Panasonic EVA1 Firmware Update 2.02 Frame Rate Improvements!

Panasonic EVA1 Firmware 2.02

The new v2.02 firmware update for the Panasonic EVA1 includes improved bit rates at a variety of frame rates like:    2k- 422-Intra Frame Recording 200M/100M Max 120fps (equivalent to 400Mbps) Which may improve slow-motion quality considerably by allowing more data to be saved instead of scrapped.

For digital recorder owners, there is a lot to be excited about as the camera will now output RAW data at: 5.7K/30p Full sensor, 4K/60p Crop ,  2K/240p Sensor Crop.   Since the 240fps mode saved internally exhibited very severe aliasing, moire and line skipping; the fact that RAW is now a possibility should bring the camera’s capabilities up a notch and deliver excellent slow-motion quality. We hope to have some samples of the RAW recording on the EVA1 in a  future update. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon C700 FF and RED EPIC-W Dual ISO do High Frame Rates!

With NAB 2018 getting near, new announcements are starting to trickle in.  The two newest are the Canon EOS C700 FF Full-Frame Cinema Camera & the RED DIGITAL CINEMA EPIC-W BRAIN with Gemini 5K S35 Sensor.  These two are serious cinema cameras aimed at recording in high-end codec formats and supporting RAW codecs.  Both cameras support higher frame rates but do not offer extreme high speeds like dedicated slow-motion cameras.

In the case of the RED EPIC-W with Gemini S35 sensor, it is the first time RED has used a dual Native ISO sensor like the ones seen on the Panasonic EVA1 and GH5s which have two different native sensitivities to deliver extremely clean footage with the widest dynamic range. Witha claimed 16.5 stops of dynamic range in standard mode & a gain of approximately two stops of light, from 800 to 3200 ISO without increasing the image noise. DPs of all kinds will savor these advances to shoot in dark situations knowing the output will be dependable. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Z E2 Camera Rumor of 4k 120fps!

Z E2 Camera

The Z Cam E1 which delivered excellent quality 4k footage from a tiny package and was able to do 720p 240fps frame rates “at less than ideal quality”, however,  a new Rumor from 4/3 Rumors here shows a Twitter message that hints at a new Z E2 m4/3 camera that is able to do 120fps at full 4k resolution.  If this turns out to be true it could yield further performance improvements in 1080p and 720p along with higher quality that could be usable.

As far as linear specs go a 120p 4k pipeline could in theory yield 480fps 1080p and 960/1000fps 720p without going out of spec. As we have come to know over the years, however, it is usually wrong to extrapolate these specs to the maximum possible metric as the sensor or memory could be bottlenecks that limit the performance. So this rumor could have some legs to it and NAB 2018 could be the show that makes 4k 120p a regular feature for cameras. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

MAVO Kinefinity Does 100fps at 4k!

MAVO Kinefinity

Kinefinity the company behind the pretty capable and high-quality Terra cinema camera has announced in preparation for NAB 2018 the new MAVO 6k cinema camera in s35 and Large Format sensor options in the LF version.  Along with the new body design and expansion options the camera will include ProRes 422HQ, ProRes 444 & ProRes 444XQ recording.

Kinefinity also has a RAW format “.KRW” and this has been updated to version 2.0 to support the new camera. This is akin to REDCODE RAW as the .KRW format can compress in RAW anywhere from 2:1 best quality lossless to 10:1 with more quality loss while maintaining the benefits of RAW like dynamic range, white balance, and higher bit-depth color.  It also offers the possibility to record on cinema-DNG format In-Camera at 3:1, 5:1 and 7:1 compression. The camera has several high frame rate formats depending on crop resolution. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony a7 III Great Value In High Quality 120fps FHD!

Sony a7 III

There is no question the Sony a7 III just announced by Sony is making a splash in the midrange to professional camera markets. We have a $1,998.00 USD Full Frame camera that can shoot 10fps at the full 24MP sensor resolution with probably the best AF tracking system ever shipped on a camera aside from the slightly better Sony a9.  The low light performance of the new a7 III is quite frankly impressive with nearly as clean video to the king of low light the a7s II up until ISO 12,800.

It also has the same high-quality 120fps Full HD mode in both full frame downsampling and APS-C crop modes with continuous reliable AF tracking that performs as good as the a9 system because when it comes to spec comparisons they seem identical.  You will be better off with this camera if you are looking for 120fps full HD than any we have seen before as quality, low noise, focus tracking and dynamic range all come together to create a superb package. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony Xperia XZ2 1080p 960fps Spec!

Sony Xperia XZ2

The new Sony Xperia XZ2 from Sony is their flagship phone for early 2018. It has a lot going for it like 4k HDR movie mode which is a first for a phone and from what we can see it really makes a difference in dynamic range and color on the footage. It also has the latest Snapdragon 845 SoC for increased performance with the battery savings to boot.

What we are interested however is the slow motion high frame rate capabilities which after the Galaxy S9 with 960fps HD 720p announcement, Sony needed to respond accordingly.  Well, Sony has done so and they now claim 1080p 960fps slow-motion video on their XZ2 phone which is a one up on the Galaxy with more resolution.  However, it is not all that rosy as companies seem to equate a frame size with video quality which in many cases is not even close to spec. → Continue Reading Full Post ←