Tag Archives: 1500fps

Chronos Camera m43 Lens Adapter with Speedbooster Support!

The two existing Chronos cameras, the 1.4c 720p at 1502fps & the Chronos 2.1 -HD 1t 1080p 1000fps are identical when seen from the outside but very different inside as they contain different sensor and memory boards. However one constant is that both use the C mount as the default for lens adapters. The camera usually comes with a Canon EF or Nikon F mount adapter depending on the buyer preference which screws on the C mount thread and allows for support of classic lenses from Macro to telephoto. 

One request from the community has been the support for other lens mounts like Micro 4/3ds which lets you adapt a variety of lens mounts and the much coveted speedbooster adapters which allow a 1 f-stop improvement in light gathering for micro 4/3ds systems. Today Krontech, the company behind the Chronos high-speed camera is introducing a passive Micro 4/3rds adapter for both the Chronos 1.4c and 2.1-HD and uses the body screw terminals near the lens thread mount to place a solid connection that allows such lenses. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Chronos 2.1 HD Shoots 1000fps 1080p For $5k!

Chronos 2.1 HD Slow Motion Camera

In what could be summed up as a big milestone day in affordable slow motion, Krontech.ca the company behind the excellent 720p 1500fps Chronos 1.4c slow motion camera has now announced ready for pre-order a new 1080p Full HD 1000fps slow motion camera that starts at a bargain basement price of $5,000 US Dollars.  Considering just a few years ago this performance in the Phantom camera space was a six-figure proposition, this is major progress towards a camera that we have been waiting for a long time.

Sure there have been other cameras that democratized the space in the past like the amazing edgertronic SC2X we tested which is a 15,990 USD piece of gear and is capable of 2000fps+ at full HD resolution on an APS-C sized sensor.  Still very cheap compared to other cameras but not exactly affordable for the common shooter. Now the Chronos 2.1 HD is here to change all that and offer in a fully contained package with a ready to shoot kit for a starting price a third of that.

Chronos 2.1 HD Main Specs:
  • 1080p, 4/3” format image sensor captures 2.1 gigapixels per second for 1004fps at full resolution, and up to 100 000fps
    at lower resolutions.
  • 8GB, 16GB and 32GB high-speed RAM buffer options for 2.5, 5.5 and 11 second record time respectively.
  • High sensitivity base ISO of 500 (Color) and 1000 (Monochrome) enables shooting with modest lighting.
  • Completely standalone, untethered operation.
  • Field-swappable internal battery EN-EL4a lasts for 1 hour of recording.
  • Runs indefinitely on AC adapter or external power source.
  • H.264 Recording In Camera & Uncompressed DNG RAW
  • Many lenses supported: Nikon F, Canon EF, Micro Four Thirds and C mounts available as field-swappable options.
  • Focus peaking highlights sharp edges for quick and perfect focus.
  • Zebra lines help you set correct exposure.
  • Pixel pitch 10um
  • Electronic global shutter, 1/fps to 10us (1/100 000 s)
  • Dynamic range 10.3 stops (62.4 dB) (preliminary)
  • Bit depth 12-bit
  • 5″ 800×480 capacitive touchscreen, 1000 nit daylight visible
  • Cooling Active cooling, variable-speed fan
  • Dimensions 155mm x 96mm x 67.3mm (6.11″ x 3.78″ x 2.65″) without lens
  • IR Filter 650nm, user removable, 24 x 16 x 1.1mm
  • Cooling Active cooling, variable-speed fan
  • Network: Gigabit Ethernet
  • Trigger Two Trigger inputs/frame strobe outputs (BNC and Aux)
  • Audio* Microphone/Line input, headphone output
  • Video HDMI monitor output
  • USB USB type A (host) and micro B (device)
  • SATA eSATA 3Gbps

Pricing and Availability:

Chronos 2.1-HD 8GBUSD $5000  – 2.7sec@1080p
Chronos 2.1-HD 16GBUSD $5400 5.51sec@1080p
Chronos 2.1-HD 32GBUSD $6000 – 11.03sec@1080p

There will also be 40 early bird cameras ready to ship for the 2019 summer for the lucky few that get there first. Pricing will be the same but you will get the camera earlier. Pre Order Page Here!

Chronos 2.1-HD Demo Reel #1 Sample Footage:

Watch in 4k for best results, Youtube 1080p compression obliterates a lot of fine detail!

NAB 2019 Booth:

The Krontech team will be attending NAB 2019 in Las Vegas to show their cameras and answer questions at their own booth.

What’s the catch, this price can’t be real?

