Tag Archives: timelapse

Lumix GH6 will do 120fps 4k & maybe more!

Lumix GH6 Panasonic

Panasonic unveiled in May the GH5 Mark II which is a slight refresh of the venerable m4/3rds GH5 with live streaming, better dynamic range in video, better AF algorithms, and slightly better IS on a very similar body with just a few cosmetic red buttons and rings for refresh purposes.  The slow motion remains at 180fps VFR at 1080p and 60p at 4k on the GH5 II since it is using the same sensor and imaging engine. It is a better overall camera than the original but a mild refresh nonetheless. 

That brings us to the pre-announced GH6 which is an in-development camera that aims to refresh the entire Micro 4/3ds line in Panasonic and aimed at professional video users.  It sports a new sensor, new imaging engine, new body and new technologies yet to be disclosed.  According to rumors, this camera should be able to keep micro 4/3rds alive for another five years delivering an array of video and photo features that will set it apart much like the original GH5 carved a place in camera history. We have also received rumored specs that may or may not pan out regarding frame rates which we find somewhat credible.  → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GoPro Hero 9 Black Slow Motion Fail!

Gopro Hero 9 Black Slow Motion Fail

GoPro has released the Hero 9 Black and in many respects, it is the best camera they have ever made. It is a little larger to accommodate a slightly larger battery and screens and it offers a new 5k mode that is very filmic like with pretty good dynamic range.  It has Hypersmooth 3 technology which does away with most gimbal situations and it can serve as a minute and reliable blog camera.

However, the GoPro Hero 9 Black is in some ways the end of an era for GoPro and the action camera market. It now heralds a new subscription model that aims to hook their market with a  lower price for the camera if the subscription to GoPro.com is added at check out.  Gone are the days of class-leading technology and in are the days of survival at all costs. Can we really blame GoPro for trying to make it?

GoPro Hero 9 Black Main Features:

  • 23.6MP Sensor, 5K30 Video & 20MP Photos
  • 240fps 1080p Video* 8x Slo-Mo
  • Live View Front Display/Rear Touchscreen
  • Webcam Mode & 1080p Live Streaming
  • HyperSmooth 3.0 Image Stabilization
  • 33′ Waterproof without External Housing
  • PowerTools & Protune Feature Suites
  • Time-Lapse & Night-Lapse
  • Built-In Flip-Out 2-Prong Mount
  • 30% Longer 1720mAh Capacity Battery

1080p Frame rates:

  • Linear Lens 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Linear + Horizon Leveling 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Narrow Lens 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps

2.7K Frame Rates:

  • Wide Lens 120, 60 fps
  • Linear Lens 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Linear + Horizon Leveling 60, 30, 24 fps
  • Narrow Lens 60, 30, 24 fps

If you decide to get a Hero 9 which in our view is still the best action camera you can buy, you may be inclined to lower your cost by subscribing to GoPro.com and shaving $100USD from the camera price.

HERO9 Black

$349.98 includes

1-year subscription to GoPro1

or
$449.99
without subscription Subscribing to GoPro gets you:

  • Unlimited cloud storage
  • Up to 50% off at GoPro.com2
  • Total camera replacement3

32GB SD card included

So what is wrong with this camera?

There are few things we don’t like on this camera which is a good thing, it has outstanding 5k 30fps footage, it has larger screens and better Hypersmooth in 4k, it has a larger battery, and it is a very refined product with a  quality build. It is in fact the best GoPro we have ever seen but sadly there are things we need to mention.

GoPro Hero 9 Black Slow Motion Fail:

The biggest issue we have is the stagnation of 1080p frame rates. 120 and 240fps in full HD remain essentially the same quality as they were in the Hero 6 Black.  Sure you get better Hypersmooth stabilization in 240p but quality-wise, the pixelation, and overall soft look of the slow motion footage is here with no apologies.

There has not been a consolidated effort to offer 480fps or even 320fps footage in 1080p even as the camera has grown to accommodate 4k 60p and 5k 30p recording modes.  In other words, slow motion is mostly frozen in place except for one little glimmer of hope. GoPro needs to become a leader in frame rates again, it was and still is one of the most important considerations for its users.

That hope is in the form of 2.7k at 120fps which is detailed, offers excellent color and dynamic range for such a small camera and sensor. They did a really good job extracting those 120 frames and we feel that this should be your default slow motion option on this camera. 1080p is simply to soft to even consider it for full HD quality, it is still more like a 720p upscaled mess.

5k is essentially the star on this camera and it is probably the main reason to get this camera over the Hero 8 Black.

