Tag Archives: Improvement

Upscaling high speed video to usable Full HD and or 4k!

Our of our readers Chinito Pinoy has shared a pretty remarkable video with us that we would like to share.  It is upscaling of sub HD resolution high-speed video at 240p, 480p and 960p from the Sony RX10 IV at 480 and 960fps and the A7S Mark III at 240fps from Sub HD to 4k UHD. 

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edgertronic firing on all cylinders!

edgertronic

One of our favorite high speed camera companies has shared a lot of information regarding it’s COVID pandemic operations as well as unit shipments for their cameras. It looks like Sanstreak corp the parent of edgertronic is considered an essential business to the government which is probably because of the support and software development they do with clients for important government agencies. They have sold thousands of cameras to date and the company seems to be on firm footing to continue solidly into the future.

Their product line has the SC1, which is the 700fps 720p camera that started it all, as well as the SC2/SC2+ 720p at over 4000fps and SC2X over 2000fps at full HD 1080p. Check our page here for full in-depth reviews on these three cameras. Our favorite the SC2X is capable of a beautifully detailed and artifact-free image that can be used for cinema and broadcast. The SC2+ has the edge in frame rates with speed as a primary focus being able to record 6x the frame rate of the original edgertronic. The cameras have Color and Monochrome options if needed. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Panasonic HC-X1 Packs Some Serious Performance!

Panasonic hc-x1

In a launch that was mostly subdued, a new camera was launched in August; the Panasonic  HC-X1 which is a mid range professional fixed lens ENG or EFP camera with some serious specs to go behind it.  For starters there is 4k at up to 60fps a format that we hope to see in upcoming ILCs like the GH4 successor and Sony Cameras.  The other is 100fps PAL or 120fps NTSC 1080p which is now a must have slow motion standard for any serious camera.

The qualities of the new Panasonic HC-X1 do not stop at higher frame rates; it features a fantastic 3 independent fly by wire ring system for focus, aperture and the last for zoom which starts at a very wide 24mm to 480mm at the long end or 20x optical. The camera also features  a built in ND Filter wheel from 1/4th to 1/64th for effortless 180 degree shooting outdoors.

Panasonic HC-X1 Specs:
  • Advanced Optical Image Stabilizer (4K/UHD/FHD) and 5-Axis Hybrid O.I.S. (FHD)
  • 1″-Type MOS Sensor
  • DCI 4K Recording at 24p
  • HDMI and A/V Outputs
  • VFR UHD (2 to 60 fps) /HD Super-Slow Motion (120/100 fps)
  • Supports 4K, UHD, FHD; 60p/50p/25p/24p
  • High-performance LEICA DICOMAR 4K Lens 24mm f2.8-F4.5 with optical 20X zoom (24-480mm).
  • Built-In ND Filters
  • 2-channel XLR Audio, Wired/Wireless remote control, triple Manual fly by wire Rings, user switch, timecode, Live HDMI output.
  • Simultaneous 4K UHD/FHD dual codec recording to two SD cards.
  • Three independent ring system on lens focus/aperture/zoom.
  • Optional Shotgun style external microphone.

For a suggested retail price of $3,199.99 USD the camera is one of the best values in price/performance/features we have seen lately.  This is a complete production ready camera for documentary, B Roll and interviews all in one inexpensive package.  This is a real option for those looking for 4k performance up to 60fps for overcrank at that resolution and with the ability to save on dual SD Cards as continuous recording but also as 4k and 1080p saved simultaneously make it a must have for news delivery with extreme portability.

The sensor seems to perform as good as you would expect from a BSI 1″ sensor from current technology which is very clean.  We will need more samples to judge quality and in HFR mode see if compression hinders the video quality.   There is also an Infra Red Shooting night option (Green Image) which is coming back to cameras as an added feature once again. This used to be very popular in the 90s and early 2000s with Sony Camcorder Night Shot Mode.

The 5 axis image stabilizer from Panasonic is one of the best in the business and should do well with this Leica Branded 20x Optical Zoom.

Our Take:

All in all we are very impressed with this camera and what it offers for the price. Not too long ago features like dual cards, dual codec recording, 4k at 60fps and 120fps at 1080p plus all in a do it all package would have cost way above 5k.  Panasonic is very aggressive with the HC-X1 and should take away customers from Canon, JVC and Sony with this camera.    Our Panasonic pick is still the excellent DVX200 Camera which offers even more punch for Just under $4k.  That camera offers a micro 4/3 sensor which should yield even more impressive low light.  However the HC-X1 is a mini version of it with a great balance of features for $800 USD less.  We like what Panasonic is doing and can’t wait for what they have in store for the future.  See the video below for a cool rundown of the Panasonic HC-X1 features including the slow motion feature.

