Tag Archives: m43

Chronos Camera m43 Lens Adapter with Speedbooster Support!

The two existing Chronos cameras, the 1.4c 720p at 1502fps & the Chronos 2.1 -HD 1t 1080p 1000fps are identical when seen from the outside but very different inside as they contain different sensor and memory boards. However one constant is that both use the C mount as the default for lens adapters. The camera usually comes with a Canon EF or Nikon F mount adapter depending on the buyer preference which screws on the C mount thread and allows for support of classic lenses from Macro to telephoto. 

One request from the community has been the support for other lens mounts like Micro 4/3ds which lets you adapt a variety of lens mounts and the much coveted speedbooster adapters which allow a 1 f-stop improvement in light gathering for micro 4/3ds systems. Today Krontech, the company behind the Chronos high-speed camera is introducing a passive Micro 4/3rds adapter for both the Chronos 1.4c and 2.1-HD and uses the body screw terminals near the lens thread mount to place a solid connection that allows such lenses. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Blackmagic PCC4k Petition calls for S16 Crop!

Blackmagic PCC4k Petition

An enthusiastic supporter of the recently announced Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k, is aiming at getting the company to incorporate a Super 16 or S16 crop format on the sensor so that S16 lenses can be used with the camera without recording the extra vignetted information.  However, as you must know by now crop frames in sensor read-out are an excellent way to increase frame rate capabilities in cameras.

So we encourage you to sign the petition here and place some comments that also call for increasing the frame rate options in S16 mode so that the camera captures better slow motion footage.  The camera will already be capable of 120fps Full HD 1080p crop in windowed mode but a S16 crop would allow for extra frame rate options at that resolution. 96fps would be one possibility. And while you are at it maybe ask for 720p crop and 240fps which is not probable but worth a try. -HSC

Panasonic G9 vs GH5 for Video Compared!

Panasonic G9 vs GH5

Panasonic seems to be doing a lot of things right lately with their fantastic GH5 with 10 bit recording and 4k 60p for the first time in a mirrorless camera and of course the 180fps Full HD slow motion to boot.  The just-announced Lumix G9 is a monster of a camera in its own right but Panasonic is right to segment it as a Stills first and video second machine.

The GH5 is the best video-centric portable camera in recent memory and the aim with the G9 is to go after the Sony a9 which is arguably the best stills camera ever conceived performance wise.  The G9 is capable of shooting 60 RAW images in a single burst per second and while the buffer is only 50 RAWs worth; it becomes easily renewed thanks to dual card slots.

Panasonic G9 Main Feature Highlights:

  • 20.3MP Digital Live MOS Sensor (Same as GH5)
  • Venus Engine Image Processor (Improved from GH5)
  • UHD 4K 60p Video 150mbit/sec
  • 1080p 180fps VFR Mode
  • 80MP High-Res Shot Mode (Combines 8 Shots in RAW or JPG)
  • 5-Axis Sensor Stabilization; Dual I.S. 2  6.5 stops worth!
  • 0.83x 3.68m-Dot OLED Viewfinder
  • 3.0″ 1.04m-Dot Free-Angle Touchscreen
  • Top Status LCD; Rear Joystick
  • Advanced DFD AF System
  • 6K PHOTO & 4k Photo Mode with Pre Burst!
  • ISO 25600 and 60 fps Continuous Shooting
  • Dual UHS-II SD Slots
  • Wi-Fi & Bluetooth
  • USB3 Battery Charging Plug!
  • MSRP $1,699.99 – Pre Order Amazon Here!

At first glance, there is really no big differences on the whole with the GH5 but you have to really dig in the spec sheet to appreciate what has been done here and why the GH5 not only remains relevant but essential in the line-up!

80MP High Res Mode:

The addition of the Olympus/Pentax Style High Res shot mode allows for the sensor to merge 8 – 20.3 MP stills shots into either RAW or JPG in camera while on a tripod or very stable surface.  The end product is an 80MP shot with outstanding color and sharpness that should rival Medium Format cameras.   For landscapers who are shooting still life scenes, this should be worth the purchase of the camera on its own.  However as we have seen with other similar systems that do the merging is that motion artifacts from foliage, water, birds and other parts of the scene could be a detriment to the shot. For product photography and studio setups, this is not a problem, however.

There is a sense that the GH5 sharing the same sensor and also having a 5-axis sensor stabilizer, that it should just be a firmware release away from having this functionality built in.   But the deeper buffer memory on the G9 might be needed for this to be implemented. However, the GH5 should be able to produce a 40MP shot from 4 shots without trouble if buffers are a concern.

Video Crippling or Heat Buildup?

The Panasonic G9 has impressive video built in but it is a far cry on closer inspection to the GH5 in several aspects. The table below compares the GH5 against the G9 video wise:

GH5 G9 Rec Duration
4k 23.98, 29.97, 48, 59.94 fps 23.98, 29.97, 48, 59.94 fps 10 Minutes
1080p 1920 x 1080p at 29.97, 59.94 1920 x 1080p at 29.97, 59.94 30 minutes
Slow-Mo 12,20,22,24,26,28,36,48,60,72, 84, 96 60fps or 180fps (No 120fps) 10 Minutes
  108,120,132,144,156,168 & 180fps 20mbps
Codec 100, 200,150, & 400mbps 10 bit rec except 60fps 4k. No 10 Bit, Only 150mbps 4k
  1080p  20,24,28,72,100 & 200mbps 28mbps 1080p Very Low
5-Axis Stabilizer 5 Stops Dual IS 6.5 Stops Dual IS
GH5 Has Unlimited Recording Time hispeedcams.com

As you can see from our comparison the GH5 is in a whole other league when it comes to video recording.  The G9  slow motion VFR mode has only 60fps 28mbps and or 180fps recording at up to 20mbps which is a far cry from up to 200MBPS on the GH5 and the plethora of intermediate frame rates like the excellent artifact free 120fps on the GH5 which is free from resolution loss and moire.

The G9 180fps VFR mode will probably be full of aliasing artifacts and has a 10min time limit. The 60fps 4k, however, should be the same quality as the GH5s with 150Mbps with of course the 10 min time limit.  For 1080p the 28mbps cap on the G9 will be a deal breaker for quality and of course the 29min 59-second cap in recording as well.  There is no question the G9 can’t hold a candle to the pro features of the GH5 video modes.

The GH5 has heat dissipation in a class of its own according to Panasonic and why the G9 cannot go head to head on duration in video recording and bit rates for the codecs.  We will not be surprised to see a hack of sorts on the G9 to remove the time limitations.  However, that may damage the camera electronics by going above spec!

 What About the Improved In Body Stabilizer?

This is really an upgrade, the GH5 allowed for up to 5 stops using Dual IS 2.0 with compatible lenses and offered about 4 stops without those lenses and for manual lenses in the best cases. The G9, however, estimates 6.5 fstops of stabilization with any lens and with or without Dual O.I.S. 2.0  However if you use the new Dual OIS lenses you gain better telephoto stabilization and a learning algorithm while walking along with the camera for example.  This is a really impressive spec and it improves on the already class-leading in body IS of the GH5.  The G9’s in body IS is probably the new standard for the feature on any camera!

Panasonic G9 Image Stabilisation Demo by Photo By Richard:

LUMIX G9 first look: the ultimate photography camera by Panasonic Australia: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Olympus OM-D E-M10 III has 120fps 720p Mode!

Olympus OM-D E-M10 III Slow Motion

The new Olympus OM-D E-M10 III release has for the first time introduced for the line some sort of slow motion feature. While not much it should be noted that Olympus has the best 5 axis image stabilization in-body system when it comes to jitter reduction and overall look.  Even while running or walking the camera does an admirable job.

The Panasonic GH5 has a similar system but Olympus still has the edge in performance by having much less shake with their patented solution. This is great for shooting video and this camera with 4k recording is probably one of the most stable handheld solutions for shooting UHD. The addition of a 720p 120fps mode while not ideal; is great to have especially if stabilized.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 III Video Modes:

CODEC : MPEG-4, H.264

Recording Formats:

  • 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 102 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 3840 x 2160 @ 25p / 102 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 3840 x 2160 @ 24p / 102 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 52 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 52 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 30p / 52 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 52 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 52 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1280 x 720 @ 120p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM*
  • 1280 x 720 @ 30p / 14 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1280 x 720 @ 25p / 14 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
  • 1280 x 720 @ 24p / 14 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM
Olympus OM-D E-M10 III Slow Motion:

Considering the camera has only 14 Mbps at it’s disposal for H.264 720p capture, it probably is very restrictive for the quality expected for the mode.   Even doubling the rate at 28Mbps, 120fps will probably have a hard time distributing it to 7Mbps at 30fps.   We will have to wait and see what it looks like in the end to be able to judge first hand.

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M10 MARK III: First Look with Gavin Hoey by Adorama:

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III Hands-on First Look Review by Park Cameras: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Hasselblad True Zoom Signaling the Future?

Hasselblad True Zoom moto mods

The recently announced Hasselblad True Zoom is an add on module for the Moto Z + Moto Mods™ smartphone platform which lets you add modules to your already very capable phone to increase it’s feature set.  A Pico Projector, a much larger battery, a JBL speaker set and now the Hasselblad True Zoom 10x Optical zoom are the current back plate options for this new ecosystem.

What may look like a gimmick to some; it may be the advent of a personalized and very powerful experience for the future of smartphone use. What if you could add the advantages of a larger camera sensor and higher frame rates with built in processing to your phone when needed. What if you could add a built in microscope back plate to the phone for biologists on the field or a sensor module for tracking scientific concepts with the phone as a central part of experiments. The sky seems to be the limit here.

Hasselblad True Zoom Specs:

  • Compatible phones
  • Moto Z Droid, Moto Z Force Droid, Moto Z Play Droid
  • Dimensions: 152.3 x 72.9 x 9.0 – 15.1 mm
  • Weight: 145g
  • Sensor resolution: 12MP CMOS BSI
  • Video resolution: 1080p Full HD at 30fps
  • Mics: 2 Stereo
  • Sensor size: 1/2.3-inch
  • Pixel size: 1.55 um
  • Aperture: f3.5-6.5
  • Zoom: 10x optical/4x digital
  • Focal length: 4.5-45 mm (25-250mm 35mm equivalent)
  • Macro : 5cm @1x – 1.5m @10x
  • Flash: Xenon flash
  • Image stabilization: Still: OIS Video: EIS
  • ISO equivalent – Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
  • Capture modes – Photo, panorama, video, professional, night landscape, night portrait, sports, day landscape, back light portrait
  • Focus modes- Manual focus: select focus ROI Focus lock
  • Pro mode: Focus, white balance, f-stop, ISO, exposure
  • White balance: Auto, incandescent, fluorescent, sunny, shade
  • Color effects: Color, black & white
  • Red eye reduction: Auto
  • File format –  Still: JPG, DNG (RAW) Video: MPEG4
  • Storage Internal phone: 32GB-64GB microSD phone: up to 2TB Cloud: Unlimited via Google Photos
  • Battery life: Phone dependent
  • Connectivity: Phone connectivity: 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi
  • GPS: Phone: Enhanced geolocation
  • Carrying case: Included

What jumps at you right off the bat is the 10X zoom lens and features like dual microphones, real flash and RAW image recording.  Also the real limitations when it comes to video recording start to sour the excitement a bit.  At a maximum frame rate of 30fps 1080p the camera has no high speed mode at all, (big dissappointment) here was a chance to improve on the limited zoom reach of slow motion capable phones.

The RAW photo mode is not new for phones either; many already offer a RAW image recording format which helps with developing the detail and color of images but with a sensor size of 1/2.3″ there is really not much to be excited about here either.   The aperture limits of  f3.5 wide -6.5 10x zoom is also slow even by phone standards which have in some cases f2.2 wide angles.  With small sensors the aperture of a lens matters a lot. It seems the Hasselblad True Zoom is making a case for it’s name by making the lens the centerpiece and focus of the entire module design.

Introducing Moto Mods™ – by Moto:

The real value of the Moto Mods ecosystem is that it is very easy to extend a phone’s capabilities by just snapping a magnetic back. In a few iterations we may find that the camera we would really like to buy is just one module away and easy to add to your existing phone. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Metabones Updates Adapter Firmware!

Metabones speedbooster m43 Ultra

Metabones the company that brought you the speed booster and one of the first to offer electronic lens compatibility including AF for Canon lenses on mounts like Sony E Mount and Panasonic/Olympus micro 4/3rds has updated the firmware on these to have better overall compatibility with AF modes on newer cameras.

Slow motion shooters on Sony, Panasonic and other slow motion capable cameras are big fans of these adapters and speed boosters because it allows compatibility with their Canon EF glass collection. Furthermore the speed boosters enable wider field of view and an extra stop of light which is always needed when shooting high speed footage.