GoPro Hero 9 Black Video Test 5K by KabyNougat: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Insta360 ONE R action cam can do 200fps in 1080p!

Insta360 ONE R 4k

2020 is already becoming a very busy year for camera releases. The CES Show this past week had a bunch of announcements in the professional, amateur and aerial drone markets that shoot high frame rates.  We will try to cover the most useful cameras in the coming weeks.  We want to start with the Insta360 ONE R Modular camera from Chinese company Shenzhen Arashi Vision Co., Ltd. which is a very interesting product that de-couples the sensor module from the body so you can interchange the actual imaging hardware on the fly for specific shots/jobs.

The real gem for slow motion fans is the 4K version instead of the 360 and or the 1″ version which both max out at 120fps 1080p instead of 200p.   Many people will cry foul at the 200fps spec when GoPro and DJI do 240fps as do most slow motion capable smartphones but 200fps, if done well with the 100Mbps codec, could be a real diamond in the rough for your arsenal in action cameras.

Insta360 ONE R 4k Camera main specs:

  • Aperture F2.8 16.4mm lens
  • Photo Resolution 4000 x 3000 (4:3)
    4000 x 2250 (16:9)
  • Video Resolution
    4000×3000@30fps,
    3840×2160@60fps,
    3840×2160@30fps,
    2720×1530@100fps,
    2720×1530@60fps,
    2720×1530@30fps,
    1920×1080@200fps,
    1920×1080@120fps,
    1920×1080@60fps,
    1920×1080@30fps
  • Video Coding H.264 / H.265
  • Video Modes: Standard video, HDR video, Timelapse mode, TimeShift mode
  • 4K@60fps – 70 minutes
  • Photo Modes: Standard photos, HDR photos, Burst, Interval photos, Night Shot
  • WB: Auto, 2700K, 4000K, 5000K, 6500K
  • USB: Type C – Charging and files
  • Price: $299.00

So we get 200fps & 120fps 1080p, plus 60fps 4k and 2.7k at 100fps which is very close to what other action cameras are doing.

The video above by Insta360 is the only slow motion sample of the One R we could find. It is still not ideal as the compression is not so good for the web.  Still, you can hardly see any jagged edges or moire which means the camera might be doing a great job capturing the full 1080p resolution at 120 and 200fps.

What about the 2 camera TWIN bundle?

So since the camera is modular, you can get the 360-degree camera module combined with the 4k camera for a reduced price…

So if you are getting the 360 One R camera it makes absolute sense to get the Twin bundle since that will only add $20 to your price tag. However, if you only need the 4k camera the Twin bundle adds $180 USD to your purchase which is significant.   You may not be able to go the Twin route if all you need is the action camera without 360-degree capability.

Leica 1″ What?

The 1 Inch edition of the Insta360 R has a Leica lens and a 1″ sensor which shoots at 5.3k at excellent quality.

Frame rates supported:

  • 5312×2988@30fps,
  • 3840×2160@60fps,
  • 3840×2160@30fps,
  • 2720×1530@60fps,
  • 2720×1530@30fps,
  • 1920×1080@120fps,
  • 1920×1080@60fps,
  • 1920×1080@30fps

It can also shoot 60p at 4k and or 120fps at 1080p which is ok considering the quality should be very good.  Wondering if there is a crop for those modes or if it is supersampled.  We probably can expect a sensor crop at 1080p here which means a reduced field of view.

The 1-Inch edition probably delivers the best action camera video quality yet and at $ 549.99 it is not that expensive considering you may be able to use this footage commercially and or on film productions.  We would like to see video samples without compression for the web to see how good it is.

If you need the best video quality on an action camera the bar has been raised by the 1-inch version of the Insta360 R, wonder what DJI, GoPro and maybe Sony are thinking to counter this.

What to do?

These cameras will ship by the end of this month which means you have time to see more samples show up before pulling the trigger.  There is a limitation of 5m underwater for the modular design without a case which is actually very usable, if you need more you will need to get a rugged case.

It is refreshing to see so much innovation on a camera of this size and even when it does not break new ground in high frame rates, it may be doing better in the quality department. We will have to wait and see how good 1080p 200 and 120p look at full resolution.  If the images are clean, it may mean that these will be the recommended action cameras for high frame rates.

****You can get the Insta360 cameras for Pre-Order at Adorama Camera here and help HSC at no extra cost!  ****

The Insta360 One R cameras here can do so much automation like color grading, hyper-lapse, stabilization, shot editing and HDR that feels kind of daunting at first. This is the sign of things to come as the editing bay is only reserved for higher-end productions. Maybe you will be able to ditch that PC or Mac in the near future for a phone and a camera that does it all before you download the clips.  For highlights maybe but for a story, we have our high doubts.

