Tag Archives: phone

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2021!

 

We have passed another year in slow motion land and while camera releases were more plenty than expected considering the chip shortage and teh COVID disruption, it’s time to take a look back through the year’s camera releases, and see which delivered on the price/performance scale when it comes to slow motion frame rates.  Phones are stagnationg while high end cameras are getting more frame rate options in higher resolution. Our Best Slow Motion Cameras Of 2021 have been selected and ordered by recommendation! → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Samsung ISOCELL GN2 does 480fps!

The hegemony of phone sensors has been the purview of Sony with their Exmor sensors for many years but now Samsung has started making inroads in the space with their ISOCELL chips. The latest is currently mass-produced and shipping in handsets already which is not a paper launch, but a real thing. The chip is capable of massive low light improvement compared to other sensors because it is essentially a near 1″ sensor with 1/1.12-inch measurements. This is close to what Sony RX cameras use as a main sensor, and a first for a phone.

As to how they are able to fit this sensor on phones, it is a dance between a protruding camera bump that is a little larger than usual and also a lens system that creates a full imaging circle from a minute distance. The GN2 is capable of recording 480fps in HD 720p, 4k 120fps, 30fps in 12.5MP windowed size and 10fps in 100MP mode which uses a clever algorithm and three RGB exposures to derive a 100MP image from the 50MP source. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Slow Motion Mode 1920fps Fake?

Xiaomi has surprised this year with now the Mi 11 Ultra phone which is a big step up from the Mi 11 released earlier this year. The huge difference lies in the size of the sensor which is close to a 1″ camera sensor like those found on the Sony RX camera series for example. The phone has two 48MP sensors and a main 50MP sensor for the main camera with a highly protruding camera bump that really screams for a case to be able to balance well on a flat surface.

The slow motion modes on the phone are rumored to be the garden variety with 120fps/240fps 1080p, 60fps 4k, and also a selfie camera that does 720p 120fps which is becoming commonplace. What is really peaking our interest is the 1920fps slow motion mode that is touted by some reviews. It is unclear what the phone is capable time-wise as the specs are still not all there. The samples we have seen show detail loss and the clear signs of interpolation. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion has a 480fps mode!

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion

There are many new phones about to be announced including the most awaited Samsung release of the year, the Galaxy S21 which is due in a day or so. However the Xiaomi Mi 11 which was recently announced has been making a great impression on reviewers with a fluid 120Hz display, above-average camera features, 8k video, and our main interest the slow motion recording modes.

The high speed mode includes a 240fps 1080p mode but most interestingly this extends to 1080p 480fps which might be of comparable quality.  The Xiaomi brand has been making cameras and phones for a few years now and while it is usually discounted as a budget brand, the inclusion of pro features like a Snapdragon 888 processor and a whopping 108MP main camera make it stand apart.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion Modes:

Main Camera:

  • 4k video at 30p/24p/60p
  • 1080p Full HD: 30/60/120/240/480fps
  • 8K video recording: 24/30fps

Selfie Camera:

  • 720p@120fps
MAIN CAMERA Triple 108 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS
13 MP, f/2.4, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.06″, 1.12µm
5 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.12µm
SELFIE CAMERA Single 20 MP, 27mm (wide), 1/3.4″, 0.8µm
Features HDR, panorama
Video 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps
PLATFORM OS Android 11, MIUI 12.5
Chipset Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)
CPU Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680
GPU Adreno 660

MSRP Price: $739.74

We are happy to see such a plethora of frame rate and a very high-end performance package all for under $1000USD, in fact, it has an under $750 price tag which is very tempting.

We are also happy to see 120Hz becoming commonplace as a default refresh technology for displays on most mid to high end phones. This makes the experience fluid and for slow motion video it allows you to see 120fps live if needed before getting to a video editor.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion Samples:

We found what we assume are legitimate samples of the slow motion mode. The quality is not class-leading but not that awful either. You be the judge:

Xiaomi Mi 11 Camera Test Slow Motion. by Mohsin EDITZ:

Xiaomi Mi 11 – Super Slow Motion by INCEPTION SK: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2020!

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2020

As the end of 2020 nears, it’s time to take a look back through the year’s camera releases amid the COVID 19 chaos, and see which delivered on the price/performance bracket with slow motion frame rates as the primary goal.  Phone slow motion took a back seat this year as the interest of the feature in phones was subdued or even eliminated. Our Best Slow Motion Cameras Of 2020 have been selected and ordered by recommendation!

We saw some surprises including a mostly affordable 4k slow motion solution and the adoption of 4k 120fps on many cameras which makes us think 240fps at UHD should be something to think about in the coming years as a regular option once 8k video is commonplace on consumer recording devices and TVs. The increase in resolution should theoretically allow for a lot of 4k frame rates to be offered as 8k delivers 4x the pixel count of 4k for any given frame rate. Keep on reading for our 2020 picks!

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS of 2020:

Without further ado here are what we believe are the best value slow motion cameras in their respective categories for the year 2020:

Best Slow Motion Phone Category:

3rd Place) Sony Xperia 5 II:

The Sony Xperia 5 II is all about capturing the best video possible on a smartphone and in HDR. The kick here is that the phone is capable of 4k 120fps in full HDR which is pretty much class-leading.

The footage below will give you a taste of what the phone can do. In good light, it will let you capture excellent quality 4k 120p footage with the possibility to grade as it records a gradable flat profile.  In low light, it will be a pretty unremarkable image with grain and artifacts as could be expected from the light requirements when shooting at high speed.

Sony Xperia 5 II: 4K 120fps video footage by CNET Highlights:

Sony Xperia 5 II Slow Motion Specs:

  • 120fps 4k
  • 60fps 1080p

This is one of the first phones to offer 120fps in 4k which will probably become a standard spec in 2021 for flagships. However absent is the slow motion at 1080p which considering the 4k oomph, it should have been capable of 480fps at 1080p or similar. It is a shame that the spec was completely avoided considering HDR in 120fps 4k requires 240fps full pixel readout before merging.  In theory, 240fps non-HDR is possible on this phone but not available for unspecified reasons. Phones are becoming more powerful by the day and this is one that has our attention. The just under $1k price tag is not ideal but some of the best phones are going to cost you.

2nd Place) OnePlus 8T:

One Plus continues to offer compelling slow motion features on their phones with 480fps 1080p and up to 480fps at 720p.  It gives you a quad 48MP camera module which is literally insane considering the phone sells for under $750USD and has 120hz refresh rate. Feature-wise it has probably everything under the sun and then some and will not disappoint in the performance realm.

Fireworks in Slow motion – OnePlus 8T 480fps in dark by sternking: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Galaxy Note 20 Slow Motion The Good and the Bad!

Galaxy Note 20 Slow Motion

Samsung will start shipping to stores the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra on August 21, 2020.  This new phone is the latest and greatest on their line of ultra-performance devices that offer little compromise at a premium price.  It has a 108MP sensor on an f1.8 lens on the Note 20 Ultra 5G version that can do crazy zoom and pixel averaging in low light. The more pixels you record even if they are small let you do more computational photography processing to average noise and artifacts out to end with a crisper lower resolution image that is pleasing and punches above it’s weight.

However, not all is good news since the video mode in Samsung devices when it comes to slow motion has been stalling in the last iterations to a max 960fps mode in HD 720p which is now on this phone an interpolated 480fps mode that is slowed 2x to 960p.  This makes the Note 20 line an inferior slow-mo device to even the Galaxy S10 which offers real 960fps.  The good thing here is a full second of recording at 480fps on the Note 20 line which translates to 16 seconds playback at 30fps and 32seconds with interpolation.

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Main Imaging specs:

  • 108MP F1.8 wide-angle optically-stabilized camera module
  • 12MP F3.0 telephoto (5x zoom) from 64MP Sensor
  •  8K video at up to 24fps in either 16:9 or 21:9
  • 12MP F2.2 ultra-wide cameras
  • Laser AF module
  • Note 20 Zoom simulator online here!

Other specs:

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus in USA
  • Samsung Exynos 990 CPU for the global version
  • 4,500mAh battery
  • 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM
  • 128GB or 512GB of internal storage
  • Up to 1TB Internal Storage with Micro SD Card

Galaxy Note 20 Slow Motion Is stalled:

Samsung at least does the courtesy of showing the real specs of their slow motion implementation. With Interpolation, the camera that shoots slow motion is capped to 480fps and then bumped with a re-timing algorithm to 960p. We are no fans of interpolation for the most part read our article on this here!

Samsung description:

Super Slow-mo up to 960fps

The super-speed camera shoots up to 960 frames per second and slows way down for the ultimate slow-motion takes.5

(5) Super Slow-mo only supports HD resolution. Users can record approximately 1 second of video captured at 480 fps and digitally enhance the video to 960 fps with approximately 32 seconds of playback. Playback time can be edited in Super Slow-mo player.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 event in under 9 minutes by The Verge: → Continue Reading Full Post ←