There is no catch, the camera is a direct evolution of the Chronos 1.4c and a clear winner at least on paper for our #1 spot in our affordable slow motion HSC camera guide.  Since the Chronos started at $3k USD the Krontech team has made it possible by using their honed skills to deliver a product which is really a cut above at just $2k more.  For $5,000 USD you really cannot even imagine getting a camera close to this level of performance.

The camera sports a Micro 4/3s sensor which is considerably smaller than most professional cinema slow motion cameras which start at APS-C size and also the edgertronics but it seems to be a sensor that is not only capable but very sensitive to light which should, in theory, allow for beautiful imagery in 1kfps 1080p and at lower resolutions.

We are fans of Micro 4/3rds sensors like the one in the Panasonic GH5 and GH5s which delivers outstanding value for money.  These cameras are very capable in the video world and the sheer adaptability of the mount means that it can be used with almost any lens out there sans that of shorter flange mounts like the Sony Alpha for example.

The sensor in this Chronos 2.1 – HD is also adaptable to using speed boosters like the excellent Metabones line of m4/3 adapters which allow for a full stop improvement in light gathering as well as allow for APS-C field of view on the smaller area 4/3 sensor. We can already get excited about the light gathering improvement in a camera like this with the appropriate adapter.  Remember, you can never have enough light when shooting slow motion video.

Chronos 2.1 HD Slow Motion Camera Body Design & Mount:

The Sensor is a LUX2100 from Luxima with 1952 x 1096 pixels & 1080p resolution with a max full readout of 1004fps at 1080p.

The camera body will be identical in shape and dimensions to the Chronos 1.4c and there will be an adapter to incorporate Micro 4/3 lenses as an add on. You should be able to use any C mount to EOS or C mount to Nikon adapters for using those lenses.

The HDMI port will also export a 1080p image at 100ms delay time which is the same as the back screen. This is short enough to allow the use of larger accessory screens and or viewfinders with the camera.

  • SD Card speed will be limited to 20MB/sec
  • SSD Drive saving will be 60MB/sec or 13 – 1080p frames a second in RAW DNG format.
  • Much faster H.264 saving than DNG like in the original Chronos.

Chronos 2.1-HD prototype demo, overview, and teardown by tesla500:

New Screen, New Horizons!

  • 5″ 800×480 capacitive touchscreen, 1000 nit daylight visible

Yes, the Chronos 2.1 – HD will have a new screen capable of 1000 nits which according to the spec sheet will allow full sun visibility outdoors.  This was a big issue with the original Chronos 1.4c which requires not only a sun shade but even some guessing as to focus and framing in sunlight.  If this screen is that good then this is simply the best upgrade to the camera after resolution!

Now you can take your Chronos out and shoot without a separate monitor in daylight while composing and operating the camera. Very exciting news!

Maximum Frame rates, this is a serious piece of gear!

As you can see in the table above, you can really push this camera to limits never before attempted in this price range.

The camera shoots in 32×2 pixel increments which means you can literally punch in any multiple of those like 64*4, 128*8 and so on until full HD on the sensor to get a plethora of combinations.

At 100,000fps 1920*8px the maximum this camera can offer you will be able to see a bullet fired and smashed if framed right with excellent temporal detail.  Of course, you will want to use resolution accordingly depending on the subject matter and the display where it will be ultimately shown.

You will still get the 720p 1500fps popularized in the Chronos 1.4c with a sensor center crop if needed which means you don’t really lose this ability if you upgrade to this camera. We are very happy to see this spec retained and now with 34% Larger Pixels.

When can I see it?

The camera should start to ship this summer to early bird buyers and shortly thereafter to regular orders.  The hardware is finalized and working so they need to build the cameras after the orders come in. Krontech delivered hundreds of Chronos 1.4c cameras after their Kickstarter campaign and has continued to fulfill new orders day in and day out, we have full confidence in their ability to deliver on these cameras after purchase.

We hope to get one of these cameras soon for testing and evaluate how well it performs. Looking forward in the Chronos 2.1 HD to a much larger sensor experience in 4/3rds than the Chronos 1.4c  2/3ds sensor. The pixel size alone should deliver a much better image with less noise and artifacts out of the box at 10µm vs 6.6µm in the Chronos 1.4c or 34% larger. New sensor technology should also play a significant role in delivering on the image quality front.

Other Chronos Updates:

The Chronos API should be released soon which will let users build applications and control the camera or array of cameras in unlimited ways.   Once this API is released the original Chronos 1.4c camera will increase in price by $401 USD to reflect added capabilities and keep up with inflation while at the same time supporting the development of the software.

