Canon has been quite layed back in the past few years after the splash it did with DSLRs and the 5D Mark II 30p,24p and original 7D offering 720p 60fps in frame rates. This was so las decade and while there have been improvements there has not been an indication of the camera line growing up to develop a true leap in the video mode to EOS users. We have seen a transition to other systems like the Panasonic GH4 Micro 4/3 and Sony NEX series by many video pros looking for better video quality and higher frame rates besides Canon and Nikon bodies.
The video quality while stagnant in Canon and Nikon land has actually increased to 4k in other systems with amazing low light performance like that of the a7s Sony series. Canon seems to have woken up from their slumber with the new Canon 1DX Mk II a Professional answer with a full frame sensor and what looks to be a worthy video mode that is now up to date and competitive with some of the best out there in the under 120fps camp.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
SIGMA has released a compelling video showing their new process for ceramic lens filters being compared to other brands in a metallic ball drop test. The ball weighs 49 grams or 1.7 oz and it is dropped from a height of four feet.
According to SIGMA, their strengthening ceramic process is 10x or 1000% stronger than previous strengthening methods which are included in the video as the competition to compare them.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Ono U1 Beast smartphone by U1 Labshas yet to see the light of day as a shipping product. There have been several setbacks to the project but they seem to still keep the flame alive by having the hardware finished and polishing the software constantly to get to a ship ready state.
The latest info pushes for a February release of a slow motion video sample at the spec of 480fps. This will be a real video and not an interpolated sample like the one released before which used the Android camera to deliver slow motion video based on standard frame rate footage. Now the talk in the forums is when will backers and early buyers get the phone if at all. The handset was supposed to be in the hands of backers in late 2015 especially taking in mind the holidays as a Christmas present. That did not materialize as expected due to software delays. However the company honored early backers with refunds for the entire amount. These early backers will still get the phone with no out of money cost. This would be a great thing for backers but this put stresses on the actual company making the necessary revenue unless they have investors footing the bill.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Fuji got quite a few products out at CES 2016 for photographers but nearly all had no real slow motion capabilities except for the Fuji XP90 Rugged waterproof compact camera. It is the same 16.4 Megapixel CMOS sensor with 5x optical zoom and a pretty standard 28mm lens at the wide end as last year’s Fuji XP80.
It is still shockproof from 6ft, waterproof to 50ft and freeze-proof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. But aside from the harsh treatment capabilities the camera has a larger 3 inch screen vs 2.7″ on it’s predecessor and the 1080p video spec has been upped to 60p for a little slowdown.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Regardless of what the GoPro and Ambarella marriage can provide in tandem hardware it is clear the company wants to branch out of the fledgling sales of GoPro which have tanked in recent quarters and the stock price from a high near a $100 USD is now trading at a mere $12 which is half the IPO price. By branching out it seems they want their chips in many more imaging devices and be less affected by the GoPro product cycle.
The announced H2 and H12 chips are able to provide beefy 4k specs at high frame rates for mobile devices at a mere 2 Watts of power. As to 1080p frame rates it will remain to be seen how this powerful new chip can handle that in a camera design and how it is implemented to squeeze that performance. 120fps at 4k from the H2 in theory should be able to yield 480fps at 1080p just counting the Pixel processing. This however can be limited by the rest of the components like imaging sensor.→ 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!
In the update released to day Graham Rowan the creator of the fps1000 high speed camera project has made it known that the camera body has passed EMC for both CE and FCC certification.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
