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Nikon Stacked CMOS Sensor Will do 1000fps in 4k!

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Nikon Stacked CMOS Sensor

Nikon Japan has been busy creating the next generation of 1″ stacked sensors.  The latest is a 17.84 Megapixel stacked design with hyper-fast memory interconnect that shoots up to 1000fps at 4k resolution which is no slouch. The sensor is still in development but it will be a possibility to see it in a camera that could compete head to head with the Sony RX series which now dominate prosumer P&S sales.  It was announced at ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference) held in San Francisco, February 15, 2021.

The sensor works by shooting in buckets of 16 x 16 pixels as one block, and then subsequently 264 x 264 pixel blocks (4224 x 4224 pixels) are conformed to form the final image at nearly 18MP.  It is unclear at this time if 4k video will be a windowed resolution or a supersampled then reduced final image from the full sensor.  The market for this sensor goes beyond consumer cameras as it is aimed at other applications like self-driving cars and production lines. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

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Canon & Sony stagnate at 120fps!

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Canon & Sony stagnate at 120fps

The recently announced Canon 90D, Canon EOS M6 II, Sony a6100 and Sony a6600 are cameras that refine everything that is already a current technology but bundle it in a lower price package with great performance. However, it is clear from the spec sheets that high frame rates have stagnated for the past few years in these camera lines with a maximum of 120fps at 1080p.

Sure some of them offer full-time autofocus in slow motion modes and face tracking which in the case of Sony is so good that you may not even match it if you had the best focus puller in the business hired for your shoot. But the frame rate war seems to be left to other camera lines and brands. Panasonic, for example, offers up to 180fps in their new S1H camera which should be in theory the best Panasonic mirrorless camera ever made and it should also allow for outstanding quality in 1080p 180fps.

Sony a6100 MSRP $748.00 Body Only:

Video

Recording Modes XAVC S
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 24.00p/25p/29.97p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 24.00p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [50 Mb/s] /100p/119.88p [60 to 100 Mb/s]
AVCHD
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/50i/59.94i/59.94p [17 to 28 Mb/s]
External Recording Modes 4:2:2 8-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 24.00p/25p/29.97p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 24.00p/50i/50p/59.94i/59.94p
Recording Limit Up to 29 Minutes, 59 Seconds
Video Encoding NTSC/PAL

Sony a6600 MSRP $1,398.00 Body Only:

Video

Recording Modes XAVC S
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 24.00p/25p/29.97p [60 to 100 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 100p/119.88p [60 to 100 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 24.00p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [50 Mb/s]
AVCHD
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50i/59.94i [17 to 24 Mb/s]
External Recording Modes 4:2:2 8-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 24.00p/25p/29.97p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 24.00p/50i/50p/59.94i/59.94p
Recording Limit None
Video Encoding NTSC/PAL

Example of Sony’s a6000 series slow motion mode:

Canon 90D MSRP $1,199.00 Body Only:

Video

Recording Modes MP4/H.264
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 25p/29.97p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p 
HD (1280 x 720) at 50p/59.94p
External Recording Modes 4:2:2 8-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) up to 25p/29.97p
Recording Limit Up to 29 Minutes, 59 Seconds
Video Encoding NTSC

Canon 90D Slow Motion Sample from Canon:

Canon EOS M6 Mark II MSRP $849.00 Body Only:

Video

Recording Modes MP4/H.264
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 25p/29.97p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p 
HD (1280 x 720) at 50p/59.94p
External Recording Modes 4:2:2 8-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) up to 25p/29.97p
Recording Limit Up to 29 Minutes, 59 Seconds
Video Encoding NTSC/PAL

Canon EOS M6 Mark II Slow Motion Sample:

As you can tell from the above video specs there is nothing but siumilarity between these cameras. Is as if Sony and Canon got themselves in a room and made a pact to create the most similar cameras possible to not rock the boat and leapfrog one another.

120fps in NTSC and 100fps in PAL at full HD 1080p are the most you can expect from any of these cameras. By price alon the a6100 seems to be the better bargain but Sony lenses are usually more expensive than the similar Canon counterparts. As a system you will be served right by both with a large array of choices and budgets. For frame rates alone however, we cannont recommend any of these cameras for your arsenal. Youa re better off getting a Sony RX series or Panasonic Lumix GH5, G9 or S Full frame to get better speeds at up to 240fps in the case of the GH5s.

