Today Google unveiled the heavily leaked Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL phones which have the latest and greatest camera module geared up for computational photography enthusiasts. It brings in the dual camera back design of many competitors and also drops the notch in turn for a thicker bezel which looks in our view better. The phone is sporting the latest Snapdragon 855, 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of fast flash memory.
Sadly the phone is keeping the exact same high frame rate specs of the Pixel 3 of last year. So 240fps is staying at 720p and 120fps at 1080p is the max at that resolution. It is clear Google is not interested in delivering performance in high frame rates like their rivals in the Android space. Even Apple offers a much better 1080p 240fps spec which is offered on the back cameras with little trouble. Even the iPhone 11 bests the Pixel 4 in the Selfie department as it allows up to 120fps 1080p for (Slofies™) which is a prominent feature of the handset.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
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 ←
The Galaxy Note 10 is Samsung’s most expensive flagship phone yet and as it should be it is also the most capable. We recently saw some slow motion samples that we wanted to share and why this phone is the best quality slow motion a Samsung phone has ever been able to produce. Sure the quality difference between the Note 10 and the Galaxy S10 is very small but it is there. We see less moire and aliasing than on the S10 and the detail retained is also better.
We were disappointed at first that 720p was still the top resolution for slow motion. But the only 1080p phone alternative the Sony Xperia Series like the Xperia One is only recording 0.1 seconds of slow motion at 960fps 1080p which is next to useless. Furthermore, the supposed 1080p quality looks just a tad better than the Samsung which is not particularly high quality either.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
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 ←
The Introduction of the DJI OSMO Action camera marks what many called the ultimate silver bullet to counter the GoPro Hero camera line. It is an evolutionary step that takes most of what made the GoPro Hero Black series amazing and even goes further by improving in areas where GoPro has fallen behind. The Stabilizer seems better as is the addition of a secondary selfie screen in order to frame yourself while recording.
It gets the usual frame rates of 120fps & 240fps 1080p full HD and the 4k 60fps spec. None of these are revolutionary or groundbreaking which means this is a version 1 product for DJI. Phones, for example, are already in the 960fps and 1000fps spec even when they are limited to fractions of a second. A Camera like the OSMO Action could have gotten a bit of this slow motion prowess and differentiate from GoPro even further but not this time around. We have a few samples of the higher frame rates for you too look at and see if it makes sense to acquire this camera instead of other options.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Nubia Red Magic 3 phone is something of a hyper-customized piece of gear for the performance-oriented gamer with crazy high-quality 3D specs and even fan cooling inside the case which is a first for a phone and a testament to the engineering to get it to fit in such a slim case. The specs that really caught our attention are that the phone does 8k video recording and 480fps 1080p with a beta mode to bring that all the way up to 1920fps.
We had no indication that the 1920fps mode is indeed real for a few days until we found out it is actually an option on the phone and not a typo which many including us thought up as 1920pixels for 1080p not frames. But yes it is frames which makes it confusing but in our estimation also allows for decoding the truth behind this spec and if it is actually all that it claims to be.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