We will try to get slow motion samples other than the one above as soon as possible.  We are working on other camera previews that were announced at CES so stay tuned and have a great 2020 ahead! Rock On -HSC

Fuji X-T100 Records 120fps 720p for 7min!

Fuji X-T100

The new Fuji X-T100 may be an afterthought for videographers due to its stills focus. It has a 4k UHD mode but only records at 15fps which begs the question why bother including it?  It is certainly useless for everything except time-lapse video recording if you think stuttering footage is rubbish.  However, the camera does have a 720p 120fps mode that can record for up to 7minutes while conforming into a file at 30fps which equates to a 4x slowdown or if later edited at 24p a 5x slowdown from real time.

Fuji industrial design is just eye-catching and excellent when it comes to looks.  The X-T100 does not disappoint with its retro but chiseled look with a flippy screen that screams for a better video mode.  We are fans of the Fuji cameras and are glad to see that even in this low-end entry the high frame rate video recording feature is retained. We hope to see them implement 240fps or higher in future models as their recent efforts in the X-H1 show encouraging initial results in 1080p with superb color rendering.

Fuji X-T100 Main Specs:

  • 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor and high-speed imaging processor equipped with Phase Detection AF system
  • 3” (approx. 1,040K-dot) high-resolution LCD touchscreen can be tilted 3 ways.
  • Standard output sensitivity of ISO200 – ISO12800
    • Extended output sensitivity: ISO100 – ISO51200

    Bluetooth® version 4.1 low energy technology
    Wi-Fi® image transfer and remote camera operation
    Improved battery life for still images – approx. 430 frames

    Fuji X-T100 Movie recording 4K 3840 x 2160 15P, Continuous recording: up to approx. 30 min.
    Full HD 1920 x 1080 59.94p / 50p / 24p / 23.98p, Continuous recording : up to approx. 30 min.
    HD 1280 x 720 59.94p / 50p / 24p / 23.98p, Continuous recording : up to approx. 30 min.
    High Speed Movie 1280×720 120fps  option 1.6x / 2x / 3.3x / 4x, Continuous recording : up to approx. 7 min.

    • * For 4K movie recording, use a card with UHS Speed Class 3 or higher
    • * Although movie recording will continue without interruption when the file size reaches 4 GB, subsequent footage will be recorded to a separate file which must be viewed separately.

    Fuji Guys – FUJIFILM X-T100 – Top Features by Fuji Guys Channel:

    First Look | Fujifilm X-T100 by David Flores & B and H: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon EOS 6D Mark II is 4k Phobic!

Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Nearly 5 years after the original 6D Mark 1 camera was released, Canon has now unveiled the EOS 6D Mark II which is a big update from that camera when it comes to a new vari-angle LCD touch screen, AF points now 45 all cross type vs the old one at 11 with only 1 center cross type, Wireless support, dual pixel video AF and an extra 6MP for a total of 26MP vs 20.1 on the Mark 1.

This camera is still the cheapest full frame camera on the Canon line up and it gets a lot right but also 4 things are left out that really miss the mark which will not sit well with people looking at competitive options.  The camera is a great picture shooter for sure but it feels crippled artificially and it is quite behind the times when it comes to video specs.

EOS 6D Mark II Main Specs:

  • 26.2MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 7 Image Processor
  • 45-Point All-Cross Type AF System
  • Full HD Video at 60 fps; Digital IS
  • 3″ 1.04m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF and Movie Servo AF
  • Native ISO 40000, Expanded to ISO 102400
  • 6.5 fps Shooting; Time-Lapse & HDR Movie
  • Built-In GPS, Bluetooth & Wi-Fi with NFC
  • Dust and Water Resistant; SD Card Slot

Official Canon EOS 6D Mark II Digital Camera Introduction by CanonUSA:

As you can see the camera is a real powerhouse for photographers and 1080p shooters that want full frame but also want a cheaper body under $2k USD.   There is a lot to like here if this camera was released 5 years ago it would have been cutting edge and would have really been a darling with most user segments.

Forward 5 years and the camera is simply missing a lot when it comes to video. These are what we feel the sore spots that Canon needed to address with the camera but decided not to allow the features for whatever reason. Many say it is to not cannibalize their higher priced cameras and Cinema EOS line but that is already happening by the adoption of other brands by users that cannot find the video modes on Canon.

