Tag Archives: olympics

Slow Motion Videos You Have to See!

Slow Motion camera releases are slow at this time of year but that doesn’t mean we have to be deprived of cool stuff to see. We have gathered a few slow motion videos that warrant your time and attention and surely push the art of capturing snapshots of time forward.

Even when these high speed cameras that in most cases are worth a lot more than the typical luxury midsize car, many creators are getting their hands on them and being creative in ways that could not be imagined in an earlier timeframe. From natural phenomena to technological feats, the footage has that mesmerizing quality that only this type of footage can instill on the viewer.  → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony A1 Slow Motion has 8x Mode!

Sony A1 Slow Motion

Just in time for the Japanese Olympics if they ever take place, Sony has released the Sony Alpha 1 or A1 for short which is probably the most powerful mirrorless camera ever produced.  Customary for Japanese camera manufacturers in Olimpic years, the likes of Canon and Nikon have released their professional flagship products like the  1DX and D6 which are still SLR mirrored products that have the highest possible Autofocus features for a camera of that type as well as speed and dependability.

Sony has had some inroads in that space with the Sony a9 series but they were missing a higher megapixel count version that could really differentiate it from the pack and the A1 seems to be just that kind of product. By shooting 8k video at 24,25 and 30p it becomes future-proof for the next decade as far as resolution goes and by taking 30 images per second in stills mode at the full 50MP resolution with AF Tracking, it is one blinding fast beast.  The fact that it also shoots 120fps 4k and 240fps Full HD doesn’t hurt it either.

Sony A1 Sensor Specs:

Lens Mount Sony E
Camera Format Full-Frame (1x Crop Factor)
Sensor Resolution Actual: 50.5 Megapixel
Effective: 50.1 Megapixel (8640 x 5760)

Sony A1 Video Specs:

Recording Modes H.265/XAVC HS 4:2:2 10-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [50 to 280 Mb/s]
H.265/XAVC HS 4:2:0 10-Bit
UHD 8K (7680 x 4320) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p [200 to 400 Mb/s]
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [30 to 200 Mb/s]
H.264/XAVC S-I 4:2:2 10-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [240 to 600 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [89 to 222 Mb/s]
H.264/XAVC S 4:2:2 10-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [100 to 280 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/200p/239.76p [50 Mb/s]
H.264/XAVC S 4:2:0 8-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [60 to 200 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/200p/239.76p [16 to 100 Mb/s]
External Recording Modes Raw 16-Bit
4.2K (4264 x 2408) up to 59.94p
4:2:2 10-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/50p/59.94p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50i/59.94i
4:2:0 8-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/50p/59.94p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50i/59.94i

The Sony A1 is probably the fastest mass production professional hybrid camera ever made. The speed required for 50 megapixels at 30fps means that it is processing and saving in RAW format or RAW+JPG to CF Express Cards  at 1.5 Billion Pixels/Second and all of this while using the 120Hz continuous intelligent Auto Focus for people and animals.

Introducing Alpha 1 | Sony | α by Sony | Camera Channel:

Sony A1 Slow Motion Frame Rates:

  • H.264/XAVC S 4:2:2 10-Bit
    UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at
  • 50p/59.94p/
  • 100p/119.88p [100 to 280 Mb/s]
  • Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/200p/239.76p [50 Mb/s]
  • 8x Slow motion is 240fps played in a 30fps timeline!

The Slow motion frame rates are also here with up to 4x 120fps in 4k 10 bit at up to 280Mbits/sec and 100 to 240fps 8x in Full HD 1080p at 50Mbps.   We can see the sample below that contains several clips at 4k 120fps and some intercut 240fps Full HD like the divers shot in Hunters Of Light below.  We can safely say that the quality at 4k 120fps 10 bit is near perfect but we still cannot attest to the quality of a file in Full HD at 100, 120, 200 and 240fps derived from a Full Frame sensor recording from a 50MP source.

We have confirmed that the camera has a 21 Megapixel crop factor in APS-C size for stills and possibly video which probably means that all the higher 1080p frame rates are possibly extracted from the crop area of the sensor and not from the full 50MP area.

Testing Out 240 FPS Sony A7S III – Indonesia by Calvin Kho: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony a9 Slow Motion Samples!

Sony a9 Slow Motion Samples

Now that the Sony a9 has been shipping for a few weeks it is time to re-visit and look at the slow motion 1080p quality that the camera touted at release. It is clear that the camera is intended for the midrange crowd with it’s hard to swallow price tag but that does not mean you can’t think of it as a good video camera alternative.

It is also now more inclined to be used by video professionals because Sony has stated the a9 will have an S-Log update in the near future that will allow it to shoot on a flat video profile for LUT grading. Autofocus is the best yet on this camera and on the samples below you can see it in action; barely missing a beat on hard scenes.

One thing to point out is that dynamic range seems to be capped when shooting video on this camera for now which means the S-Log update will fill the gap in highlight and or shadow detail retention when it comes to video. It should also apply to the slow motion mode. We invite you to see the samples of 120fps 1080p footage we have gathered below. I think you will agree the Sony a9 has some serious image quality prowess!

Sony a9 Slow Motion Samples:

Sony a9 Slow Motion Test – 1080P 120fps Brandon Meek:

Sony A9 Slow Motion S&Q 100 fps by Alin Popescu:

Sony A9 Slow Motion 120FPS Video Sample by TheDigitalDigest:

Gin slow shot on Sony A9 byAydin Productions:

Sony A9 120 FPS Video Footage + Auto Focus Test by Kevin McClelland:

【Sony A9】1080P 120fps Test C by mobile01:

【Sony A9】1080P 120fps Test B by mobile01:

【Sony A9】1080P 120fps Test A by mobile01:

Sony Alpha A7s – 120fps Slow Motion Test by Brolf:

【Sony A9】1080P 120fps Test D by mobile01:

Sony A9 + SEL70200GM + SEL20TC 1080P 120fps by mobile01:

【Sony A9】1080P 120fps Black Swan by mobile01:

There you have it!  As if it is no surprise the camera delivers outstanding image quality in photo and video mode along with superb 120fps 1080p detail, dynamic range and also audio recording in both 100p and 120p.  We wish it had also 240fps as an option considering how good the quality is but we will have to wait. It is by far the best DSLR or Mirrorless camera when it comes to 120fps quality slow motion. Add to that glowing recommendation the fact that the Sony a9 continuously autofocus in this mode as well and it becomes a dream to use.  We sincerely hope to see this level of performance on Sony’s future products in the mirrorless space. We can all dream of a slow motion AF capable Sony a7s III with 240fps right? -HSC

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Olympics Use of Slow Motion!

Runners_PublicDomain

The Rio Olympics has been called many things so far but if you have been watching it closely it is probably the world event with the most slow motion cameras ever used. By some estimates there are about 1500 high frame rate capable cameras at the games anywhere from 120fps to 2,500fps. The quality is also astounding as full HD and even some 4k 120fps and Phantom 4k footage at 1,000fps has been shot. → Continue Reading Full Post ←