The scientists at Vision Research are at it again at their favorite pastime of hyper slow motion gear creation. The new TMX 7510 Phantom camera is the fastest ever in their arsenal with a mind-bending spec of 75 Gigapixels throughput which is capable of delivering 76,000fps 1 Megapixel resolution or slightly higher than HD at 1280 x 800px.
The camera features the first BSI or Back-side illuminated sensor ever used in a Phantom camera. This allows for much better low-light performance which is crucial for slow motion applications. The camera tops out at a ridiculous 1.75 million fps frame rate at 1280 x 32px in standard width mode or 640 x 64px in Binned mode. One second recorded at that speed creates a file that plays back for 972min or just over 16hrs in a 30fps timeline. Yikes!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Now that the surprise camera of 2020 has been out for a while, it is time to revisit the 240fps mode included in the video features. At first glance, it delivered 720p quality or less in an upscaled 1080p wrapper. However many Fuji fans asked us to revisit the slow motion quality of this camera as early samples supposedly did not do justice to what this mode was able to deliver.
We have to agree to some extent that the quality of this camera in 240fps Full HD slow motion is better than other even more expensive options but we still feel that Fuji cut corners when it comes to image quality here by dropping lines and having a pretty noisy output unless there is an ample amount of light. We have some samples that will let you see what this camera is capable of and make you decide if it is a good enough option for your camera collection.
Fuji X-S10 Slow Motion 240fps Samples:
The camera can shoot up to 6 minutes in high frame rate mode and saves the file in a 60fps Full HD file for playback according to the official manual here. You can always lower the frame rate further to conform for 24p, 25p, and 30p if needed.
The new Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe Lens with included LED lighting at the tip is a really interesting lens for high-speed shooters that would like an edge in their shooting style. The lens looks like a gun barrel but it is really a snake tube-cam-like lens that permits focus at just 2cm from the front element and also shoots at a fairly long distance from the subject.
The Kickstarter campaign project seen here was asking for just $9,999 USD in funding but as of right now with several days to go has reached an extremely impressive $811,113 USD which translates to about 650 lenses to be delivered to backers. The footage that the campaign was able to provide is really amazing at showing what can be achieved when creative minds are able to freely utilize an innovative lens like this.
Laowa 24mm Probe Lens Main Specs:
close focus (2cm @ 2:1)
24mm f14 Maximum Aperture
F40 minimum aperture
7 aperture blades
Min Focusing Distance 470mm
Min Working Distance 20mm
Dimensions: 38 x 408mm
Weight 474g
wide angle ‘Bug Eye’ view (84.1°)
Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony FE, Arri PL mounts are available
LED Lighting at the Front
MSRP $1,499 After campaign is over.
The magnification ratios can be seen below in this image:
The Video Shooting Macro seen below by Macro Room has to be the ideal selling promo for this lens. It mixes great editing with clever lens placement for a really fascinating visual feast.
Birthday Cake (Credit to Packshot Factory Ltd) Laowa – Venus Optics Shows the benefits that can be translated to Slow Motion footage:
This lens is really something unique and special. It allows you to really get as close as possible to the subject with the added ability to actually have some usable depth of field compared to super macro lenses that have extreme shallowness. The fact that you can adapt it to almost any mount and camera means that you will be able to use it for video and photo without any constraints. The Maximum aperture of F14 might sound too restrictive but if you have enough light while using the included LED ring at the front you will be able to forget about light needs and experiment freely.
There have been some jaw-dropping slow-motion videos produced so far in 2018 and we want to showcase a small but excellent sample of them inSlow Motion Video Watch. Thank you to our readers for many of these submissions, we really appreciate your help in finding much of this footage as the sheer amount of quality material produced would make it much harder to select the good ones.
We have some incredible magnet work, weapons, military artillery, hockey, gymnastics and also the recent royal wedding in full display. It is also encouraging to see the widespread adoption of slow motion in phones as handsets like the Galaxy S9 & Xperia XZ2 start to inundate the video sites with user samples. It goes to show that good planning and a well-executed shot is possible even with time restrictions and limited hardware. Send us your samples or finds on our contact page!
Magnet Collision in Slow Motion like Iron Man Nanobot suit up by Magnetic Games:
With NAB 2018 getting near, new announcements are starting to trickle in. The two newest are the Canon EOS C700 FF Full-Frame Cinema Camera & the RED DIGITAL CINEMA EPIC-W BRAIN with Gemini 5K S35 Sensor. These two are serious cinema cameras aimed at recording in high-end codec formats and supporting RAW codecs. Both cameras support higher frame rates but do not offer extreme high speeds like dedicated slow-motion cameras.
In the case of the RED EPIC-W with Gemini S35 sensor, it is the first time RED has used a dual Native ISO sensor like the ones seen on the Panasonic EVA1 and GH5s which have two different native sensitivities to deliver extremely clean footage with the widest dynamic range. Witha claimed 16.5 stops of dynamic range in standard mode & a gain of approximately two stops of light, from 800 to 3200 ISO without increasing the image noise. DPs of all kinds will savor these advances to shoot in dark situations knowing the output will be dependable.
Canon EOS C700 FF Full-Frame Cinema Camera EF & PL Mount Options):
5.9K Full-Frame CMOS Sensor with DAF
EF-Cinema Lock Type Mount
Dual Pixel AF
Triple DIGIC DV 5 Processing
XF-AVC and ProRes Recording to CFast 2.0
Internal Full-Frame up to 60 fps
Internal 4K/Super35 Crop up to 72 fps
Internal 2K/Super16 Crop up to 168 fps
Selectable Gamma and Log Curves
ACES Support
External Raw Recording Option (CODEX Box Optional)
There have been some outstanding slow-motion videos produced so far in early 2018 and we want to showcase a small but good sample of them inSlow Motion Video Watch. Thank you to our readers for many of these submissions, we really appreciate your help in finding much of this footage as the sheer amount of quality material produced would make it harder to weed out compelling examples.
From super slow motion technology evolution and mirror cameras to dropping a piano from 8 stories, there is something for everyone on this list. Make sure you visit the creators of these videos and subscribe to their channels which are linked on the video descriptions. Only then can they continue to produce such awesome content. If you have some you would like to share, make them known on our contact page!
VIDEO OF THE MONTH-MUST WATCH: Ultra High-Speed Cameras – How do you film a tank shell in flight or a Nuclear bomb test? by Curious Droid: