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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 ←

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion has a 480fps mode!

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion

There are many new phones about to be announced including the most awaited Samsung release of the year, the Galaxy S21 which is due in a day or so. However the Xiaomi Mi 11 which was recently announced has been making a great impression on reviewers with a fluid 120Hz display, above-average camera features, 8k video, and our main interest the slow motion recording modes.

The high speed mode includes a 240fps 1080p mode but most interestingly this extends to 1080p 480fps which might be of comparable quality.  The Xiaomi brand has been making cameras and phones for a few years now and while it is usually discounted as a budget brand, the inclusion of pro features like a Snapdragon 888 processor and a whopping 108MP main camera make it stand apart.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion Modes:

Main Camera:

  • 4k video at 30p/24p/60p
  • 1080p Full HD: 30/60/120/240/480fps
  • 8K video recording: 24/30fps

Selfie Camera:

  • 720p@120fps
MAIN CAMERA Triple 108 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS
13 MP, f/2.4, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.06″, 1.12µm
5 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.12µm
SELFIE CAMERA Single 20 MP, 27mm (wide), 1/3.4″, 0.8µm
Features HDR, panorama
Video 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps
PLATFORM OS Android 11, MIUI 12.5
Chipset Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)
CPU Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680
GPU Adreno 660

MSRP Price: $739.74

We are happy to see such a plethora of frame rate and a very high-end performance package all for under $1000USD, in fact, it has an under $750 price tag which is very tempting.

We are also happy to see 120Hz becoming commonplace as a default refresh technology for displays on most mid to high end phones. This makes the experience fluid and for slow motion video it allows you to see 120fps live if needed before getting to a video editor.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Slow Motion Samples:

We found what we assume are legitimate samples of the slow motion mode. The quality is not class-leading but not that awful either. You be the judge:

Xiaomi Mi 11 Camera Test Slow Motion. by Mohsin EDITZ:

Xiaomi Mi 11 – Super Slow Motion by INCEPTION SK: → 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 ←

Cyber Monday Slow Motion Camera Deals!

Cyber Monday Slow Motion Camera Deals

We have gathered a few deals that may or may not peak your interest in a slow motion capable camera. Some of these are too good to pass up and some are just middle of the road. We have taken advantage of some of these over the years and it may be just what you were waiting for to pull the trigger.  If you have some cash saved and have been waiting for a good opportunity, some of the discounts are large enough to beat any past deals on these cameras.

If you have not bought any new cameras this year we feel it is time to take a look at these and make a choice for that high frame rate cam you have had in your sights.  Also, camera memory is on sale as are some lights, it is probably the right time for both as well.  If you find any more slow motion deals that we passed up, please let us know.

Cyber Monday Slow Motion Camera Deals:

  1. GoPro Hero 9 Black with $50 Amazon Gift card for free. All for just $399 after saving a combined $100! –240fps Full HD Capture!

2. GoPro Hero 8 Black Bundle + Extra Floating Handle, Includes Hero8 Black Camera, Shorty Handle, Headstrap, 32gb SD Card, 2 Batteries, and a Floating Handle For Just $299 – 14% off-240p FHD

3. Sony ZV-1 Camera for Content Creators, Vlogging and YouTube with Flip Screen and Microphone just $698 after $100 off. 240fps at full HD and Up to 1,000fps at reduced resolutions. 

4. Sony a7 III (ILCE7M3K/B) Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable-Lens Camera with 28-70mm Lens with 3-Inch LCD, Black120fps full HD with tracking excellent quality!  14% off from $2198 to just $1,898.00!

5. Sony RX100 VII Premium Compact Camera with 1.0-type stacked CMOS sensor (DSCRX100M7) $1,198.00 save $100  – Up to 1000fps slow motion with excellent 1080p 240fps slow motion video.

6. Panasonic LUMIX GH5 4K Digital Camera, 20.3 Megapixel Mirrorless Camera with Digital Live MOS Sensor, 5-Axis Dual I.S. 2.0, 4K 4:2:2 10-Bit Video, Full-Size HDMI Out, 3.2-Inch LCD, DC-GH5 (Black) Save $700 USD or 35% off!

120fps and 180fps Full HD slow motion with no time limit!

7.Sony RX100VA (NEWEST VERSION) 20.1MP Digital Camera: RX100 V Cyber-shot Camera with Hybrid 0.05 AF, 24fps Shooting Speed & Wide 315 Phase Detection – 3” OLED Viewfinder & 24-70mm Zoom Lens – Wi-Fi   Up to 1000fps slow motion with excellent 1080p 240fps mode!

8. Sony Cyber‑Shot RX10 IV with 0.03 Second Auto-Focus & 25x Optical Zoom (DSC-RX10M4)  Save $100Up to 1000fps slow motion with excellent 1080p 240fps mode!

