited to 720p HD resolution which is now standard on most high end to midrange phones. The quality is not even 720p in closer inspection it is more like 960*540px or lower scaled up showing all sorts of artifacts from heavy pixelation, aliasing & moire.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Over the last three weeks testing and shooting with the edgertronic high speed camera has given HSC the opportunity to branch out of the basic kit and expand on the way the camera can be interfaced with. The small footprint of the body screams to be taken outside and on locations out of a controlled studio environment.
Part 3 of this review will focus on what kind of customization can be done by altering the connections and host computer to easily use the camera as a completely portable setup. We will also go into a feature wishlist for the camera or future edgertronic products and our conclusion for the entire review.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←