Video Fail List:

  • Missing all 4k video except for Timelapse sequences.
  • Missing Sensor stabilization “Using Software/ Electronic Only”
  • Slow Motion Caps at Full HD 60fps It is 2017 – Hello?
  • Only 1 SD card, lack of dual cards is not ideal for events.
  • 30min recording limit
  • No Peaking in Video Mode for Focus assist

We have seen this movie before. The 5D Mark IV, for example, missed the mark with 4k video with a terrible crop factor and to add insult to injury the codec for recording video is Photo JPEG which is good in quality but insanely huge for 4k. Canon needs to get H.264 and or H.265 as a codec for their DSLRs. This is getting long in the tooth.  Videographers have opted for Panasonic GH4, GH5 and or Sony a7s I & II cameras instead of Canon or Nikon for their video needs. Nikon is selling less and less cameras and Canon as well.

Seems they are not interested in innovating their way out of the hole and fight against Panasonic and Sony for camera enthusiast dollars.

What Canon needs to do in our view:

  • Get 4k 24, 25, 30p and 60p on all of their enthusiast DSLRs.
  • Retain Dual Pixel AF in 4k which is the best in the business.
  • Implement 5 axis sensor IBIS stabilization on Full frame & APSC.
  • 120fps 1080p or higher on non pro DSLRs instead of 720p.
  • Dual SD Card slots on cameras costing above $1500 usd.
  • Add Vari-angle LCDs like the one on the 6D II on other cams.
  • Fix the Codec & implement an efficient one at 4:2:2 if possible.
  • Increase Dynamic Range and Low Light Quality to Sony Levels.

We feel that if Canon did all of the above they would only be competitive with the current crop of cameras. They will still have to create new features that will set the cameras apart. Their dual pixel AF technology is the best in the business and it is really the best argument for getting an EOS DSLR instead of a mirrorless camera.

There has been a lot of disappointment from Canon fans and people expecting Canon to really bring the full frame lower cost cameras to the competitive forefront.

We cannot list the 6D Mark II in our camera guide as the slow motion feature in both 720p and 1080p max out at 60fps.  Our cut off is 120fps.  Hopefully, Canon will release something exciting that will really get our hopes up. The Vari-angle screen is a must and we are glad it finally made the rounds to the full frame DSLR line. We think you are better off with a Panasonic Lumix GH5 for the same price and a boatload of features including 180fps continuous Full HD shooting.

The videos below will discuss most of the stuff listed above and will show a few more things.   We encourage you to watch a few of them to get more information on the 6D Mark II.  So close yet so far! 

Enjoy the 4th of July Weekend! 

Canon 6D Mark II Preview byTony & Chelsea Northrup:

Canon EOS 6D Mark II Preview: It’s MISSING 4K! byJared Polin:

Canon 6D Mark II & 200D/Rebel SL2/X8 Hands-on Preview by Kai W:

My Thoughts – Canon 6D Mark 2 (too many deal breakers?) by PhotoRec TV:

WHAT ON EARTH is wrong with CANON? 6D Mark II by Theoria Apophasis:

Canon 6D Mark II – Hands-on First look by digiDIRECT:

amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0";
amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true";
amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "hispeedcams-20";
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual";
amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart";
amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon";
amzn_assoc_region = "US";
amzn_assoc_title = "Recommended instead of 6D Mark II";
amzn_assoc_linkid = "6979b8dd5a164ea16bcac38e0bbcfe12";
amzn_assoc_asins = "B01N3LU9O2,B015NBVKKE,B01LQOAAXU,B01M74YO0G";

Strobe Alley Birth of High Speed!

Strobe Alley

Doc Edgerton was the scientist behind the modern high speed camera and imaging techniques. His experiments made slow motion and the possibility of freezing incredibly fast phenomena a possibility.  The principles many decades later remain the same such as extreme amounts of light and ultra fast shutters along with a highly sensitive film or sensor for modern photo and video.

As a piece of history, Strobe Alley is a repository of technology and information from the early days of high speed and what it took to get us here. We found an old video that goes through the place with explanations about these aging strobes and gadgets. You can visit this place at MIT’s Edgerton center if you are ever there but you can also take a look through this footage.

Strobe Alley- The following footage is in two parts. Enjoy!

Edgerton Center Strobe Alley Part 1 of 2 posted by Lawrence Molczyk:

Edgerton Center Strobe Alley Part 2 posted by Lawrence Molczyk:

You can find more information about these subjects at the MIT Edgerton center website: https://edgerton.mit.edu

https://edgerton.mit.edu/contact/edgerton-center-strobe-alley

Bonus Related Videos:

Dr. Edgerton and his strobelight posted by : ProjectEpiphany

Dr. Harold Edgerton on Late Night With David Letterman, February 19, 1985: Posted by Don Giller: