Tag Archives: studio

Are Slow Motion Camera Days Numbered?

Slow Motion Camera Days Numbered

Recent advances in computation, simulation, and real-time rendering have become so advanced that some visual effects artists are opting for rendering everything with CGI instead of filming it outright.  In making-off featurettes, we have seen the VFX teams scrap explosions, fluids, car crashes and actor stunts with CGI inserts that offer precise control over lighting, debris, motion, and quality which are all a crap shoot when filming with a real camera.

NVIDIA just released some demos of real-time ray tracing that surpass the best quality renderers of the 1990s with playable frame rates and ambient occlusion that in the right hands could be indistinguishable from many special effects in a film. The new RTX technology in their Volta architecture GPUs can do area shadows, true multi-level depth reflections, refraction and global illumination in real time 30+fps on a personal computer. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony RX0 Slow Motion Aims at Pro Action Market!

Sony RX0 Slow Motion

As expected by recent rumors, Sony unveiled the RX0 a compact action camera that is more high-end oriented than any action camera before it. A Crash cam for video production that has a large 1″ sensor with high sensitivity and S-Log 2 flat profile.  It also has features like focus assist, full 4k 4:2:2 HDMI output to an external recorder and a 1/32000 shutter like other RX series cameras that gets rid of most of the rolling shutter distortion apparent in other action cameras.

While the GoPro Hero 4 and 5 have access to a Pro Tune Log style video profile; the camera is not really geared for high-end production. The RX0, however, is limited to 1080p 60fps internally with 4k output from HDMI to an external recorder as the only 4k output option. This gives GoPro, Yi 4k+, and Sony’s Action Cam series an edge of internal 4k recording. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

LG V20 Slowmo at 120fps is Good!

LG V20 Slowmo

The LG V20 has been shipping in the US for the past two weeks and some slow motion samples have been released by users online.  While it won’t break any records with it’s 720p 120fps spec it does allow it to get on our list with acceptable quality slow motion.

This is a fairly powerful phone based on the Snapdragon 820 chip, 4GB of RAM and dual cameras one with 1/2.6″ sensor size @ 29mm, and the other at 1/3.2″ sensor size @ 12mm with laser Auto focus. One big negative is no waterproofing and for some the absence of wireless charging. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Panavision DXL Makes 8k 75fps possible!

Panavision DXL

Panavision the company that brought you the Genesis digital cinema camera which many credit for jump starting true digital cinematography for the big screen has done it again with the Panavision DXL.  An 8k 8192 x 4320 camera capable of recording higher frame rates at that resolution than what many 4k resolution options have still to achieve.

The company doesn’t offer a table or indication of slow motion high speed frame rates in the specs as the maximum frame rate they tout is 75fps at 8K 2.4:1 (8192 x 3456) which is slightly shorter in the vertical frame than the full capability which maxes at 60fps at the highest resolution. RED is heavily involved in the DXL by supplying the sensor, color science, REDCODE RAW Codec and many design cues. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

CRAFT Camera Modularity Promises 120fps!

CraftCamera

Something that came out of NAB 2016 is the paper launch of the CRAFT Camera a modular low cost professional camera that can record in Pro Res and Cinema DNG RAW  with more formats to be announced.

It is unclear at this point if frame rates will ever be higher than 120fps but since the 4k spec also includes them; it remains a solid option for 4k slow motion at 120fps or 5x slow motion at 24p playback. For a 4k camera the pricing of $2,984 for a full 4k Cinema package is not to shabby! → Continue Reading Full Post ←