Chronos Ring:

We thought it was an April’s fools joke when Krontech.ca released a teaser image on April 1st showing a 48 Chronos 1.4c camera rig to record in 360 degrees in super slow motion.  However, the Rig is not only real but a world first in recording this type of content at 68 gigapixels/sec in glorious super slow motion.

Krontech was kind enough to share early samples of the technology in the video below. Rest assured this is in alpha stage so any miss-alignment or slight jumpiness should be fixed by release time or by the customer on location.

The technology of the Chronos Ring should, in theory, allow for a completely new 360º degree perspective in recording super slow motion footage for TV shows, commercials, and scientific applications.  We are eager to see more of what this rig is capable in professional hands.  Expect to see blockbuster movies and or TV using this technology to create the next generation VFX shots to move forward the art of practical effects. What an awe-inspiring technology.

Chronos Ring Video Samples:

Chronos Ring – Bullet time array of 48 high-speed cameras by tesla500: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

CHRONOS 1.4 SOFTWARE V0.3 RC2 Released!

Chronos 1.4 Software V0.3 RC2

The Chronos 1.4c Team has released the latest v0.3 RC2 software for testing.  Be aware that this is not mission critical stable software so only use on your own private testing and not for recording mission critical shoots.  The Interface can now be flipped to the left side though we would love to see an option to be concentrated on the lower part for better screen real-estate distribution.

We have tested over the last few days and are happy to report that the software has been stable and rock solid with no lock-ups and no sluggishness.  The Color science was improved since the first v0.3 RC1 release to render the red colors among others more faithfully. In our testing, there was a definite improvement but we would like to see better treatment of the deep blues and magentas. We are happy to see White Balance is now supporting built-in presets!

Features we have really liked on this new software release:

White balance is something that worked before but only with a 100% white target. It now works with an 80% White-ish target which makes for easier calibration without having an overly bright target.  The new White Balance presets are what you would expect on any manual WB camera feature and have been happy with the Daylight settings.  It’s a major improvement in workflow and would love to see the ability to save presets and or dial Kelvin degrees in 5 unit increments as a possibility.

The interface panel used for saving clips has had a re-vamp with a better slider control and now a color-coded interface that has a different color for every segment already saved. This is an ingenious touch that makes it much easier to make sure that a clip frame selection is saved to the SD card or Hard Drive.   We found the clips saved worked as advertised in H.264 and RAW format. It gave us peace of mind to see the slider being used effectively during an outdoor shoot with limited space available on the card.

The User Interface UI during shooting can be sent to the left side with a tick bot in the options panel.  This helped in avoiding unwanted presses due to the right side interface being to close to the grip side and rocker knob.  This was a needed change and works to avoid that issue.  We sill want to have an option to place it on the top or lower third, especially when shooting at 720p with a lot of space being letterboxed in black which could be used by the live video feed to check focus.

That’s it for now, please refer any bugs to Krontech.ca and let us know your thoughts and any test you want to share below. More info on how to install as follows: -HSC

 

Installation instructions:

  • Unzip the Zip file into the root directory of a FAT32 formatted USB stick
  • This should result in a camUpdate folder in the root directory of the stick
  • Boot up the camera and insert the USB stick
  • Backup your calibration data. Tap “Backup calibration data” and wait for this to complete (about 5 seconds). The cal data is now backed up on the USB drive as cal_[serial number].tar
  • To install the update, tap Apply Software Update
  • A message box should pop up indicating the software update was found. Tap Yes to install the update.
  • The screen will go black, you may see a screen saying “updating”, and the update will be installed. This will take about 30 seconds, potentially longer depending on the speed of the USB drive. There’s no feedback that anything is happening, just give it time. The camera will restart at the end of this process
  • Done!

Download The new Manual & Software v0.3 RC2 Here at the official site: http://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=158.0

For more information on the Chronos camera and where to get one see their official website here: http://www.krontech.ca

Slow Motion – Bubbles 🙂 – Chronos 1.4 by Luke Slow Mo:

Chronos 1.4 Software V0.3 RC1 Released for Testing!

Chronos 1.4 Software V0.3 RC1

The Chronos 1.4c Team has been ramping up software releases with the latest v0.3 RC1 being dropped just a few hours ago.  Be aware that this is not mission critical stable software so only use on your own testing and not for recording once in a lifetime events.  The big fixes are in the color pipeline and how the camera handles pixel color especially red tones which were a little pinkish in previous software releases. It seems the entire color acquisition pipeline has received an overhaul. This should improve the color rendition on all objects plus the added benefit of less tweaking in post.

There are also several UI improvements like the ability to clear some warnings, move the button layout pane around the main interface screen and the ability to auto-save clips after shooting.   HSC will be testing the new software and report back when we get some new images.  We are preparing a color test to see before and after the software update and how much color has improved with the release.

