Tag Archives: 180fps

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2021!

 

We have passed another year in slow motion land and while camera releases were more plenty than expected considering the chip shortage and teh COVID disruption, it’s time to take a look back through the year’s camera releases, and see which delivered on the price/performance scale when it comes to slow motion frame rates.  Phones are stagnationg while high end cameras are getting more frame rate options in higher resolution. Our Best Slow Motion Cameras Of 2021 have been selected and ordered by recommendation! → Continue Reading Full Post ←

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2020!

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2020

As the end of 2020 nears, it’s time to take a look back through the year’s camera releases amid the COVID 19 chaos, and see which delivered on the price/performance bracket with slow motion frame rates as the primary goal.  Phone slow motion took a back seat this year as the interest of the feature in phones was subdued or even eliminated. Our Best Slow Motion Cameras Of 2020 have been selected and ordered by recommendation!

We saw some surprises including a mostly affordable 4k slow motion solution and the adoption of 4k 120fps on many cameras which makes us think 240fps at UHD should be something to think about in the coming years as a regular option once 8k video is commonplace on consumer recording devices and TVs. The increase in resolution should theoretically allow for a lot of 4k frame rates to be offered as 8k delivers 4x the pixel count of 4k for any given frame rate. Keep on reading for our 2020 picks!

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS of 2020:

Without further ado here are what we believe are the best value slow motion cameras in their respective categories for the year 2020:

Best Slow Motion Phone Category:

3rd Place) Sony Xperia 5 II:

The Sony Xperia 5 II is all about capturing the best video possible on a smartphone and in HDR. The kick here is that the phone is capable of 4k 120fps in full HDR which is pretty much class-leading.

The footage below will give you a taste of what the phone can do. In good light, it will let you capture excellent quality 4k 120p footage with the possibility to grade as it records a gradable flat profile.  In low light, it will be a pretty unremarkable image with grain and artifacts as could be expected from the light requirements when shooting at high speed.

Sony Xperia 5 II: 4K 120fps video footage by CNET Highlights:

Sony Xperia 5 II Slow Motion Specs:

  • 120fps 4k
  • 60fps 1080p

This is one of the first phones to offer 120fps in 4k which will probably become a standard spec in 2021 for flagships. However absent is the slow motion at 1080p which considering the 4k oomph, it should have been capable of 480fps at 1080p or similar. It is a shame that the spec was completely avoided considering HDR in 120fps 4k requires 240fps full pixel readout before merging.  In theory, 240fps non-HDR is possible on this phone but not available for unspecified reasons. Phones are becoming more powerful by the day and this is one that has our attention. The just under $1k price tag is not ideal but some of the best phones are going to cost you.

2nd Place) OnePlus 8T:

One Plus continues to offer compelling slow motion features on their phones with 480fps 1080p and up to 480fps at 720p.  It gives you a quad 48MP camera module which is literally insane considering the phone sells for under $750USD and has 120hz refresh rate. Feature-wise it has probably everything under the sun and then some and will not disappoint in the performance realm.

Fireworks in Slow motion – OnePlus 8T 480fps in dark by sternking: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12k Camera Setup 7 new Frame Rates!

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12k Camera Setup 7

Blackmagic Design has released Camera Setup 7.0 which upgrades the URSA Mini Pro 12k camera in several areas including improved frame rates at different resolutions.  At 12k the maximum frame rate has increased to 75fps from 60fps and at 4k we now have up to 240fps in BRAW format from 220fps on a Super 16mm crop of the sensor. We also get 8k at up to 160fps from a maximum before of 110fps which is improved by leveraging the fast pipeline in the camera and delivering usable frame rates with good multiples.

While the camera is not cheap at $9,995, it is certainly a bargain considering the resolution and frame rates you have access to in BRAW RAW-Like format.  It may be essentially the most powerful camera you can buy today for this price range and available with an F, EF, or PL mount the flexibility is there if needed.  Blackmagic Design are also the owners of DaVinci Resolve and usually bundled it with their cameras. It makes for a hard to beat all in one system for shooting, editing, and postproduction. Dig in for more details…

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12k – Full High Speed Frame Rates After Update:

12K 17:9 full sensor up to 60 fps
12K 2.4:1 up to 75 fps
8K DCI full sensor up to 120 fps
4K DCI full sensor up to 120 fps
8K 2.4:1 and 4K 2.4:1 up to 160 fps

6K Super 16 up to 120 fps
4K Super 16 up to 240 fps

Ursa Mini Pro 12K Unboxing & Footage by Epic Light Media: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon C70 Slow Motion is finally pushing the envelope!