Panasonic 4K UHD Camcorder HC-X1 Launch Video:

We will have slow motion video samples as the become available. In the mean time you can read more at the pre-order pages below:

Adorama Camera has the HC-X1 for Pre Order Here:

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IPhone 6s Improved Slowmo Capture with FiLMiC Pro!

FiLMiCProTopApple

So you have an iPhone and want to get the best video possible out of it. Should you stay with Apple’s camera implementation or should you branch out and look for better capture apps? Those that do the best job at compressing your footage and extracting the utmost quality from it.

For years the App to flock to if you own an iPhone is the FiLMiC Pro for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch  by Cinegenix.  It was used in the Zacuto revenge of the Camera shootout in 2012 to capture the segments with the iPhone which rivaled, according to the audience of judges, cameras much stronger in specs and capture quality. It tied with the Canon C300 and beat the Sony FS100. That test was highly subjective with a lot of light to fill in the soft spots of the camera, however that did not detract from the fact that FiLMiC Pro did an amazing job at delivering a more grade-able and professional looking footage than Apple’s stock implementation on the then iPhone 4s. You can see the test here!

The Staff working on FiLMiC Pro have not stood still and have consistently progressed with the app since those days. You can see the latest improvements in Version 5 of the App for iOS devices:

Features include:
-Variable Speed Pull Focus
-Variable Speed Targeted Zoom
-Sync Audio Frame Rate Presets for 24,25, 30, 48, 50 and 60fps.
High Speed Frame Rates of anywhere from 60 to 240 fps (on the more recent hardware)
-Various Resolutions 4K, 3K, 2K (on the newest iPhones) 1080, 720 HD and 540 SD
-Varuous Aspect Ratios at all resolutions and including;
Cinemascope (2.59:1)
Super 35 (2.35:1)
Letterbox (2.20:1)
Super 16 (1.66:1)
17:9 Digitaal Cinema Initiative
-Support for 3rd Party 35mm adapters
-Support for the Moondog Labs Anamorphic Adapter (2.40:1)
Uncompressed or Compressed audio (AIFF, Linear PCM or AAC)
-Audio metering
-Audio Gain Control
-Headphone monitoring
-Stereo recording support

The App has advanced so far that it now is a real professional platform for shooting video with the iPhone. If you need professional footage recording controls you really need FiLMiC Pro in order to get all sorts of customization and features that are dedicated to improve video quality and the experience of capturing it. Several professionals are already using the app to create fantastic results which have been used all over in media and paid shoots. The movie Tangerine presented at the Sundance Film Festival was shot with the help of FiLMiC Pro on the iPhone.

See what is possible to shoot with FiLMiC Pro and an iPhone:

What about Slow Motion?

The feature we are most interested in is the slow motion capture and to put it mildly it is really an important step forward in video quality capture on the iPhone.

“120fps-240fps Capture Improvements”

For regular video FiLMiC Pro allows for bitrate recording at 4k of up to 150Mbps which is almost 3x what the iPhone 6s normally allows at 51Mbps which has a lot of compression artifacts. The App will do a great job of increasing the data rate and create a better video file.

Filmic Pro version 5.0 Quick overview/review by JC5 Productions:

For Slow motion especially in the new iPhone 6s which supports 1080p 120fps and 240fps at 720p the FiLMiC Pro app does a bit of magic behind the scenes to improve these modes.  The Current v5.0.2 release of the App won’t give you all the improvements but the new release which should be available in the coming weeks in the Apple App Store v5.0.3 will allow recording bit-rates for slow motion from 60fps  and above to scale in a variable bit-rate file anywhere from 50Mbit/sec to 100Mbit/sec depending on scene complexity. The Proprietary algorithm will use the maximum bits allowed to be distributed for best quality results.  

With less recent iPhones including the 5s with 720p 240fps you will still get some improvements for 720p 120fps but the most recent hardware like the 6s and 6s Plus will be the best devices to push the limits with these settings.   So if you want to shoot 4k, 1080p or slow motion with your iPhone or iPad you will be best served by owning a copy of FiLMiC pro which at a price of  $9.99 is not cheap by freemium app standards but it is an absolute bargain if you care about recording footage with your phone.    They could easily charge more for the app considering camera manufacturers like Panasonic charge $99 for just the V-Log L Update on the GH4 for example.

Filmic Pro Vs. iPhone 6 Comparison by  : → Continue Reading Full Post ←