Tag Archives: Cine Alta

Announcements, Camera News, Development, Hardware Development, Previews

DJI Ronin 4D Delivers Cinematic Stabilized Slow Motion!

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In what could be called a new paradigm or class of camera, DJI the drone maker has launched a couple of cinema full-frame cameras geared to professional productions that merge their Ronin gimbal products with their Drone pro Zenmuse cameras to create a massively appealing system for pros and enthusiasts that want no compromise stabilization with enough image quality to be able to use them in professional productions for TV and film.  The pricing at just over 11.5k for the 8k version and 7.2k for the 6k version is small potatoes for movie and TV studios but might put off some buyers. 

It is of note that a fully working system bundle is assembled at that price which is much better than other options. It includes the Gimbal, camera and body, 1TB SSD M.2 card, battery, touch screen and cabling. In cinema systems like RED and ARRI this is just the brain or camera body with everything else being added on top as ancillary costs. The frame rates on these cameras are limited to 120fps as the highest at 4k and 75fps at 8k.  They might not be huge but the quality and stabilization should make them quite useful.  → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Announcements, Hi Speed Phone Video, Media Showcase, Rumors, Slowmo Samples

Sony Xperia 5 II 120fps 4k Slow Motion in Leaked Info!

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Sony Xperia 5 II 120fps 4k Slow Motion

Sony has been relatively quiet about phones since the Xperia 1 II roll out. However, rumors have been heating up on the Xperia 5 II, which is a lower-cost alternative to the flagship phone but very nearly as capable without the best screen or construction but not skimming on features. The latest rumor mentions a spec sheet that makes it a 4k 120fps recording phone which may show that handsets still are seen as innovators when it comes to cameras since very few consumer devices in the camera world can record at that frame rate.

We were not very happy that Sony basically killed the super slow motion mode on the Xperia 1 II phone which kind of showed that Sony was putting stills and regular video at the forefront without making compromises in sensors that needed to shoot at higher frame rates. Sony chose to do cleaner regular frame rate video and stills that were better than any Sony phone before at the cost of not having a do it all sensor.  Slow motion from Sony was all but killed but the Xperia 5 II now makes us second guess that fate…

Sony Xperia 5 II leaked spec sheet:

  • 6.1-inch FHD+ OLED display with 21:9 aspect ratio
  • 120 Hz refresh rate
  • 240 Hz touch sampling rate
  • Snapdragon 865 chips
  • 8GB of RAM
  • 128GB of expandable storage.
  • 4,000 mAh battery
  • USB-C Port
  • 3.5mm Headphone Jack makes a comeback (YES 🙂 )

Rear camera module specs:

  • 12 MP  f/1.7 aperture, 24mm equivalent lens, with 82-degree field of view.
  • Telephoto camera 12 MP, with f/2.4 aperture, and 3x optical zoom.
  • Ultrawide 12 MP with  f/2.2 aperture, and 16 mm equivalent focal length – 124-degree field of view.
  • 120fps video recording in 4K with HDR.

Leaked images by evLeaks!

Rumors also state that the phone might launch with a $999 price tag up from the Xperia 5 of 2019 at $799 now just $599.   The Xperia 1 II as a comparison shipped with a  price tag of  $1,199 which is enormous.

We certainly hope prices start going down soon after as with any phone, expect heavy discounts after the first 4 months of shipping units pass.  We wouldn’t be surprised to see the Xperia 5 II at $699 by the first quarter of 2021.

We really like that the 3.5mm headphone audio jack is making a comeback in this phone. Many many people still use wired headphones for quality and no battery hassle as those conscious of radiation from earbuds or the headaches they can cause many people. We rather see all phones keep this port or at least offer it as an option on a variant.

Sony event on September 17th:

There have been changes in the Facebook and Youtube pages from Sony regarding an Xperia event on September 17th which we believe like many others that will be the launch event for the Xperia 5 II handset.  You can see here the Youtube header changed!

Sony is no stranger to pro video and the latest a7s III camera can shoot 120fps at 4k as well, you can see the footage from it below which plays with the new format very well:

【4K 120FPS】SONY A7S3 by Mediastorm影视飓风:

Now, all we have to do is wait for September 17th to arrive and see what the phone can do, and no… no talk about 240fps or 480fps or 960fps modes has been leaked but we can always hope, right? – HSC

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Announcements, Hardware Development, Hi Speed Phone Video, Media Showcase, Previews, Slowmo Samples

Sony Xperia 1 II and Xperia 10 II, Pro Give up on Super Slow Motion!

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With all the COVID 19/Coronavirus news it seems out of place to fret over smartphone maker decisions. However, we have to mention the latest Sony smartphones which prioritize photo and video quality with one gigantic omission. All of the new lineup from Sony the Xperia 1 II, Xperia 10 II, and Xperia PRO 5G lack super slow motion features.  Yes, the 960fps 1080p mode is gone and the only spec remaining is a paltry 120fps 1080p Full HD pseudo-slow-mo frame rate.

