Tag Archives: lower price

DJI Mavic Air 2 has a 240fps 1080p mode that you won’t use!

DJI Mavic Air 2

DJI has unveiled the Mavic Air 2 consumer drone with incredible specs and a fit and finish that rivals their more expensive lineup. We have been waiting for a successor to the original Mavic Air to see where the platform was taking high frame rates but while we now have a 240fps 1080p mode, it hardly what we would call usable for production.  There is a softness and compression that while they look ok for amateur and some Youtube videos it fails for professionals that need that quality output.

There is a lot to like here like the 48MP sensor with 8k hyperlapse and stills mode with RAW along with a better than most other drones 4k UHD mode at 60fps with 120Mbps codec.  It is really a steal if you were waiting for a drone that can do it all and not break your budget.  You get many high-end features on a minute package that while a little big compared to mini drones, it is really small compared to the full-sized Mavic line. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony FS5 240fps Full HD Camera Gets $750 Price drop!

Sony FS5

The original Sony FS5 not the Mark II which does 240fps and 120fps full HD recording with excellent quality as well as 4k 240fps with an external recorder has dropped in price precipitously. The -$750 price drop makes the camera only $3,498 for the body only which is now competitive with pro SLRs and higher-end mirrorless cameras.

The FS5 camera has been used in productions all over the world and it is a favorite of many videographers for its form factor and dependability. We like it here at HSC by retaining the 10th position on our guide with excellent quality 120fps and 240fps full HD 1080p and pristine quality in 4k 240fps using a recorder like the Atomos Shogun series. The camera also allows 480fps and 960fps @ 1920*270px for short bursts much like the Sony RX series but slightly behind in quality to those latest cameras in those higher modes. Is an FS5 Mark III getting ready to launch or just end of product life rebates? → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony RX10 IV & AX700 Slow Mo Samples Surface!

Sony RX10 IV & AX700 Slow Mo Samples

There is a lot of interest on the new Sony RX10 IV and new Sony FDR-AX700,  HXR-NX80 and PXW-Z90V Palm 4k Cam-Corders.   We have found a couple of new sample videos showing these cameras in action with HFR high frame rate modes. We estimate all four cameras to have comparable image quality in HFR mode but depending on the price a better overall codec with more detail retention.

However the best value out of all of them could be the AX700 which costs about the same as the RX10 IV but in a more professional body with lots of control that the SLR form factor lacks.  Also for a paid job you may be inclined to go with the more professional looking body to avoid judgmental stares. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony RX10 IV Improves HFR Resolution!

Sony RX10 IV

As expected Sony has released the RX10 IV super zoom camera.  It is a good update to last year’s RX10 III which had a maximum HFR recording rate in quality priority of 2 seconds. This new model is, in essence, the exact same Sensor and HFR spec combination as the excellent Sony RX100 V which was our camera pick for 2016 when it came to price/performance for high-speed recording.

The RX10 IV has, however, a brand new AF system with 315 AF phase points in total with also 25 region contrast AF areas for extra accuracy.   The camera is mostly identical to its predecessor in appearance with improvements and refinements like a better screen and improved weather sealing. However, the imaging system processing is the exact same upgrade we saw in the 2016 RX100 V. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

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 ←

iPad Pro Refresh Matches iPhone Slowmo Specs!

iPad Pro

The newly released iPad Pro 2017 refresh in both 10.5 and 12.9 inches share a new camera module that really is a direct transfer from the iPhone 7.  It makes sense for Apple to offer their best camera yet in the best iPad they have ever built when it comes to performance.  However, you will not get anything in the camera department that makes the iPad Pro a leap forward in frame rates or other imaging specs.

The dual camera setup of the iPhone 7 Plus is not included in the iPad Pro so that is one aspect where the iPhone is still ahead.  The new tablets are for all intents and purposes a refinement with speed and software productivity capabilities as the two main goals for the line. They want to be a laptop replacement and they are aiming at the crowd who is fed up with the weight and bulk of traditional laptops. → Continue Reading Full Post ←