Our friends at Sanstreak Corp, who make the edgertronic hi speed video camera, got us some recent information that may be of some value to our readers.
Production seems to be ramping up and the goal is to reach a 30 day timeframe between order and delivery of the camera.
NAB 2014 has already started to look like a 4k camera and UHD workflow oriented show from all angles. Manufacturers seem determined to push 4k at all costs and it seems looking at the product ranges that it will probably be adopted fully by the production crews of major TV Shows and News outfits. There are definite advantages to shooting 4k as opposed to 3D which is really a specialty format for limited uses. 4k can be used to create incredible looking crisp FHD 1080p that far out-resolves any 1080 camera to date, plus use footage as a canvas for re-framing and stabilization from wobbly shots.
What this means for slow motion cameras is that, as hardware has become 4x as powerful in order to capture and encode four times as many pixels as FHD 1080p, we get to reap the benefits in lower resolution modes. 4k capture permits lower resolution modes to jump as a side effect of more camera power as follows:
The newest line of Panasonic camcorders announced at CES are a step forward in the codec department with up to 50mbps at 60p but the feature that caught our attention is that both the HC-W850 and HC-V750 can record 120 frames at 1080p plus interpolate to 240p by using pixel motion algorithms.
Main Specs:
The just released Sony FDR-AX100 Handycam is not just a 4k recording multipurpose camera but it also hides a 720p 120f mode which so far seems to be lower quality than regular 720p video cameras. The quality while usable is not ideal. The resolution seems to be well below the stated 720p in slow motion mode.
There is a sister model with the same sensor called the HDR-CX900 which shares all features “Including 720p 120F recording” except the 4k recording and of course a discounted price. However the $500 shave might be unwarranted considering the 1.5k investment for the CX900 which for $500 more you get 4k on the AX100.