If you recall in years past, the Sony brand was incorporating their Motion eye™ technology which pairs a sensor with ultra-fast memory on the same package to allow for large datarates and super slow motion capture. In the lab, the phones were able to shoot up to 1000fps at full 1080p HD with excellent quality.  What came out in the Xperia phones was a somewhat odd translation of 0.1 seconds recording time at 1080p 960fps/1000fps which came out to be extremely short and a kind of useless feature. Now that has been abandoned.

Camera Features Sony Xperia 1 II:

Quad 12 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.7″, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
12 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, PDAF, 3x optical zoom, OIS
12 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55″, Dual Pixel PDAF
0.3 MP, TOF 3D, (depth)
Features Zeiss optics, LED flash, panorama, HDR, eye tracking
Video 2160p@24/25/30/60fps

HDR, 1080p@30/60/120fps;

5-axis gyro-EIS, OIS

We get excellent quality capture in both 4k and 1080p at several frame rates but the super slow motion has vanished.  No 240fps, no 480p no 960p.   Has Sony given up?

We believe Sony has prioritized per-pixel quality and low noise along with deep learning features over any higher frame rate features.  It seems slow motion phones peaked sometime in mid-2019 and now the new features sought after are more hardware-oriented with multi lenses, multi-camera, and higher pixel densities with extreme zoom features instead of the frame rates. We have seen this in the Samsung S20 but those phones keep 960fps except in the 5G variant see here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMqgyJjrY8k

So, all in all, we at HSC cannot recommend any of the new Sony Xperia phones for slow motion enthusiasts unless you are happy with 120fps 1080p which is almost a low-level spec now.  Check our Camera Guide and our Best phones of 2019 feature for guidance on which phones are Slow Motion capable.

RIP Sony Motion Eye Slow Motion Technology for 2020, We hope you resurrect sometime in the future!

Sony Xperia 1 Slow Motion Video @960fps (1080p Sample Video) by Danny P.: (FEATURE NO LONGER IN NEW PHONES)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf7_w1vbEP8

Stay safe out there and follow the guidelines to combat the spread of this virus! -HSC

Announcements, Firmware/Software, Hardware Development, software

NAB 2017 Sony & Panasonic Firmware Slowmo Updates!

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NAB 2017 Sony

There has been a lack of big camera announcements at NAB 2017, with more and more saturation and less camera replacement by TV studios and Filmmakers there is talk of good enough gear already purchased for 4k and 2k/1080p production.  The Alexa, RED, Sony F55 and Varicam LT cameras released in the last few years already exceeds most delivery methods in quality and completely obliterates the compressed cable delivery streams for hove TVs.

However manufacturers like Sony & Panasonic have released information about new firmware updates that will improve high frame rate recording on some of their cameras as free updates. This in turn makes for a practical camera line refresh that gives more longevity to the existing hardware while permitting more high speed latitude to current owners.

NAB 2017 Sony  F5 & F55 Firmware Update v 9.0:

The F5/F55 will be updated to firmware Version 9. This will permit the recording on the F55 @ 4K 120fps using the new Sony AXS-R7 recorder according to rumors. So it will not be internal.

The Sony FS5 will allow continuous 120fps shooting on Full HD internally however which is a huge upgrade for the camera. The quality should be on par with a6500 and Sony Mirrorless a9 which is to say excellent with no visible artifacts or resolution loss. Expect true 1080p 120fps on this camera.   See the press conference video below for more information:

Sony Electronics’ NAB Press Conference by Sony Professional Solutions Americas:

Panasonic Varicam LT update to 240fps 2k resolution:

Abel Cine is reporting the following:

“Panasonic will release a free firmware update for the VariCam LT enabling RAW output of 2K at up to 240 fps. As when recording 240 fps internally, the RAW output uses a central 2K crop of the camera’s 4K sensor at 1:1, avoiding artifacts that can be introduced due to pixel binning or line-skipping.”  Full Update details  at : http://blog.abelcine.com/2017/04/24/nab-2017-panasonic-updates/

NAB 2017: Panasonic Updates by AbelCine:

Panasonic NAB 2017 Mystery Camera Teased:

Newsshooter is also reporting on a mystery camera under a veil at the Panasonic booth. It sits between more expensive Varicam cameras and the Lumix GH5. While no information is directly available from Panasonic it seems the new camera will sport the following if you can believe rumors and speculation:

  • Inexpensive flash media for storage
  • Small & light Form Factor
  • APS-C Sensor not M4/3
  • Canon & or PL Mount Compatibility
  • The real replacement for the AF100.
  • Fall 2017 Release Date Sep-Nov
  • Previewed at Cine Gear Expo Jun 1st!

No word on codec, frame rates or resolutions for this camera but we believe 4k 60p or even 120p will be possible as well as 240fps full HD. It makes sense considering the camera will be positioned above the $2k USD Lumix GH5. We will have to wait and see because no details will be known for over a month as the camera will be previewed to the audience at Cine Gear Expo June 1st to June 4th 2017.

Panasonic shows new Mystery Cine Camera at NAB 2017 by Newsshooter:

We hope to see some more announcements by the end of NAB or in May that should offer more options in the high frame rate department. We will also publish some slow motion samples of these camera firmware updates when they become available.  – HSC

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