Both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones shipped with 720p 960fps slow motion capability but the recording was limited to 0.2 seconds which is just too short a time span. This made it difficult to capture things in manual mode since the reaction time of your finger is about the same as the recording time making you miss moments. Pre-record made it easier but still limited to just 6.4 seconds playback in regular 30fps video timelines.
The new S9 update allows for manual high-speed recording to be used in 480fps slow motion mode at 720p for now 0.4 seconds or twice the recording time. This allows for easier capture of moments but in real time playback at 30fps it is the exact same playback time of 6.4 seconds. Since only 192 frames are recorded in the 0.4 seconds same as in the 960fps mode of 0.2sec then the only thing you gain is double the time to capture the moment. It would have been ideal to get also double the playback time. Memory buffer seems to be the limiting factor here!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
By popular demand, we have found some new samples for both the OnePlus 6 and the Xiaomi Mi 8 phones for you to see. We have to give the nod between these two phones to the OnePlus 6 as it offers 240fps 1080p and 3.75 seconds worth of 720p 480fps and even 60p 4k. The quality on the super slow motion modes is not up there with a dedicated slow-motion camera but it is a big improvement in the recording department by allowing 3.75 secs on the 480p mode on the OnePlus 6 compared to the very restrictive 960fps 0.24sec on the Galaxy S9.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 is a big improvement from their earlier phones but simply cannot compete in terms of frame rates with the best the Android world has to offer. The quality on any phone will be restricted by the memory buffer, codec and read-out speed from the sensor. Quality still has a ways to go for being true HD or Full HD so remember before choosing a phone, it may not do as well as that fancy Slow Motion on Youtube or TV.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Sony RX100 VI camera has not reached the reviewers yet for a full in-depth look but the early press shoots did gather some slow-motion footage which shows the camera in action. We also got a final word from a good source that the camera has the exact same HFR resolution and timing features as the RX100 V which means there is no improvement in the quality of the image when shooting higher frame rates.
In fact, you may even get lesser quality footage due to the lens being now an 8x f2.8 to f4.5 lens 24-200mm (35mm Equivalent) which is much slower and by optical standards, it should trail the 2.91x f/1.8-2.8 Lens 24-70mm (35mm Equivalent) of the RX100 V. So you get a $250 price increase for a better AF system, better color in video, a better tilt screen which is now full touch and the ability to zoom 8x. If those things are important to you then the extra money may be worth it.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
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.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
There has been a lot of excitement about the OnePlus 6 for the past two weeks and while the slow motion feature is not the first feature you look for, it may be the biggest deal in phone slow motion in several years. The duration eclipses the competition by leaps and bounds at 3.75 seconds of recording vs 0.2s or 0.4s for the competition.
We have found a few samples that show the phone at 480fps 720p and 240fps 1080p quality which right off the bat show that the phone is capable but still a long way from competing with professional slow-motion cameras like the edgertronic series or Chronos 1.4 in both recording time and image quality. Even with all of these negatives, the OnePlus 6 does bring the technology forward by allowing phone users to record enough slow-motion footage to make it usable for publishing on the web or specific uses in education or sports analysis.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The new HTC U12+ bucks the trend in the latest flagship phones that offer extreme high frame rates like 480fps and 960fps for short time frames. Instead, the phone touts 240fps at 1080p and 4k 60p as the main frame rate specs. This is competitive with the iPhone X & Samsung Galaxy S9 series where 4k at 60p is now the default offering for the UHD format on the high end and 240p at full HD on the SlowMo feature front.
This U12+ phone has dual cameras in the front and back which allow it to do interesting bokeh out of focus effects on all types of shots including video mode which may be a first. As to the quality of the effect in video, it will have to be scrutinized to see where it lands and if its good enough to use as a narrative video capture device. The phone has all the top specs of today and the camera has gathered a 103 score on the DXOMark test which is the 2nd best camera on a phone ever after the excellent Huawei P20 Pro at 109.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
