Tag Archives: preview

Chronos 1.4 Update 4 and Yi 4k+ Ships!

Chronos 1.4

The Chronos 1.4 camera is nearing the ship date with early bird units now scheduled to be shipped end of April or beginning of May.  The delay as stated in update #3 is due to some LCD parts not performing as indicated and the manufacturer taking longer than anticipated. All other components are ready for assembly.

As far as FCC & CE emissions approval, tests are still ongoing and look promising.  If nothing else changes early bird backers should start to get their Chronos 1.4 in 4 weeks time. For non early bird backers expect a similar delay time frame to your orders. Once the cameras start shipping the time delay should compress with assembly, testing and packaging being the only steps. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Xperia XZs Ships & New SlowMo Samples!

Xperia XZs

The Xperia XZs which is the lower spec phone that supports Motion Eye 960fps by Sony is now shipping and available for ordering.  At $699 it is not a really cheap phone but it is nowhere near the $800+ of flagship phones from Apple and Samsung. It is still under-powered compared to the latest Galaxy S8 release but where it counts for us the Slow Motion feature it is on a class of it’s own.

The quality is pretty remarkable for a phone and while the duration of recording is under 1 second, it translates to 40 seconds playback in a 24p timeline. Resolution is stated at 720p and while the frame is really that size, there is some subdued aliasing and moire in extreme detail which means Sony is removing some line information to get 960fps. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia XZ Premium Slow Motion Samples!

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium and XZs have been exploding in popularity since the announcement was made at MWC 2017. The capability of the stacked sensor to record slow motion video at 960fps in HD 720p has opened possibilities only dreamed of a short year a go in the phone video space. Even the Galaxy S8 seems to be in the running with 1000fps video touted as a spec in the rumors.

The stacked sensor technology is the same one used in the Sony RX series cameras but this time attached to a smaller cellphone oriented sensor block which makes it possible to be combined with a powerful SoC solution to offer these high frame rates. It is of note that the recording limit on these devices is 1 second at 960fps. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

fps1000HD Software Update Ads USB3!

fps1000HD Software Update

Warning: The parent company of FPS cameras “The Slow Motion Camera Company Ltd.” went out of business and entered liquidation proceedings. No further development of cameras is expected. More information here on Google Search

The fps1000HD camera has been shipping to the majority of the Kickstarter backers and initially it was limited in scope to a specific ISO, frame rate and other common settings.  That all changes with the latest firmware update which unleashes ISO, resolution selection, and USB3 support for live monitoring , control and real time video transfer up to 60fps. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Chronos 1.4 Production Update 3!

Chronos 1.4

The Chronos 1.4 Kickstarter Project is advancing forward with FCC and CE approval which is crucial for shipment. Also the battery shipment issue seems to have been sorted out which could have halted delivery. Li-Ion batteries have special shipment requirements that make it hard for such electronics to travel by air for example or in tightly packed containers.  No details on the fix are specified.

There has been a setback however and that has to do with the LCD panels having a quality control issue. So the supplier will take 4 weeks extra to ship them. So all backers will have their camera deliveries pushed back by 3 weeks. The first week has already passed.  Other than that it seems to be ready for mass production. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

URSA Mini Pro Offers Pro Features and 120fps!

URSA Mini Pro

Blackmagic Design has announced a new camera today.  The URSA Mini Pro is a marriage of their higher end URSA camera with the still in the product line URSA Mini.  It offers built in ND Filters, 15 stops of dynamic range “which is huge for filmmakers”, tons of ports, in body buttons and controls and easy interchangeable lens mounts.

For our slow motion fans there is not a whole lot offered by the camera but there are some built in features.  60fps in 4k DCI and also at 4.6k full sensor resolution is very useful and keeps the trend with the 4k over-crank frame rates debuted in 2016 on several cameras. The other is 120fps at 2k windowed resolution which is passable but not ideal. However the slow motion on these cameras is high quality and seldom does it have artifacts. → Continue Reading Full Post ←