Canon Korea has provided some sample footage at 120fps from both the 90D and the M6 Mark II. The quality is very good compared to previous Canon 60fps 720p video in their cameras which is a good sign. However, we can clearly see some moire and compression artifacts though not unacceptable for production. There seems to be a restricted codec compression at work here. The Canon color science did pass through with gorgeous quality right out of the camera which is still better than Sony’s or Panasonic for skin tones and reds in our opinion.

EOS 90D] 4K Movie | 30P | No Crop | City:

Sony has not provided 120p samples but we should expect quality similar to the a6500 shown above. Good and dependable but still also restricted in Codec.  Canon and Sony are really competitive as options with these cameras which oddly enough were released very close to each other.

It is funny how Panasonic with the GH5 from March 2017 is still a better video camera with up to 60p 4k and 180fps 1080p after so many years lead time.

If we could recommend a camera to our readers from the ones in this article it would be easy to do so on the case of the a6100 and EOS 90D and M6 Mark II.  The Sony a6600 does have unlimited recording and S-Log among other video features but hardly worth 2x the price as the a6100 especially since it shares the slow motion 120p component with the only difference being selectability fo frame rates from 1fps to 120fps.

EOS 90D] 4K Movie | 30P | Crop | City: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Announcements, Camera News, Media Showcase, Previews, Slowmo Samples

Panasonic Lumix S1 180fps Slow Motion Is Pretty Good!

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Panasonic Lumix S1 180fps Slow Motion

As it was initially unveiled at Photokina last year, the Panasonic Lumix S1 and S1R cameras are their answer to the domination of larger sensors in stills and video mirrorless cameras. Is there any reason now to buy a Full Frame DSLR when mirrorless is so advanced? The only thing we can think of is to have marginally longer battery life. The mirror is on its last legs and fans better start offloading their lenses if they don’t want to mess with adapters. In the case of Panasonic however, it is not possible to use Lumix  Micro 4/3 lenses on the Leica/Sigma/Panasonic Full Frame L-Mount.

The S1 and S1R will both shoot up to 180fps 1080p video with a crop that may or may not be impactful. Seems the S1R has less crop on 1080p than the video geared S1 which is an odd spec. We will have to wait for more samples and info on the HFR mode to see which of these cameras offers the best slow motion performance. From the limited samples, we can say that the quality looks very good and at least on par with the Lumix GH5 at 120fps.

Panasonic Lumix S1 Main Specs:
  • 24.2MP Full-Frame MOS Sensor
  • Venus Engine Image Processor
  • 5.76m-Dot 0.78x-Magnification OLED LVF
  • 3.2″ 2.1m-Dot Triaxial Tilt Touchscreen
  • UHD 4K60 Video; HDR and 10-Bit Recording
  • 1080p Slow Motion 180fps HFR
  • ISO 100-51200, Up to 9 fps Shooting
  • Contrast-Detect 225-Area DFD AF System
  • Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization – 6 Stops Dual IS
  • Weather-Sealed Construction
  • 96MP High-Res Mode, Dual XQD/SD Slots

The video below by HDblog Italy shows at the 2:04 Time a small sample of 180fps slow motion video.

Panasonic LUMIX S1 e S1R in TEST video: le FULL FRAME da battery by : HDblog it

There is no question that Panasonic is a leader in video quality in mirrorless cameras ever since they shipped the initial GH1 camera. Today the Lumix GH5 and GH5s are some of the most revered video-centric cameras for professionals that opt-in a mirrorless system instead of traditional ENG/EFP style video cameras.

The samples are few because the cameras are still pre-production but it will be a short wait until the beginning of April when these cameras ship to see how they perform.

Panasonic Lumix S1 S1R review hands-on impressions by Gordon Laing: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Announcements, Camera News, Media Showcase, Previews, Rumors

Panasonic S Series Could Taper Slow Motion Curve!

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Panasonic S Series

The announcement of the Panasonic S series is a complete acceptance that smaller m4/3 sensors are not the future but the past. As now Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony, Leica and now Panasonic have shifted priorities to Full Frame Sensors as mirrorless has allowed the smaller form factor without compromising low light performance and absolute stills image quality.  Fuji is also going strong on Medium Format stills oriented cameras like the new portable GFX 50R which meshes a rangefinder camera with a huge MF sensor.

The move by Panasonic, which had been leading in mirrorless frame rates in continued recording with their Lumix GH5 and GH5s Series up to 240fps 1080p,  will now focus on larger sensors that produce more heat and may be much slower to read at high speeds.  Sony has so far been able to only have 120fps 1080p recording in their a7 series for example.  If the Panasonic S1 at 24MP can only do 120fps 1080p which is still unknown, it will not bode well for slow motion frame rates for some time.

