Category Archives: Previews

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 ←

Canon & Sony stagnate at 120fps!

Canon & Sony stagnate at 120fps

The recently announced Canon 90D, Canon EOS M6 II, Sony a6100 and Sony a6600 are cameras that refine everything that is already a current technology but bundle it in a lower price package with great performance. However, it is clear from the spec sheets that high frame rates have stagnated for the past few years in these camera lines with a maximum of 120fps at 1080p.

Sure some of them offer full-time autofocus in slow motion modes and face tracking which in the case of Sony is so good that you may not even match it if you had the best focus puller in the business hired for your shoot. But the frame rate war seems to be left to other camera lines and brands. Panasonic, for example, offers up to 180fps in their new S1H camera which should be in theory the best Panasonic mirrorless camera ever made and it should also allow for outstanding quality in 1080p 180fps. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k has 120fps!

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6k

The folks at Blackmagic design are at it again when it comes to destroying spec sheets compared to price. The BMPCC 4k was already one of the best-reviewed and popular choice among budget filmmakers that needed excellent quality and dynamic range. At only $1,295 that camera was a smash hit but had only a four thirds (4/3) sensor which was not ideal in size and required speed booster adapters to get the needed depth of field to simulate an S35 image.

Now the BMPCC 6k  ($2,495.00) with EF Canon mount comes in with a  full APS-C sensor with dual ISO characteristics like before but with the added imager size and full electronic lens support for EF glass.  It would have been in our view ideal to use an electronic mount with shorter flange like the Sony Alpha or the new Canon RF mount so you could adapt even more lens combinations but they are catering to a large installed base of glass owners. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Galaxy Note 10 Improves Video Quality Above S10!

Galaxy Note 10

Samsung has released the Galaxy Note 10 and 10+ with even a 5G variant which was probably the most leaked phone of the year aside from the iPhone refresh coming next month. The phone has some beefed up specs and an impressive screen with a center cut upper camera punch-hole that love it or hate it is here to stay for now.

The video specs and photo specs look similar to the Galaxy S10 but with better color, dynamic range, lens elements and better overall video compression which looks very nice. The Galaxy S10 was no slouch in video mode but the Note 10 has the better compression and color processing that makes it a notch above. The slow motion spec remains the same as last year’s Note 9 and Galaxy S10 so Samsung is also stagnating in this respect. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon G7 X III and G5 X II Released With 120fps Full HD!

Canon G7 X III and G5 X II Released With 120fps Full HD

The newly released Canon G7 X III and G5 X II Powershot cameras are finally upping the stagnant slow motion features of these lines to a very 2014 spec of 120fps Full HD.  Up to now Canon had capped the Full HD Performance at 60fps 1080p and a maximum of 120fps at 720p with a severe crop. There is no mention of a 240fps 720p spec which makes us believe that there is no 720p video option besides maybe a 30p mode.

Both cameras sport a 20.1MP 1″ inch Stacked CMOS sensor and DIGIC 8 Image Processor reminiscent of the Sony RX series. We estimate this might be the same Sony sensor employed but without the super slow motion capabilities of 480/500fps and 960/1000fps modes that have made that line of cameras a cut apart. → 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 ←