The firmware fixes some AF Native vs Green compatibility issues that propped up in the previous update for Sony users. The new update defaults to the standard green mode as the Native did nothing to improve features or performance.

Other Important info for the update: “Users of Sony’s contrast-detect AF and early phase-detect AF cameras are advised to configure your adapter to “Advanced” mode using the procedure in the User Manual section of our web site (http://metabones.com/article/of/green-power-save-mode) to get a significant AF performance improvement. In addition, we have made “native” AF-C slightly better and added C-AF support for Olympus OM-D E-M1, although an AF-C performance bottleneck remains in the lens’ inability to execute a series of fine maneuvers with minimal latency as commanded by the camera body.”

Download link for Firmware updates:
Select your product from this page according to your mount and follow their instructions. 

Be sure to follow the instructions precisely as you update the firmware. If you are unsure how to do it; contact their support team here for guidance. Also check the video below by The Camera Store TV regarding these adapters in action.

Metabones Speed Booster Hands-On Field Test by  TheCameraStoreTV:

Full Press release for the firmware by Metabones Below:

Vancouver, Canada, June 30, 2016: Metabones® thrives on constructive criticism by the community and the press, and customer feedback was the driving force behind the fastest phase-detect autofocus (PDAF) across the widest selection of EF-Mount lenses on the Sony phase-detect trio (A7 Mark II, A7R Mark II and A6300) through a series of incremental firmware improvements last year, a feat that still held just as true with the release of “native” AF firmware last week. This accomplishment was the cornerstone of Metabones’ “Ubiquitously Fast Autofocus” vision, providing the broadest range of mirrorless cameras with fast still-photo single-AF when using adapted EF-mount digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) lenses. It began with fast AF on Panasonic launched in tandem with the 0.71x EF-MFT Speed Booster ULTRA last July, followed by fast AF on the Sony phase-detect trio and Olympus cameras last year. An EF lens on A7 Mark II, A7R Mark II or A6300 focused so quickly that it was virtually indistinguishable from a genuine Canon DSLR under some use-case scenarios. Nevertheless, Sony’s contrast-detect AF cameras such as A7S Mark II and early phase-detect cameras such as A6000 still took seconds to lock using an EF lens, and that remained the final frontier to conquer before we could lay claim to be ubiquitously fast. With Metabones “native” AF firmware, these other cameras got an order-of-magnitude boost in AF performance. “Native” AF was also an order-of-magnitude faster than Sony A-mount lenses on Sony LA-EA3 adapter on these non-phase-detect and early phase-detect Sony cameras. With the “native” AF firmware release, “Ubiquitously Fast Autofocus” was fait accompli and our vision had become reality.

“Native” was an informal term referring to a different version of the lens communication protocol which unlocked extra features such as direct manual focus (DMF), Eye-AF (A7 series), fast contrast-detect AF (faster for all Sony cameras except the phase-detect trio), continuous video AF, zoom position and focus distance display. Metabones did not make any representation of further performance improvement for the Sony phase-detect trio of cameras from “native” AF. Quite on the contrary, our previous announcement stated that “native” AF might have lower performance than the original “Green” mode phase-detect AF, which had been the fastest since last year. There was no performance regression in the sense that the user could configure the adapter to have the old behaviour (“Green” mode) back with a simple procedure. Hindsight being 20/20, switching the default mode from “Green” to “Advanced” was a mistake, and we apologize to affected A7 Mark II, A7R Mark II and A6300 owners who were inconvenienced by this change. Based on your input, we are releasing a new Metabones App 2.4 (E-mount v52) with the default mode reverted to “Green” again. V52 cannot be safer to install because no new features are activated and there are no changes in operation without you first opting in. Users of Sony’s contrast-detect AF and early phase-detect AF cameras are advised to configure your adapter to “Advanced” mode using the procedure in the User Manual section of our web site (http://metabones.com/article/of/green-power-save-mode) to get a significant AF performance improvement. In addition, we have made “native” AF-C slightly better and added C-AF support for Olympus OM-D E-M1, although an AF-C performance bottleneck remains in the lens’ inability to execute a series of fine maneuvers with minimal latency as commanded by the camera body. Metabones App 2.4 is available immediately for download from Metabones’ web site. We will continue to listen to your feedback as we have always been, because your input sets the direction of our future development efforts on “native” AF technology using adapted DSLR lenses.

 

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