Canon C70 Slow Motion

We consider the Canon C70 as the real successor to the 5D Mark II which started the ILC  DSLR revolution.  It ticks almost all the boxes for a vast array of users and does so on a somewhat realistic price point. We get a Cinema caliber sensor in S35 format at 4k Cinema and UHD that is capable of producing 16 real stops of dynamic range. The camera actually is using simultaneous dual gain technology to merge the exposure from both settings into an amazingly beautiful progression between light and dark.

The Canon C70 Slow Motion Mode has real 120fps 4k with HDR and full Canon dual pixel AF technology and even can crop to Super 16mm to record 180fps at 1080p and 2k resolution to provide you with that extra oomph which was sorely needed in Canon land. The camera does have some drawbacks but it is so good out of the box that we may have an avalanche of switchers to the format from Sony, Nikon, and Panasonic.

Canon C70 Main Features:

  • Super35 Dual Gain Output (DGO) Sensor
  • 4K 120p, HDR
  • 2K Crop 180p/1080p HDR Capture
  • Canon Log 2, 3, PQ & HLG Recording
  • RF Lens Mount / EF Mount with Adapter
  • DIG!C DV7 Image Processor
  • 16+ Stops of Total Dynamic Range
  • Built-In ND Filters / Auto ISO & Gain
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF & EOS iTR AF X
  • 1 BNC Timecode / 2 Mini-XLR Audio Inputs
  • Dual SD Card Slots, LUT/Long GOP Support
  • $5,499.00 MSRP Pre-order at Adorama
  • Estimated release date of December 2020.

As you can see the camera is a powerhouse for a vast majority of users. Studios can use it without problem for paid projects as an A or B cam for a C300 Mark III for example or just build an army of C70s to cover events from many angles. The camera performs great in low light with ISO 25600 being the first initial noise bump that may need Noise reduction software in post but below that, a 6400 ISO shoot should be extremely clean.

Canon C70 Slow Motion Component:

  • 120fps 4k and UHD
  • 180fps 1080p/2k Super – 16mm Crop
  • 4k 50/60p
  • Resolutions:
  • 4096 x 2160p up to 119.88/120 fps
    3840 x 2160p up to 119.88/120 fps
    2048 x 1080p up to 179.82/180 fps
    1920 x 1080p up to 179.82/180 fps
  • All with up to 4:2:2 10-Bit capture.

The image quality at 4k 60p and 120p is excellent, we see crisp detail and the codec options are plentiful enough to deliver a good to excellent image in those modes.

However, the 1080p and 2k with a Super 16mm crop loos soft and mushy.  Compression is not that bad but detail is sacrificed from what we have seen. We need to wait for more samples but the ones we have seen make us believe that it looks more like soft 720p upscaled than real 1:1 pixel capture.  4k is immune to this but not 2k and below.

Canon C70 Slow Motion Footage Samples:

We found some samples and we made sure to copy the time stamp so they should start playing at that point.  We find the quality in 2k to be passable but it is not very detailed which makes us think it is not really a 1080p or 2k signal but a soft upscaled one.

Canon EOS C70 – In-Depth Review & Test Footage by CVP:

CANON C70 Full Review – A small but powerful beast from Canon! by Giannis Saroukos: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Panasonic S5 Slow Motion 180fps is Low Res!

Panasonic S5 Slow Motion

Now that Panasonic has officially announced the Lumix S5 Full frame camera which we saw as a direct replacement for the GH5 line even when now it seems a GH6 may be in the cards for a future release, it is now time to examine the slow motion modes on the camera to see if they stand a chance at becoming a feature which will be a seller for the new device or just one more feature.

When the GH5 was announced about 3 years ago it came with a 180fps 1080p mode that was better than many camera’s 120fps modes and quickly became our favorite Lumix camera for slow motion as we noticed how the quality of the 240fps mode on the GH5s low light geared camera was heavily inferior in resolution. The GH5 really became the best value along with the G9 for 180fps slow-mo modes in Full HD.

Panasonic Lumix S5 Main Features:

  • 24.2MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • UHD 4K60 Video,10-Bit Internal Recording
  • 120p, 150p and 180p Full HD Modes*
  • Slow Motion AF Tracking up to 150fps in Full HD!
  • V-Log, HDR, and Dual Native ISO
  • 2.36m-Dot 0.74x-Magnification OLED LVF
  • 3.0″ 1.84m-Dot Free-Angle Touchscreen
  • Contrast-Detect 225-Area DFD AF System
  • 5-Axis Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization
  • ISO 100-51200, Up to 7 fps Shooting
  • 96MP High-Res Mode, Dual SD Card Slots
  • MSRP: $1,997.99  Body Only or $2,297.99 with 20-60mm Kit lens!
  • Pre-order includes a Free Sigma 45mm f2.8 Lens Via Mail-In Rebate

First the Good:

The 24MP sensor is excellent in low light, it will perform extremely well compared to Micro 4/3ds or APS-C cameras but it will not beat the low light king of cameras the Sony a7s Mark II or III.