Special Slow Motion Deals:

1) Krontech.ca the makers of the Chronos slow motion camera are having a 10% off sale until November 30th for any product in their site including the Chronos 1.4c and Chronos 2.1 HD cameras.  The savings here are very substantial. Use Promo code at checkout:

Promo Code At Checkout!
HAPPYCHRONOSBF2020

 

2) Prolost.com store is having a 50% off on all its software bundles including the excellent Prolost Speedramp to edit your high frame rate video professionally.  Code to use is “CYBER” at checkout!

 

3) Topaz Labs suite of software products.

Topaz Suite for 68% off

The folks at Topaz labs makers of Video Enhance AI are having a huge price reduction for their entire suite of products.  You can increase the resolution of your slow motion video incredibly well – up to 8k resolution with breathtaking results.  Go to the site link here for details. The savings are 68% off which is pretty remarkable. https://topazlabs.com/black-friday/

4) Camera SD Card memory deals for Cyber Monday: savings on dozens of cards from every brand at Amazon!

There you go, many excellent deals for you to ponder. We thank you for your visit and support by visiting our Amazon Product links for your purchase at no extra cost to you! -HSC

 

 

Slow Motion on DJI Pocket 2 & Fuji X-S10 Offers 240fps!

Slow Motion on DJI Pocket 2 & Fuji X-S10

Two very different new cameras were released this week that are able to shoot in 240fps Full HD 1080p. One is the Fujifilm X-S10 which is an all-rounder mirrorless camera with 6 stop IBIS and cinema video profiles for $999 body only, the other is the sequel to the very well received DJI Osmo Pocket now named DJI Pocket 2 dropping the OSMO part of the name & starting at $349 in its most basic form. Slow Motion on DJI Pocket 2 & Fuji X-S10 is close on both.

Both cameras are able to do 120fps as well but the interest peaks at 240p where the speed makes things moving slower more detailed, especially people as at that speed lifeforms moving relatively slow are excellent subjects. For faster animals like birds or flying insects, you need many more frames per second, usually in the 700+ range to create a good enough effect.

Slow Motion on DJI Pocket 2 & Fuji X-S10 – Two cameras that are very different but can shoot the same fps!

Fuji X-S10 Video Modes:

Video Recording Modes H.264/MOV 4:2:0 8-Bit
DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) at 23.976p/24.00p/25p/29.97p [100 to 200 Mb/s]
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/24.00p/25p/29.97p [100 to 200 Mb/s]
DCI 2K (2048 x 1080) at 23.976p/24.00p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [50 to 200 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/24.00p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/200p/239.76p [50 to 200 Mb/s]

So starting with the Fuji X-S10 we cans ee that it has a plethora of video recording modes with the absence of the now much coveted 4k 60p which is not here in any form. We do have a 2k cinema mode with 60p which is an ok consolation prize but in a world of 4k it seems they could have added that 4k 60p just to be competitive.

We get 100fps and 200fps at 1080p in PAL format and 120fps and 240fps in NTSC mode. As far as we know every camera can be switched with a single menu to be able to use either of the two systems.

The great news here is that the slow motion modes at 1080p offer up to 200Mb/s in the codec which is pretty remarkable considering not many cameras pass 50Mb/sec in these modes.

The bad news is that the slow motion seems a bit mushy and pixelated which is an unwelcome sight. We found a short video showing this mode at the video below at 8:16:

Fujifilm X-S10 Hands-on Review by DPReview TV:

While we need more samples for full confirmation it does look more like a 720p up-rez than true 1080p, which is common in cameras that shoot these kinds of frame rates and are not dedicated slow motion cameras.  Even Jordan the reviewer above states that the quality of the footage at 240p is nothing to brag about and it is pretty low quality. Kind of sad considering the maximum bitrate of 200Mbps at 1080p.

The Fuji X-S10 is an interesting camera that can do a lot of things right, it is great that it offers very good frame rates as options and we will re-visit this camera in the future when more samples are available. If you are a Fuji system enthusiast, we actually think the new X-S10 is probably the best bargain for a powerful camera in Fuji Land and you really cannot go wrong if you want to shoot video with its great stabilization and flip out Vari-Angle screen.

DJI Pocket 2 Video Modes:

Slow Motion:

  • 240 fps Recorded at 1920 x 1080p
  • 120 fps Recorded at 1920 x 1080p
Video Rec Formats 3840 x 2160p at 24/25/30/48/50/60 fps (100 Mb/s MP4 via H.264/AVC, MPEG-4)
2720 x 1530p at 24/25/30/48/50/60 fps (100 Mb/s H.264/AVC, MPEG-4)
1920 x 1080p at 24/25/30/48/60 fps (100 Mb/s MP4 via H.264/AVC, MPEG-4)

The DJI Pocket 2 is a very impressive device. On the one hand, it has a larger sensor than its predecessor, one rivaling the old P&S prosumer cameras like the Canon G series back in the last decade.  The sensor is  1/1.7″ 64 Megapixels which allows for 8x true zoom crop on the image if needed.