Panasonic S Series Main Features Shared So Far:

  • LUMIX S1R  47MP Full Frame sensor. Still Shooter Oriented!
  • LUMIX S1 24MP Full Frame sensor. Hybrid Shooter Oriented!
  • Same Body Will be used on both cameras, only sensor changes.
  • 4K in 50p/60p is confirmed for video.
  • Newly announced L-Mount which will use current Leica lenses and upcoming Panasonic and Sigma lenses.
  • First full-frame mirrorless cameras to offer dual I.S.  IBIS included!
  • XQD cards and SD card dual slots.
  • 3-axis tiltable LCD screen  (No Vari-Angle Video Friendly LCD).
  • Micro 4/3ds will still be a supported format with new cameras!

From the information shared above, it is clear this technology announcement is to stave off the take over of mirrorless full frame and the only way Panasonic can offset the migration from m4/3ds to other camera manufacturers like Sony before and now pretty much every other large manufacturer.

LUMIX S Series Press Conference Video by PanasonicLumixVideo:

While we may not see more than 120fps in video mode as a starting point for the Panasonic S Series, there will still be development for Micro 4/3rds cameras for some time. This may mean that a GH6 camera is already being built with the possibility of higher than 4k video and with a smaller sensor, the higher frame rates that can be bundled in such a package.  We, however, do not estimate more than 240fps in any Lumix camera for some time as their implementation on the GH5s low light camera is still not that good with moire and aliasing problems in the smaller resolution sensor.  We rather see a perfected 240fps mode with excellent quality before they jump into 320 or 480fps modes.

Sony continues to be the major consumer camera manufacturer with the best slow motion specs with the RX series at 960fps with in-between 480p and 240p modes which are better than most of the competition.    Phones, as we have seen, are able to jump faster into the slow-motion train with faster reading sensors and cheaper manufacturing with on sensor memory buffers: i.e Sony Motion Eye Technology.

Panasonic LUMIX S1 and S1R Full Frame Cameras Explained  by cinema5D: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Announcements, Camera News, Development, Firmware/Software, Hardware Development, Previews

Sony RX100va Camera Released for Australian Market!

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Sony RX100va

Sony has released an altered version of the RX100 V camera for the Australian market which keeps all of the good features of the RX100 V camera but also changes it’s internals and software to allow for increased buffer space for images and video in HFR mode and allows the AF module to include the Fast Hybrid AF system with 315 focal-plane phase-detection points to match that of the RX100 VI which was announced just last month.

The memory increase itself allows for 24fps continuous shooting with a  buffer up to 148 JPEG frames.  That also allows improved High Frame Rate recording times, and fast continuous AF with stills and while recording UHD 4K video.  Recording of 7 seconds of recording in Shoot Time Priority at the 240 fps setting which matches the one in the regular RX100 V and RX100 VI in America.

RX100 VA Feature Highlights:

  • RENEWED BIONZ X for improved image quality, Eye AF, Buffer
  • NEW advanced Auto Focus settings
  • NEW menu, UI and extra feature settings
  • 0.1MP 1″ Exmor RS BSI CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • Internal UHD 4K Video & S-Log2 Gamma
  • Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/1.8-2.8 Lens
  • 24-70mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • Fast Hybrid AF System with 315 Points
  • HFR Mode for Full HD Video up to 960 fps
  • 0.39″ 2.36m-Dot OLED Pop-Up EVF
  • 3.0″ 1.23m-Dot 180° Tilting LCD
  • ISO 12800 and 24 fps Continuous Shooting
  • $1,398.00 Australian Dollars

RX100va Press Release Related text to HFR:

High Frame Rate and Slow Motion ShootingSpeed is a huge advantage of the RX100 VA, and in video, users will benefit from advanced High Frame Rate shooting and super slow motion. In Full HD, shooters will have access to a standard 120 fps setting that will enable outstanding slow motion when placed in an editing software. In addition to this, the camera also offers a dedicated HFR mode which will boost the cameras frame rate to up to 960 fps. Videographers will have the option of recording in Quality Priority and Shoot Time Priority modes for approximately twice as long with the RX100 VA compared to its predecessor. This results in about 7 seconds of recording in Shoot Time Priority at the 240 fps setting. The camera will output a Full HD file from slightly lower resolutions in order to produce high-quality images at all frame rates. Additionally, an end trigger mode enables users to record 4 or 6 seconds before the record button is pressed.