Chronos 1.4 Software V0.3 RC1 Release Notes:

Here is the release candidate for V0.3, for those of you who want to try the latest and greatest. An updated manual is also attached to this post.

Keep in mind this software is still a release candidate. It has not gone through full validation yet, this software is generally stable but we don’t recommend using this for any critical applications where it’s not possible to recreate your shot. We recommend waiting for the final release for any applications that require guaranteed stability.


┌───────────────────────┐
┌┘                                  └┐
│     Chronos V0.3 RC1 Changelog     │
└┐                                  ┌┘
└───────────────────────┘ 

Notable Changes (from V0.2.5):
– Colour reproduction is greatly improved especially reds
– Keyboard behavior improved, text is now selected when you tap an edit box
– UI can be flipped, or set to display the main screen menu on the left side
– You can configure the “Unsaved video in RAM” popup when you hit the record button with an unsaved video in memory. It can be set to “Always”, “If not reviewed” (default), or “Never”. The previous behavior was always “If not reviewed”.
– Fixed bug in 0.2.5 beta that resulted in a small portion of saves failing (about 2%)
– Fixed bug where segmented record mode would produce many invalid segments

More notable changes (from V0.2):
– Trigger I/O’s Trigger delay input was moved to the Trigger Delay screen.
– Added Trigger Delay screen and Record Modes screen, accessible from Record Settings.
– Black cal duration reduced by 10s to 15s or so at max resolution. (We still hope to make this much, much faster in a future beta.)
– Use any SD card. Previously, a class 10 SD card was required. You can now use slower cards. Of course, using a slower SD card means that videos save slower too.
– You can now auto-record after saving and auto-save after recording. This can loop.

Minutiae:
– Mark In and Mark Out have been renamed to Mark Start and Mark End, probably just until the video seek bar is made horizontal.
– Playback screen has ‘region to be saved’ marked. Each region saved is marked in a different color.
– The Enter key has been changed to say Apply, since you have to press it to apply your changes.
– The sliders on main screen the play screen have been made larger for ease of grabbing.
– There is now a Settings tab in the Util pages.
– Trigger IO window: The ratio between post-trigger frames and record length in frames is kept constant between resolution and framerate changes.
– Play → Settings: bitsPerPixel, maxBitrate, saved file framerate, format, filename and save location are now saved as soon as they are changed instead of when the Close button is pressed.

Installation instructions:

  • Unzip the Zip file into the root directory of a FAT32 formatted USB stick
  • This should result in a camUpdate folder in the root directory of the stick
  • Boot up the camera and insert the USB stick
  • Backup your calibration data. Tap “Backup calibration data” and wait for this to complete (about 5 seconds). The cal data is now backed up on the USB drive as cal_[serial number].tar
  • To install the update, tap Apply Software Update
  • A message box should pop up indicating the software update was found. Tap Yes to install the update.
  • The screen will go black, you may see a screen saying “updating”, and the update will be installed. This will take about 30 seconds, potentially longer depending on the speed of the USB drive. There’s no feedback that anything is happening, just give it time. The camera will restart at the end of this process
  • Done!

As always, let us know of any bugs you find, we’ll get them sorted out as quickly as possible. We anticipate the fully validated V0.3 release in about a month.

Download The new Manual & Software v0.3 RC1 Here at the official site: http://forum.krontech.ca/index.php?topic=158.0
 
For more information on the Chronos camera and where to get one see their official website here: http://www.krontech.ca

Sample Video – Forging in slow motion on Chronos 1.4 1500fps by Aki Korhonen:

 

Chronos 1.4 RAW to DNG Tool Now Available!

Chronos 1.4 RAW

The Chronos 1.4 Team has now posted the first incarnation of the RAW Camera data to DNG File tool to convert the sensor information files to usable Adobe DNG sequences. They also have posted a sample image comparing the before and after characteristics of the image quality if saved on H.264 in camera and then the same scene shot and saved in RAW format which converted to DNG yields a substantial improvement in image quality as we explored in our previous post about this issue here.

The camera is expected to allow direct to DNG format file saving in the future but now you can shoot in the camera RAW format and later convert as an interim solution without sacrificing quality on the H.264 files.  Maybe in the future, the camera will be able to simultaneously save RAW and H.264 files as a proxy feature to be able to easily sample clips in editing before conversion.  We believe the DNG format should be your one-stop solution for this camera if image quality is important for your use case.