On the other hand, it has a gimbal that is the main selling point that this camera has going for it. A true stabilized system akin to those on DJI drones but on your pocket/hand.  The performance of stabilization is remarkable and the addition of an optional lavalier mic. option with a clip-on module makes it ideal for Vloggers to shoot on a minute and cheap all in one package.

The slow motion modes at 120fps and 240fps are there and easily accessible which is great news since the original Pocket maxed out at 120fps with a 200fps hack that was not really usable.

We found a couple of great samples of slow motion 120p and 240p in the video review below at 9min 45seconds run time:

DJI Pocket 2 | Wider FOV, Bigger Sensor, 240fps by Potato Jet: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

iPhone 12 Pro Slow Motion is best yet for Apple!

iPhone 12 Pro Slow Motion

The iPhone 12 line is a continuation of what Apple has been hinting at since it got serious about video recording on their phones.  However, there is no increment in the maximum frames per second the phone is able to record with the 120p and 240p at 1080p as the maximum the phone is able to record. There is also what could be a feature that is missing that of 120fps 4k considering the phone is already recording 120fps at 4k for HDR video and then delivering it in a 60p wrapper.

With all that said the phone has impressive video and photo specs that will have rivals trying to compete in outlandish features like super zooms or more than 3 cameras to be able to get the spotlight off the iPhone.  There is no question the iPhone 12 is the best camera phone Apple has ever delivered but isn’t this the same result every year when a new device from the company is released? Yes and there lies the problem of yearly upgrades only getting incremental updates and not leapfrog features.

Video Recording iPhone 12 Pro:

  • HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 60 fps
  • 4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
  • 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps
  • 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
  • Optical image stabilization for video (Wide)
  • 2x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 4x optical zoom range (iPhone 12 Pro)
  • Digital zoom up to 6x (iPhone 12 Pro)
  • 2.5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 5x optical zoom range (iPhone 12 Pro Max)
  • Digital zoom up to 7x (iPhone 12 Pro Max)
  • Audio zoom
  • Brighter True Tone flash
  • QuickTake video
  • Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
  • Time‑lapse video with stabilization
  • Night mode Time-lapse
  • Extended dynamic range for video up to 60 fps
  • Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p)
  • Continuous autofocus video
  • Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video
  • Playback zoom
  • Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264
  • Stereo recording

Video Recording iPhone 12 (NON PRO):

  • HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 30 fps
  • 4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
  • 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps
  • 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
  • Optical image stabilization for video (Wide)
  • 2x optical zoom out
  • Digital zoom up to 3x
  • Audio zoom
  • Brighter True Tone flash
  • QuickTake video
  • Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
  • Time‑lapse video with stabilization
  • Night mode Time‑lapse
  • Extended dynamic range for video up to 60 fps
  • Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p)
  • Continuous autofocus video
  • Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video
  • Playback zoom
  • Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264
  • Stereo recording

IPhone 12 Pro Slow Motion Samples are pending:

We received some so-called slow motion samples from the iPhone 12 but we have determined that they are fake and not from the phone themselves.  The iPhone 12 ships on October 23rd so any samples you might see online could only be from review units and there was no real video quality review that was authenticated. We will have to wait some time for the iPhone 12 video samples to start coming out.  We expect increased dynamic range and better overall noise profile on the iPhone 12 vs the 11, hopefully, we will see a real improvement in the way the phone captures slow motion in 1080p without much in the way of artifacts and aliasing.

Dolby Vision Recording on iPhone 12:

Dolby Vision | Demo | Dolby by Dolby:

In the video above you can see that Dolby Vision is basically a set of technologies that encode video in HDR with high precision color and brightness values that try to mimic reality. The new iPhone 12s record in Dolby Vision which probably use the high frame rate recording (60p for 30p) and 120p for 60p) HDR.

It is of note that slow motion video at 120fps or 240fps in 1080p will not use Dolby Vision as you would need those frame rates doubled to record it. It is a technology best used by 4k recording up to 60fps.

Of course, you will not get Hollywood production quality footage on the phone but it is still going to deliver a better image than your average camera due to the color science behind it.  Also of note is that you will need a TV, monitor or projector that has Dolby Vision compatibility to experience this high dynamic range video footage recording feature.

If you have such a TV we can recommend the clip below to test it:

Perfect Black HDR 8k Dolby Vision by Eugene Belsky: → Continue Reading Full Post ←