Tag Archives: P40 Pro

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2021!

 

We have passed another year in slow motion land and while camera releases were more plenty than expected considering the chip shortage and teh COVID disruption, it’s time to take a look back through the year’s camera releases, and see which delivered on the price/performance scale when it comes to slow motion frame rates.  Phones are stagnationg while high end cameras are getting more frame rate options in higher resolution. Our Best Slow Motion Cameras Of 2021 have been selected and ordered by recommendation! → Continue Reading Full Post ←

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2020!

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS OF 2020

As the end of 2020 nears, it’s time to take a look back through the year’s camera releases amid the COVID 19 chaos, and see which delivered on the price/performance bracket with slow motion frame rates as the primary goal.  Phone slow motion took a back seat this year as the interest of the feature in phones was subdued or even eliminated. Our Best Slow Motion Cameras Of 2020 have been selected and ordered by recommendation!

We saw some surprises including a mostly affordable 4k slow motion solution and the adoption of 4k 120fps on many cameras which makes us think 240fps at UHD should be something to think about in the coming years as a regular option once 8k video is commonplace on consumer recording devices and TVs. The increase in resolution should theoretically allow for a lot of 4k frame rates to be offered as 8k delivers 4x the pixel count of 4k for any given frame rate. Keep on reading for our 2020 picks!

BEST SLOW MOTION CAMERAS of 2020:

Without further ado here are what we believe are the best value slow motion cameras in their respective categories for the year 2020:

Best Slow Motion Phone Category:

3rd Place) Sony Xperia 5 II:

The Sony Xperia 5 II is all about capturing the best video possible on a smartphone and in HDR. The kick here is that the phone is capable of 4k 120fps in full HDR which is pretty much class-leading.

The footage below will give you a taste of what the phone can do. In good light, it will let you capture excellent quality 4k 120p footage with the possibility to grade as it records a gradable flat profile.  In low light, it will be a pretty unremarkable image with grain and artifacts as could be expected from the light requirements when shooting at high speed.

Sony Xperia 5 II: 4K 120fps video footage by CNET Highlights:

Sony Xperia 5 II Slow Motion Specs:

  • 120fps 4k
  • 60fps 1080p

This is one of the first phones to offer 120fps in 4k which will probably become a standard spec in 2021 for flagships. However absent is the slow motion at 1080p which considering the 4k oomph, it should have been capable of 480fps at 1080p or similar. It is a shame that the spec was completely avoided considering HDR in 120fps 4k requires 240fps full pixel readout before merging.  In theory, 240fps non-HDR is possible on this phone but not available for unspecified reasons. Phones are becoming more powerful by the day and this is one that has our attention. The just under $1k price tag is not ideal but some of the best phones are going to cost you.

2nd Place) OnePlus 8T:

One Plus continues to offer compelling slow motion features on their phones with 480fps 1080p and up to 480fps at 720p.  It gives you a quad 48MP camera module which is literally insane considering the phone sells for under $750USD and has 120hz refresh rate. Feature-wise it has probably everything under the sun and then some and will not disappoint in the performance realm.

Fireworks in Slow motion – OnePlus 8T 480fps in dark by sternking: → Continue Reading Full Post ←

P40 Pro Super Slow Motion extends Huawei’s reign!

P40 Pro Super Slow Motion

Last year the Huawei Mate 30 Pro was our slow motion phone of the year with its real 1920fps 720p with interpolated 4x mode to 7680fps and real 960fps at full 1080p. Now Huawei has again brought back the same performance with an even better optical system and what looks like better interpolation algorithms to the new P40 Pro and Pro Plus phones.

The phones have gathered little attention outside of China as Android cannot be updated and the Play Store is not accessible due to US restrictions on Huawei as a technology company that poses a risk to national security. Most of these phones are acquired by the use of importers or the pre-owned market and no US carriers offer them. Still, it is the amazing hardware design and the best slow motion performance on any phone to date that makes it impossible to ignore.

P40 Pro Plus Camera Specs:

Back Module Five on Plus

4x on Pro

50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/1.28″, 2.44µm, omnidirectional PDAF, OIS
Periscope 8 MP, f/4.4, 240mm (telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom
8 MP, f/2.4, 80mm (telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
40 MP, f/1.8, 18mm (ultrawide), 1/1.54″, PDAF
TOF 3D, (depth)
Features Leica optics, LED flash, panorama, HDR
Video 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 720@7680fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR; gyro-EIS
SELFIE CAMERA Dual 32 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm, AF
IR TOF 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features HDR
Video 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps

It is important to note that only The Pro and Pro Plus will have the full slow motion capability. The regular P40 has 3 camera modules and a top slow-mo spec of 960fps at 720p, missing the best features. The best value in our opinion will be the P40 Pro non-Plus version but if you can afford the Plus, by all means, it may be the phone to beat.

The Phone largest sensor is 50MP at 1/1.28 inches but that is reserved for stills and regular video. The sensor used for Ultra slow motion is the 40MP 1/1.54″ sensor which looks similar to that of previous phones.

We see improvements in processing and the AI interpolation is doing an incredible job of extrapolating 1920fps of real 720p data and slowing that by 4x to 7680fps. The end result has much fewer artifacts than the Mate 30 Pro especially in occultation background objects.  It is of course not flawless as interpolation as of now is no match to real captured frames.  Anything with a busy enough detailed background will create distortion and mush artifacts that are not valid for any scientific experimentation. You will have to cap the phone at 1920fps 720p or 960fps 1080p for real frame capture.

We were able to find very cool samples of the phone shooting slow motion below:

Huawei P40 Pro Slow Motion Video Initial  Samples:

Huawei P40 Pro Ultra Slow Motion – 7680 FPS Slow Motion by TheFonoGuy:

Huawei P40 Pro Plus Ultra Slow Motion – OMG 7680 FPS ULTRA SLOW MOTION IS SUPER by MKP Captain: → Continue Reading Full Post ←