Chronos 1.4 RAW Sample and Download Info:

Image sample released by Krontech.ca Showing the benefits of using RAW vs the camera’s internal de-bayering to H.264. There is a substantial difference along with the ability to white balance the images after the fact. We estimate near 11 stops of dynamic range using RAW and a little under 9 stops is using H.264.

Download the Chronos 1.4 RAW data to DNG File Converter tool here in the official Forum Post.<<< Download Software Here

Quick User guide available here at Github!

New Light Recommendations from Krontech:

Krontech has now posted a light recommendation store page based on their own tests for inexpensive and good quality lights for slow motion shooting.

We have heard good things about the recommended lights and fall right in line with our own recommendation for the RPS Studio 100w lights which in our tests offered no flickering at full power for any frame rate shot by high speed cameras up to 32k fps. The Godox lights should be comparable in performance and dependability.

We will test out the RAW format in the coming weeks and report back on our findings. The Chronos Camera is maturing day by day to a more dependable product for professionals.  With the RAW update, it could bet the best price/performance camera deal for high-speed capture in the world today. -HSC

Chronos 1.4 RAW Video Frame Samples!

Chronos 1.4 RAW

We received a set of Adobe DNG image samples from Krontech to check the resolution, dynamic range and grading potential of the camera when using the  RAW recording mode. As of now the utility to convert the raw data is still being tested but we were impressed by the results the camera was able to achieve by offloading the de-bayering process to a more capable converter like the Adobe Camera RAW module.

The Chronos files were already good when properly exposed but did suffer from some aliasing and moire in fine detail while resolution also took a hit by saving in a compressed H.264 format.  Now with the DNG RAW capability, we are glad to see that the camera image quality made an enormous improvement in the resolution, color fidelity, and dynamic range. It really brings out the real potential of the camera for a variety of applications, also creating a cleaner result in the noise department when processed correctly.

Chronos 1.4 DNG RAW Power:

By our calculations using the 6 dB = 1 stop rule of dynamic range the Chronos 1.4 RAW Files contain 56.7 dB (Sensor Spec) worth of information at 12 bits or close to 10 stops of dynamic range.   So you are gaining more or less 1.5 extra stops of highlight recovery and or shadow amplification when using RAW/DNG compared to H.264 . Not too shabby.

The test setup above by Krontech.ca is serving as a testbed for rolling out the feature. They provided HSC with a series of RAW/DNG files and h.264 equivalent samples for us to test.

The enlarged area sample below shows the huge amount of quality retention by using RAW/DNG and why it really looks like an entirely different camera when it comes to image quality. The in-camera de-bayering of color information for h.264 does a pretty bad job on edges and color fringes making the files look just too pixelated and artifact prone compared to the incoming sensor data. The RAW, however, cleans all that and allows for a plethora of adjustments that really bring out the true resolution of the 1.3MP 1280*1024 2/3ds sensor for the first time. The 12 bit DNG files also recover highlight and shadow information while allowing for de-noising which make the image quality just burst out.

Click on the image below for original / large sample:

After using the DNG samples we now feel inclined to scrap h.264 as our file saving codec in turn for RAW output for all our Chronos shoots. Krontech tells us that while RAW data is already saved by the camera in the latest experimental firmware which needs conversion with a tool RAW2DNG in Linux “and soon windows”, a direct DNG saving option is planned for a future firmware update for the Chronos 1.4 to streamline the workflow.

Each frame in RAW DNG is now 2.5MB at full 1280*1024 resolution which means a 1-second recording will be about 2.64GB at the full speed of 1057fps.

Download and play with the DNG RAW Samples on your own.  Krontech is also sharing the samples with our readers so they can experiment with the quality.

Download them Here: Chronos RAW DNG Test Samples!

We will keep covering the software evolution of the Chronos 1.4 camera and will inform you when new developments like DNG in camera and remote operation become available.

Chronos 1.4c Starts Shipping 32GB model with 16-second Rec Time:

As you can see the Chronos team has been busy building and shipping new cameras. The latest 32GB model for $3,999 which will be capable of over 16.5 seconds of record time at full resolution is gaining popularity due to the very large buffer.

So now the Chronos Camera is priced in three model options based on the depth of memory buffer:

  • 8GB Chronos 1.4 Camera Body: $2,999
  • 16GB Chronos 1.4 Camera Body $3,399
  • 32GB Chronos 1.4 Camera Body $3,999

The cameras remain the same in the internals so if you don’t need the extra memory recording buffer you can go for a standard 8GB model which will record just over 4 seconds at full speed.

For more information about pricing and availability of the Chronos 1.4c camera visit: http://www.krontech.ca

Crushing REAL High-Speed Camera by Hydraulic Press Channel: → Continue Reading Full Post ←