Tag Archives: RAW Video

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

Panasonic Lumix GH6 does 300fps in Full HD!

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We have been expecting Panasonic to deliver a GH5 and or GH5s replacement camera for over a year now. The pandemic and component shortages pushed back the release of almost all high tech imaging equipment. The Lumix GH6 is now announced and it does everything right for Micro 4/3 and then some but will that be enough to make the format survive in a world of ever-decreasing Full Frame camera prices getting cheaper?  

The GH6 has a new sensor, new Venus processing engine, new IBIS with up to 7.5 stops which is bordering on ridiculous, and a body that has active cooling. For HSC however, only one set of specs matters and that is frame rates for video. The camera is now on top of the Lumix and almost all of their pro division cameras by shooting up to 300fps 10 bit Full HDish, 240fps Full HD 10bit, and 120fps at 4k 10 bit.  For slow motion enthusiasts, it looks to be a great camera on paper and at just under $2,200 USD it is not going to break the bank.  But after all of this, should you invest in the GH6 as a slow motion tool or save more for an affordable dedicated high speed camera? → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Announcements, Development, Rumors, Slowmo Samples

Canon EOS R5 Rumor Hints at 120fps at 4k!

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Canon EOS R5 Rumor

Quite a few of our readers have asked for HSC to comment on the rumors of a Canon R5 Mirrorless camera that according to unsubstantiated information claims 120fps at 4k and 8k at 30p.  The R5 may be the modern non-DSLR successor camera to the EOS 5D Mark IV and could become a major release for the company for this decade.  As rumors go we can probably believe some of it but we have to be skeptical on the full specs because Canon has not shown the willingness to push the envelope as far for many years and has calmy let Panasonic and Sony take the firsts spots on video features.

We would love to see Canon go ahead and push the envelope with amazing video features that can revive the platform for serious video production the same way the 5D Mark II did back in 2008 when it took the video world by storm and made it possible to shoot quality video that looked a lot like the 5D still images that have dominated certain segments of still imagery business like weddings.

Canon EOS R5 Rumor Specs by “Canonrumors.com”:
  • 45mp (One source said 40mp)
  • IBIS
    • 5 stops with IBIS alone
    • 7-8 stops of correction when used with in-lens stabilization

    14fps / 20fps (One source said 12fps / 20fps)
    Scroll wheel added to the back
    No touch bar
    Liveview/Movie toggle like previous EOS DSLRs
    Larger capacity battery, but looks like the LP-E6
    8K @ 30fps RAW
    4K @ 120fps
    4K @ 60fps
    The info I was given about a crop was confusing
    Announcement ahead of CP+ next month

    So let’s dissect the above information…

    -45MP FF Sensor seems plausible but we probably will see a 50MP sensor with a 48.x effective pixel count. Big area and hi pixel count sensors are not ideal for high-speed video, so this is another hint at the rumors being a wish-list.

    -The IBIS in-camera system is a little suspect considering the reliance of Canon to tout their lens IS systems which are a major selling point for the platform but they have already showed a patent with IBIS for the EOS M platform which should be introduced soon enough. They cannot keep ignoring other brands having excellent IBIS and dual IS systems like Panasonic Dual OIS which really kills the EOS system on stability performance.

    -Frame Rates:  120fps 4k? color us skeptical but the fact that only the very best and expensive canons do 4k 60p at most will probably mean that as a first iteration of the R5, it will probably only do 60p at 4k.  Canon will probably introduce 4k 120p at some point in the future but not this early in the cycle.  They are known to milk features at a snail’s pace in order to maximize the longevity of camera platforms.

    -8k 30p?  Someone is wishing too much, we possibly can expect if real the 8k to be a supersample mode to the 4k video in order to offer better per-pixel detail the way other camera brands do 4k by using a 6k source.   So we don’t expect 8k as a format to be anywhere in a camera from Canon this year, supersampling yes but full 8k no-go, especially in RAW mode, was it would require staggering data rates.

    If you want to see what 4k 120fps looks like, this RED Gemini 5K S35-shot video will give you a hint:

    Tomas Lemoine – Test Red Gemini 4K 120fps by JC Pieri:

    And if you have not seen 8k 30p video, let us point you to this amazing footage for a Samsung TV demo:

    Samsung QLED 8K 30P SDR HEVC 10bit Demo T5 posted byJmslhkq H:

    So at the end of the day we have imaging technology now that is capable of this and more but having it on a canon R5 camera for little cost compared to cameras that can do this seems for now out of the realm of possibility.

    In any case, we will know soon enough as CP+ will be at the end of the month Feb 27th to March 1st.  If Canon does show a new camera, we would love to be impressed but don’t count on it. -HSC

Camera News, Hi Speed Phone Video, Rumors

Red Hydrogen One Might Be Best Slow Motion Phone Ever!

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Red Hydrogen One

The RED Hydrogen One phone has a lot to live up to but contrary to many doubters it may be just that good when it comes to video and photo quality. How good? By some accounts, it may be unrivaled by any phone currently and possibly for the foreseeable future thanks to the special software that is running on that last year’s Snapdragon 835 chip which is now outdated but still usable to create what RED touts as an imaging phone for the connoisseur.

