Tag Archives: Xperia 1

Best Slow Motion Phones of 2019!

Best Slow Motion Phones of 2019

This year we have decided to have a special post to highlight the advancements in smartphone camera systems that allow the recording of super slow motion video. We have seen after all huge advancement this year especially by Asian companies making their best efforts to exploit the camera module’s strengths without crippling them to sell a newer model. The Chinese have decided to create a camera war between phone builders that one-up each other every few months.

We value image quality just as high as frame rate and when phones claim to be 1080p in high frame rate modes we usually find that the real case if 720p or similar upscaled to full HD 1080 with artifacts and jagged edges that can make you dizzy. But not all phones are created equal and that is where this list of the best of 2019 comes in. If by any chance an even stronger contender comes in before the end of the year we might revise this list but it would be a fluke. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 5 is a Cheaper Xperia 1!

Sony Xperia 5

Sony continues to recycle the same features over their phone lineup with a slightly dumbed down Xperia 1 phone which is their flagship with the same camera arrangement, screen, and main features. The 1080p 960fps mode is still here with a duration of 0.1 seconds and at 720p of 0.2 seconds.  The resolution and quality are not real 1080p as we have discussed before and the reduced time makes it nearly unusable.

However, the feature many are calling a bad omen is the disappearance of the 3.5mm headphone jack.  The phone is slimmer and smaller than the Xperia 1 but shares the best traits at a lower price. For many, it will not be enough to counter the popularity of other phones that are more full-featured and offer a vast array of video modes. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion Samples!

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion Samples

Now that the Sony Xperia 1 has been reviewed by more people, there are now sufficient video samples at 960fps to make a judgment on the performance of the slow motion mode. As you may recall, the phone is only capable of recording 0.1 seconds at 960p at full HD 1080p and 0.2 seconds at 720p at the same frame rate. That translates to a maximum of 3.2 seconds at 1080p played back at 30p and 6.4 seconds at 720p 30fps.

There is no increase in recording time from the XZ2 and XZ3 phones which had essentially the same feature as the Xperia 1.  We, however, saw a little better color reproduction and slightly better artifact handling on the new phone but so minute an edge that we simply cannot recommend upgrading for this feature or considering it over other 720p slow motion phones like the Galaxy S10 or OnePlus 7. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 1 First Slow Motion Samples 960fps!

Sony Xperia 1 First Slow Motion Samples 960fps

So now that the Xperia 1 phone has started shipping to some parts of Asia and Oceania it is time to see what the initial slow motion 960fps samples look like.  It seems that the length of the playback video is unchanged at 6.4 seconds for 720p and 3.2 seconds for 1080p. So 96frames are recorded at 1080p 960fps and 192frames at 720p. This is the same restrictive spec for three years in a row by Sony.

You would think by now the phone could have increased the slow motion buffer to something useful like at least half a second instead of 0.2sec for 720p and 0.1sec for 1080p. Think again, it seems we will not get anywhere near usable times in 2019 from the Xperia Line again. Your best bet for recording on Sony will be to get a camera like the excellent RX Series that allow much longer recording times and greater resolution. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Slow Motion News May 25th 2019!

Slow Motion News May 25th 2019

This year there have been a few surprises that got our attention in the high frame rate market. Some are firmware related, some are entirely new cameras and others are simply rumors that have yet to appear. We found a few things on the web that may shed some light on these happenings. But First…

Note Advisory: It is kind of disheartening that many Youtube channels are posting fake slow motion videos from cameras & Phones that they have no access to in order to receive clicks and advertising. We encourage you to report these videos on the Youtube interface as inaccurate or misleading. That way we may get less garbage and more real samples in the future. Thank you! → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia 1 Continues 960fps FHD Legacy!

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion

This week Sony Announced Xperia 1, the successor to their previous flagship the Xperia XZ3 with a few new features and a very ultra-wide 21:9 CinemaWide™ 4K HDR OLED display which creates cinematic like aspect ratio UHD video with what they claim Cinealta HDR color science. The footage does look impressive at first glance but we have to remember the small sensor on phones simply cannot compete with an APS-C or Full Frame Cinealta camera sensor.

The good news is that the phone continues to offer the 960fps Full HD 1080p spec as in previous phones the XZ series. Sony chose to not allow initial samples of footage shot in various modes including the high speed because the phone is not finalized. From anecdotal evidence, it seems to compare favorably with their Xperia XZ3 but with some better color characteristics due to the Cinealta heritage color LUTs. → Continue Reading Full Post ←