The camera can shoot 10-bit internal up to 60fps but it will have an S35 crop at the 60fps 4k mode.  The sensor stabilization is not the best out there but it is quite got at up to 6.5 stops with sensor+lens correction.

If you pre-order the camera you get a free Sigma 45mm f2.8 Lens via mail-in rebate which seems either overly generous or somewhat suspect of fear of people jumping ship to other systems.  We feel this is a pretty good deal especially if you also get the kit lens as that one is over $300 USD discounted if you order it with the camera.

From the samples, we have seen the quality in stills and video is as good as the S1 and S1H with very impressive color characteristics that are as close to the Canon color range as we have seen.  Panasonic has done an excellent job with their color science since the GH5 and it shows how good it has become here.

The Bad:

We get the DfD Autofocus system with no Phase detection pixels which in our view are the only way to go for reliable video AF.  In the early tests, it seems to do quite well compared to previous Panasonic Efforts and most of the pulsing is gone in people tracking scenes.  However, the really depressing thing is that the reliability is not a 100% some would call it 80% or even less which means you simply cannot rely on it for mission-critical footage.

If your camera can only have in focus 8 out of 10 shots then you cannot rely on the video tracking AF for paid work.  Most footage is recorded with the expectation that focus can be controlled, if it fails then you lose time in production and worse yet if you find yourself in the edit suite a month later looking at out-of-focus OOF shots on your edit bay, then you have a huge problem on your hands.

Panasonic needs to stop clinging to DfD as their single do-it-all AF solution and change to a hybrid Phase+Contrast AF system like Sony or Canon are using.  This continues to be the Achilles heel of the system and they need to own up to their mistake not double down on it with every camera release.

For many users, the AF on the camera is good enough and many Vloggers will shoot with it just fine but professional videographers will need to go to Canon or Sony for reliable AF as even the flagship Panasonic S1H suffers from even worse DfD AF performance.

What about the Slow Motion?

Now on to our website focus, that of slow motion video. The Panasonic Lumix S5 is capable of 60fps 4k video at 10 bit with an s35 crop in the sensor at that mode and also a cropped 150 and 180fps mode in 1080p Full HD recording.

The good news is that now we have AF tracking up to 150fps in full HD. The bad news is, it is contrast-detect DfD which means the same problems as the regular mode. But in practice, higher frame rates offer better AF performance as the camera samples more times/sec so it can lock into subjects better!

Slow-Mo Modes & Bit Rates:

  • 4k 60fps 10-Bit Internal
  • 1080p 120fps, 150fps slight crop and resolution loss.
  • 1080p 180fps – More severe crop and resolution loss.
  • H.264/MP4 4:2:0 8-Bit
    UHD 4K (3840 x 2160): 23.976p/25p/29.97p [100 Mb/s]
    Full HD (1920 x 1080):
  • 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/180p [20 to 28 Mb/s]

So we now have what could be the let down of this camera and that is the low bit rate quality in 1080p slow motion of [20 to 28 Mb/s].  That is the exact same bit-rate as that on the 3-year-old GH5 camera which is not ideal. It is also more of a 720p image up-scaled to 1080p which looks aliased and soft.

We rather have a 100Mbps mode like that possible on regular up to 30p and 60p full HD recording modes.  Slow motion is crippled by using one-third of the bit-rate allocation in what we believe would be related to camera memory due to the faster frame rates. However, the S5 has a massive memory buffer that should easily be capable of recording 100Mbps 1080p at 120, 150 and 180fps options.

The excellent video preview by DPreview below at 11 minutes 7 seconds shows the slow motion mode samples in action with a heavy resolution loss at 1080p 180fps.

Panasonic S5 First Impressions Review by DPReview:

Another sample below shows many more slow motion clips which seem to be at 150fps which offer Continuous AF in Slow Motion up to that point. 180fps will not use AF. Forward to 7Min for the samples.

