Category Archives: Hardware Development

Chronos Production Update 6 Shows Assembly Process!

Chronos Production Update 6

The Chronos 1.4 camera is nearing completion stage and shipping for the earlybird Kickstarter buyer batch with an end of the month of May or beginning of June ship date.  The LCDs are in and the entire cameras are being fully assembled including the addition of emission shield tape which will make it comply with FCC and CE regulations. The cameras are machined aluminum on the body and depending on choice will be black or silver.

We are sharing the latest update which shows the cameras being assembled in stages. Final testing will need to be done in order to pass quality control before shipping, but it seems early parts tests were flawless. This Kickstarter project is ticking off all boxes and making a solid attempt at the market by continuing to sell the camera on their own official site here! → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony New IMX382 Sensor Tracks Objects at 1000fps!

Sony New IMX382 Sensor

Sony is not only pushing the frame rate boundaries of CMOS sensors with their Stacked technology; but now it’s implementing and improving on the design with circuitry that can track objects with pinpoint electronic precision based on pixel colors, contrast, and motion vectors. The result the IMX382 is a complete tracking sensor solution that could one day be used for full AF during high-speed video capture by accurately representing the scene.

While 1000fps is not the end all be all of high-speed frame rate, the fact that it can accurately track with very little lag the object motion in front could one day translate into perfect autofocus capability for many types of cameras. Not only the focus department is improved by this technology but now you can use the sensor in all sorts of industrial, law enforcement, traffic cameras and monitoring solutions for robotics. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Slow Motion News Update May!

Slow Motion News Update

There has been some news on the slow motion front that we would like to share. While nothing is a new product announcement for budget conscious consumers; there is good technology being released that shoots high frame rates very often.  We are expecting some new cameras before the end of this year that should push the technology envelope further while still being widely available.

Some slow motion camera projects are maturing like the Chronos 1.4 and the fps1000HD which seem unstoppable now.  While both of these cameras are 720p resolution; sensor technology has advanced leaps ahead of what was available just 3 years ago when it comes to fairly priced CMOS Global Shutter designs. We expect the first 1080p camera that shoots very high frame rates to be announced in the next two years as technology has finally caught up with budgets. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Chronos 1.4 Passes FCC & CE Certification!

Chronos 1.4

The Chronos Kickstarter high-speed camera project is getting a big step closer to shipping units with the passing of the FCC & CE emissions certification. It means the camera is working under the guidelines for electromagnetic interference from the device. FCC will be the Federal Communications Commission in the USA and CE for the European Union EMC and Safety.

This is no small feat as many projects can get delayed severely by this testing.  On other notes from the update, the LCD touch panels for the camera are already ready to ship by the suppliers on May 2nd which means the cameras can be now fully assembled and shipped to early bird backers of the project and a little later to batch #2. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Panasonic GH5 Firmware 1.1 Allows 10 Bit 60p 1080!

Panasonic GH5 Firmware 1.1

The Panasonic GH5 ushered the era of 10-bit video recording on a portable prosumer interchangeable lens camera for the first time. Panasonic promised some features which at launch would not make the cut but would be added when firmware was released that would improve the spec sheet.  The new 1.1 version of the Firmware will enable 10bit recording on 1080p 24p, 25p, 29.98, 29.97p, 59.94p & 50p all at 100 Mbps.

While the camera offered 10 Bit recording at 4k from the get go it was not available above 29.97fps which left the 60fps 4k mode out in the cold for the increased color space. The update and all subsequent ones will also do not allow 10 Bit to be used above 30p in 4k so the 60fps UHD spec will remain at 4:2:0 8 Bit color. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

NAB 2017 Sony & Panasonic Firmware Slowmo Updates!

NAB 2017 Sony

There has been a lack of big camera announcements at NAB 2017, with more and more saturation and less camera replacement by TV studios and Filmmakers there is talk of good enough gear already purchased for 4k and 2k/1080p production.  The Alexa, RED, Sony F55 and Varicam LT cameras released in the last few years already exceeds most delivery methods in quality and completely obliterates the compressed cable delivery streams for hove TVs.

However manufacturers like Sony & Panasonic have released information about new firmware updates that will improve high frame rate recording on some of their cameras as free updates. This in turn makes for a practical camera line refresh that gives more longevity to the existing hardware while permitting more high speed latitude to current owners. → Continue Reading Full Post ←