The specs above look misleading as the camera is essentially an RX100 V with the added ability to Auto Focus at the same level of the RX100 VI  and the RX10 IV cameras released elsewhere in the world.  The important part here is the BIONZ X sensor is changed from the RX100 V which allows for improvements in speed, processing, and Auto Focus tracking.  It is essentially an RX100 VI camera but without the slow and cumbersome long lens. This one retains the excellent 24-70mm  f/1.8-2.8 equivalent of the previous line while adding the new features in software and Auto Focus of the & newer line.

That Sony has decided to release this in Australia only makes us puzzled; as to why cut off the market for an already developed product to the rest of the world that retains the fast lens which many users would gladly exchange from the slower longer version in the RX100 VI. Seems Sony thought this camera would confuse consumers too much and was able to still use the remaining lens and body parts from the RX100 V line to fully utilize the inventory.

If you are lucky enough to get one of these cameras, you might be better served than getting the longer reach RX100 VI in the rest of the globe.  Australians rejoice and if given a choice, we much rather prefer the RX100va than the RX100 VI released in June. -HSC

Sony RX100 VI — In-Depth Review and Comparison to RX100 V [4K] by iPhonedo:

In the review video above by iPhonedo you can see why the fast lens of the RX100V is preferable in many instances to the slower but much longer zoom in the RX100 VI.

Sony RX100va Full Press Text Below:

Taking an amazing pocket-sized series and further improving it, the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VA Digital Camera from Sony takes the compact RX100 line up a notch by adding a Fast Hybrid AF system with 315 focal-plane phase-detection points. Incorporating a proven and reliable 20.1MP 1″ Exmor RS BSI CMOS sensor, the RX100 VA is able to create highly detailed images at sensitivities up to ISO 12800 with ease. Also, combining this sensor’s speed and power with the BIONZ X processor and a newly developed front-end LSI, users can enjoy even faster performance, including continuous shooting of up to 24 fps with a buffer up to 148 JPEG frames, improved High Frame Rate recording times, and fast continuous AF with stills and while recording UHD 4K video. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

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Fuji X-T100 Records 120fps 720p for 7min!

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Fuji X-T100

The new Fuji X-T100 may be an afterthought for videographers due to its stills focus. It has a 4k UHD mode but only records at 15fps which begs the question why bother including it?  It is certainly useless for everything except time-lapse video recording if you think stuttering footage is rubbish.  However, the camera does have a 720p 120fps mode that can record for up to 7minutes while conforming into a file at 30fps which equates to a 4x slowdown or if later edited at 24p a 5x slowdown from real time.

Fuji industrial design is just eye-catching and excellent when it comes to looks.  The X-T100 does not disappoint with its retro but chiseled look with a flippy screen that screams for a better video mode.  We are fans of the Fuji cameras and are glad to see that even in this low-end entry the high frame rate video recording feature is retained. We hope to see them implement 240fps or higher in future models as their recent efforts in the X-H1 show encouraging initial results in 1080p with superb color rendering.

Fuji X-T100 Main Specs:

  • 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor and high-speed imaging processor equipped with Phase Detection AF system
  • 3” (approx. 1,040K-dot) high-resolution LCD touchscreen can be tilted 3 ways.
  • Standard output sensitivity of ISO200 – ISO12800
    • Extended output sensitivity: ISO100 – ISO51200

    Bluetooth® version 4.1 low energy technology
    Wi-Fi® image transfer and remote camera operation
    Improved battery life for still images – approx. 430 frames

    Fuji X-T100 Movie recording 4K 3840 x 2160 15P, Continuous recording: up to approx. 30 min.
    Full HD 1920 x 1080 59.94p / 50p / 24p / 23.98p, Continuous recording : up to approx. 30 min.
    HD 1280 x 720 59.94p / 50p / 24p / 23.98p, Continuous recording : up to approx. 30 min.
    High Speed Movie 1280×720 120fps  option 1.6x / 2x / 3.3x / 4x, Continuous recording : up to approx. 7 min.

    • * For 4K movie recording, use a card with UHS Speed Class 3 or higher
    • * Although movie recording will continue without interruption when the file size reaches 4 GB, subsequent footage will be recorded to a separate file which must be viewed separately.

    Fuji Guys – FUJIFILM X-T100 – Top Features by Fuji Guys Channel:

    First Look | Fujifilm X-T100 by David Flores & B and H: → Continue Reading Full Post ←