Panasonic besides formally announcing the GH5s Lumix camera at CES 2018, also introduced 3 new camcorders that will replace their current offerings, in what could be a dependable yearly occurrence. Panasonic seems to avoid the fact that camcorder sales are probably as rare as Blackberry devices these days but whatever their motivations are, it seems Panasonic, Sony & Canon are keeping the flame alive.
With every introduction, Panasonic seems to improve steadily in image quality and features with continued innovation especially in the areas of HDR imaging and O.I.S Optical Image Stabilization which now sports a hybrid system that uses three technologies to create what might be the best stabilized camcorder ever produced. The demo is certainly impressive and should make every high zoom fan excited about the possibilities of this technology in higher end gear.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Warning: The parent company of FPS cameras “The Slow Motion Camera Company Ltd.” went out of business and entered liquidation proceedings. No further development of cameras is expected. More information here on Google Search!
The fps4000 camera hinted in Q4 of 2017 as the camera to replace the fps lineup is now entering its first production batch and it will fulfill the promises to backers that expected a camera either in 1080p or 4k. The fps4000 will reach up to 4k resolution at 500fps in it’s highest configuration. This is half the performance of the Phantom Flex 4k camera when it comes to frame-rate at that resolution.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
So the rumors proved to be accurate on the GH5s and now we have a low light version of the GH5 that can shoot cleanly up to ISO 12,800 with up to 100k ISO and by then a much noisier picture. It is claimed by Panasonic that there was a 1.5 stop improvement in noise performance. Judging by the initial video samples it is clear that the new 10.28MP sensor along with dual native ISO circuitry for each photosite “one at ISO 400” and “one at ISO 2400” make a huge performance leap if low light is desired in a m43 camera.
All is not rosy in Lumix land however as the camera now lacks IBIS or In Built Image Stabilization on the sensor which was a main selling point of both the GH5 and the G9. Panasonic claims that it was a decision made to cater to filmmakers that need no wobble or vibrations in a shot that can be produced when the stabilizer fails. But why not just add an On-Off switch? 1080p 240fps is also included in the camera but as initial samples show it reduces quality substantially.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
As suspected in a previous article from HSC the Panasonic G9 bitrate for VFR or high frame rate mode is much lower than on the GH5. The Manual has been released for the G9 showing this lower spec. It is of note that the codec used on both cameras is very efficient which lends itself to good quality even at 20mbps. However, for those that want to prioritize fine detail and the utmost sharpness, the GH5 will, in the end, be the better option for slow motion.
There is also the upcoming announcement rumor of the GH5s Lumix camera now with leaked images here with 240fps at full HD using a completely new sensor which may be able to improve of the GH5 slow-motion quality which in our analysis was lacking when using 150fps and 180fps on the regular GH5. Aliasing and moire were evident in footage which is not present in the 120fps mode. Considering the GH5s might be recycling the same image processing engine but with a new sensor, we may still see some artifacts.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Vision Research the creator of the Phantom, has posted a new Christmas Ornament slow motion video that hints at a new camera release for January 2018. From the looks of it, it may be capable of 20,000fps at 1080p resolution. When you look at the footage sample the resolution does look very well but it may be 720p if you really nitpick the edges which look somewhat aliased when played back at 1080p. Whichever the case may be 20k fps at HD resolution brings in an amazing performance and probably a high price alongside it. Happy Holidays! -HSC
Panasonic has released an updated firmware that claims to fix some instability issues while recording video at higher frame rates using VFR. The Firmware Version 2.2 Available here aims to reduce or eliminate instances where the camera could stop recording video or in some instances refuse to record in VFR mode. Some users have reported rare incidents of corrupted files, recording stops and some camera lockups that could be related to the VFR function buffer and write to SD card procedure. It will be a matter of testing this new firmware to see if it resolves these issues.
In some instances, it was narrowed down to slow SD cards that could not keep up with the data rates necessary or cards that had internal fragmentation that could cause corruption on clips. Glad to see Panasonic addressing this issue. The camera also adds a new menu item for customizing the function button on the new Leica H-ES200 200mm 2.8 lens to different parameters. Firmware Link!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