Panasonic S5 – hands-on review and full autofocus test by extrashot: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Lumix S5 Will be a Full Frame GH5 equivalent for $1998

Lumix S5 Slow Motion

The Lumix GH5 is still one of the best video powerhouse cameras ever produced. It doesn’t overheat, it shoots incredible 4k oversampled video at up to 60fps 4k or 180fps 1080p with near Full HD quality but it’s Achilles heel, the Micro 4/3ds sensor which is small and quite inferior in low light compared to Full Frame or even APS-C rivals.  The GH5s is the low light lower megapixel version with dual Gain senor which is actually very clean in low light and can go toe to toe with the best out there but has no IBIS which is a big loss.

Now Panasonic is set to announce the Lumix S5 Full frame mirrorless camera which essentially migrates most GH5 features into a full-frame body with nearly the same introductory price of $1998 USD but improves 4k 60p with 4:2:2 color at 10-bit instead of 4:2:0 8 bit on the GH5. You get IBIS, and also the 180fps Full HD of other S L-mount cameras by Panasonic.  It is still too early to tell what kind of quality the 1080p 180fps mode will be capable of but it does hold promise as the S1H and S1 do a pretty good job on these modes.

Lumix S5 Announcement Very Soon:

The camera will be unveiled Wednesday, September 2, 2020, at 14:00 UTC at the official Lumix site here: https://www.panasonic.com/global/consumer/lumix/s/s5.html

We also expect to see new low-cost L mount lenses for the system that will make the camera more appealing.  We just have to wait a few more days!

But what about the AF?

Yes, the dreaded DfD Depth from Defocus algorithm based on contrast detection is also present on this camera which means it will probably be inferior to systems that use dual pixel AF based on Phase and Contrast hybrid modes which are especially good for video. That means Sony and Canon will still have the upper hand here. Panasonic should keep DfD as an option but make cameras with Phase-detection AF pixels to be able to fully compete in this market. They are doing incredible hybrid still and video cameras with one feature missing, if they fixed the AF they would probably be the first choice of video professionals considering how good the cameras perform. Sadly Sony seems to be eating their lunch with the newly announced a7s Mark III with an AF system that rivals the best out there, in fact, it is so good that you can forget about focus pulling for most shots. The same cannot be said of the Lumix DfD AF contrast system.

We expect the 180fps Full HD Quality to be as good as the one in the S1H camera of the Lumix System. See this video to see the expected quality:

EPIC SLOW MOTION – Shot on Panasonic S1H 180fps by Manit Monsur:

Lumix S5 full Leaked Press Release text by Nokishita Rumors:

Text from Nokishita rumors here!

LUMIX S5 full-frame mirrorless camera is designed especially for content creators. Latest advances in image resolution, image stabilization, and autofocus all in this compact camera that is the signature of LUMIX.
Experience extraordinary video recording in 4K 60p, 4:2:2 10-bit. It also offers a Full HD 180fps Slow Motion option as well as 4:3 Anamorphic support. This is what makes S5 perfect for use when taking still photos or as a vlog camera.L-rumors

With a 24.2MP 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor, the LUMIX S5 boasts a wide dynamic range and high sensitivity performance. The adopted Dual Native ISO technology enables the LUMIX S5 to record maximum ISO 51200 crystal-clear high sensitivity video. Dual Native ISO minimizes noise in high sensitivity. V-Log/V-Gamut compatibility offers a 14+ stop dynamic range to sensitivity. V-Log/V-Gamut compatibility offers a 14+ stop dynamic range to capture every detail.

The improved autofocus detects head as well as eyes, face, and body. The powerful Dual Image Stabilization with 5-axis enables a 6.5-stop slower shutter speed.

The compact nature of the S5 is one of the signature features of the LUMIX series. To make sure that your camera withstands tough field use, the S5 comes with a dust and splash resistant construction. Optimized heat dispersion ensures a stable, continuous video recording without interruption.

One of the expanded features of LUMIX S5 is the Live View Composite mode which instantly creates a stunning image out of several live shots; the shutter releases at designated intervals of exposure time to merge the bright parts into a single image. Useful for shooting fireworks or a starry sky.

Watch this video for some killer Insect Slow Motion:

While the Lumix S5 camera is announced early September, you can check In the meantime this amazing video of flying insects in Slow Motion by Ant Lab on Youtube filmed with a Phantom Miro Camera.  The best part about this video besides the amazing visuals is the excellent informed narration by Dr. Adrian Smith, someone who knows a lot about insects and can really explain the nuances of insect flight with a lot of contagious enthusiasm. The Ant Lab channel is fantastic and we recommend it wholeheartedly!

Insect Flight | Capturing Takeoff & Flying at 3,200 FPS by Ant Lab: → Continue Reading Full Post ←