Tag Archives: first look

Nikon D850 Joins the 120fps 1080p club!

Nikon D850 Slow Motion

No matter how hard Sony and other mirror-less systems try to kill the Mirrored SLR camera, it seems Nikon and Canon refuse to go down for the count. The latest Nikon D850 is a camera that is better in every respect to it’s predecessor but now treads in the rarified air of hyper resolution sensors that do up to 9fps at full 45.7 Megapixels with the added battery grip.

Of note for us is the inclusion of a full HD 1080p 120fps mode which matches that on the Canon 1DX Mark II and the excellent quality Sony a9 mirror-less cameras.  There are no real samples of the D850 in slow motion aside from compressed preview videos that seem to show some aliasing in the mode. As to a crop we will have to wait and see but in 4k mode the camera is able to extract the image from the full sensor with no field of view crop which is the holy grail for large resolution sensors. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

OnePlus 5 Slow Motion Video Samples!

OnePlus 5 Slow Motion Video Samples

Now that the OnePlus 5 Phone has been shipping to customers for a few weeks it is time to re-visit the phone and the slow motion footage it can record. We were disappointed by the 120fps 720p limitation on the phone since most new flagship handsets aim at the 120fps 1080p and 240fps 720p spec as a competitive plateau.  Still, the OnePlus phones are very popular worldwide with the mix of great optics, lack of software bloatware and true performance unencumbered by ROMs that slow the phone down.

It is true that the phone slow motion will not win any prizes due to slight compression artifacts and aliasing that shows the sensor is skipping lines and applying a lower bitrate at the end.  Slow motion seems to be an afterthought in the OnePlus 5 while stills and 4k recording are solid. We are sharing new examples for you to judge. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

One Plus 5 Debuts With Only 720p 120fps!

One Plus 5

There were a lot of expectations for the phone that would replace the One Plus 3T which was a mighty seller for the performance hungry crowd without the high price tag that typically goes along with the best phones.  The new One Plus 5 is a good upgrade from the One Plus 3 and 3T in that the performance goes neck and neck with the best of the best out there and tied with the Samsung Galaxy S8 in benchmarks.

The tale, however, is not completely rosy as the camera module taking a page from the iPhone 7 Plus includes two camera sensor modules, one for wide-angle at 16MP and the other for telephoto with 20MP resolution.   We say it falls short because the slow motion frame rates are pegged to a 720p resolution and only at 120fps. This is not flagship performance for video even when it ticks off all the other boxes like 4k 30p and 1080 60p. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Slow Mo Quality!

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

We have gotten a few questions about the EOS 5D Mark IV when it comes to it’s 120fps 720p slow motion mode.  We covered it back in August but samples were hard to find back then; all that has changed and now we can rate and position the camera in our HSC Camera Guide ranking.  While it will not win any contests for resolution or frame rate we think it is a good all around camera with useful features for video enthusiasts.

The negatives like high price,  Moire & Aliasing prone slow mo resolution, huge inefficient 4k bit rates on an old codec, 1.74x crop in 4k recording and big system bulk still apply for this camera.  The Panasonic GH5 for instance destroys the 5D Mark IV in the video spec department but that is ok considering the 5D Mark IV is a stills workhorse with a full frame sensor first and an excellent AF and high ISO performance package. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon 5D Mark IV Slow Motion Samples!

Canon 5D Mark IV

For many the EOS 5D Mark IV was to be the resurrection of the DSLR camera as a video professional’s tool of choice. However just looking at the reactions online and the spec sheet itself it looks like Canon missed the mark by a mile in this aspect.  Several camera shortcomings like the codec, crop factor in 4k and lower resolution for higher frame rates come to mind.

The over four year wait which was about the same between the Mark II and Mark III models is extremely long for a product class that needs to evolve constantly in order to remain competitive. With Sony and Panasonic doing real innovation in the video space in a much smaller time frame usually 18 months, Canon needed a product that could withstand to scrutiny for a few years. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Canon 5D Mark IV disappoints with 120fps 720p!

Canon 5D Mark IV

We have been following the rumors on the next version of the Canon 5D with some subdued but hopeful enthusiasm. However, as many rumor sites now claim the final specs for the camera to be released next month probably at Photokina; it is clear that there is a big disconnect in performance from the common DSLRs in the Canon line and the mirror-less competitors from Sony and Panasonic.

There is a lot to like in the camera specs but also a lot of disappointing things for the video enthusiast or professional.   The camera has always been primarily a stills powerhouse and it is clear that this pedigree is maintained in the Mark 4. Auto Focus with dual pixel tracking support, pixel count and sensor should be heavily improved along with dynamic range as seen in the 80D and the impressive 1DX Mark II. → Continue Reading Full Post ←