We expect 4k quality in better codecs than the competition, with the ability to surpass 4k 60p which is the current phone upper limit for frame rates and resolution. As far as higher frame rates go we simply cannot find a lot of information when it comes to the way video is captured but read along to see something that may get a little closer to unraveling the mystery. New phone final body images have been released here in the forums.

Red Hydrogen One Is this the phone we have been waiting for?

As you can see in the image above which was found on the RED Hydrogen forum here there seems to be an ability to move frame rates on the phone to 120 and 240fps even in UHD and 2k cinema resolutions, but it could also mean that only the green portions are available for each resolution and the greyed out ones are not selectable as indicated by a commenter below. As to the validity of this, we will have to wait and see but it is quite encouraging to see an interface devoted to professional video options which take care to establish frame rates as a prime feature.

The Youtuber Marques Brownlee has also posted a Hydrogen One Prototype unboxing which you may find interesting and will give you a sense of what the phone is like physically.

RED Hydrogen One Unboxing! (Houdini Edition) by Marques Brownlee:

We do not venture on speculation much here at HSC but we will keep a close eye on the Hydrogen One and how it develops.  You may also like to see some of the posted image samples from the still camera module on the Houdini prototype phone in this pretty cool thread here: https://h4vuser.net/t/houdini-camera-quality/2027

RED has pushed back the Hydrogen One release date to 2nd of November 2018, with pre-orders beginning October 9th.

The Hydrogen One aluminum version will be available on these carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and Telcel for $1,295.00 USD. The Titanium variant will be out in 2019 and should be $200 USD More. More to come as the release date nears. -HSC

Availability, Camera News, Development, Hardware Development, Slowmo Samples

fps4000 Camera Available for Rent in the UK!

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fps4000 Camera

Warning: The parent company of FPS cameras “The Slow Motion Camera Company Ltd.” went out of business and entered liquidation proceedings. No further development of cameras is expected. More information here on Google Search! 

The fps1000, fps2000 and fps4000 projects are alive and well and are progressing forward with a unified hardware base. We are not able to share information the current state of the project other than it is advancing to a ready to ship point in the future to all outstanding backers. The fps4000 camera is able to be rented now in the United Kingdom at this website for £150.00 pounds a day plus VAT & Insurance.

We are awaiting a 4k version of this camera in the future and the current fps4000 looks to be evolving to include a Sony Infolithium standard battery which also looks like a grip of sorts.   You are able to rent it with a micro 4/3 mount or a Canon EF if needed. Some may point out that if its available for rent it should be ready to ship but these cameras are engineering non-mass production samples that are still evolving. The rental house also helps the project by testing and finding issues with the camera with the help of production users, that can be corrected before final production.

fps4000 camera & what about the other models?

The cameras share the same basic hardware platform aside from the sensor and memory configuration.  Once the platform is solid for production all cameras will be able to be shipped and supported by a unified firmware platform.

fps4000 Rail Skateboard Video sample:

Showreel by Alexis Barreyat, Media Production at GoPro & Worm fps4000:

fps4000 Showreel Jan 2018 by Graham Rowan:

The fps4000 and the fps line of cameras have been on a long road from their humble beginnings. They will be able to shoot 4k at up to 500fps, 1080p @ 2000fps and 720p at 4000fps.  After several years of snags and technical hurdles, it is now very close to becoming a solid product.  We wish we could share more information about the cameras but that will come in due time. We will be ready to share all the information as soon as we are allowed to.  It seems the affordable slow-motion market is starting to become more mainstream with cameras that are able to push the limits of performance over price.  This is good for camera enthusiasts and for advancing the adoption of higher frame rates. -HSC

More information about the fps4000, fps2000 cameras available at the official site here:  https://www.slomocamco.com

fps2000/4000 Camera available for rent here:

https://london.motiontribe.io/en/listings/1673-fps2000-1080-super-slow-motion-camera → Continue Reading Full Post ←

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Chronos 1.4 RAW to DNG Tool Now Available!

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Chronos 1.4 RAW

The Chronos 1.4 Team has now posted the first incarnation of the RAW Camera data to DNG File tool to convert the sensor information files to usable Adobe DNG sequences. They also have posted a sample image comparing the before and after characteristics of the image quality if saved on H.264 in camera and then the same scene shot and saved in RAW format which converted to DNG yields a substantial improvement in image quality as we explored in our previous post about this issue here.

The camera is expected to allow direct to DNG format file saving in the future but now you can shoot in the camera RAW format and later convert as an interim solution without sacrificing quality on the H.264 files.  Maybe in the future, the camera will be able to simultaneously save RAW and H.264 files as a proxy feature to be able to easily sample clips in editing before conversion.  We believe the DNG format should be your one-stop solution for this camera if image quality is important for your use case.

Chronos 1.4 RAW Sample and Download Info:

Image sample released by Krontech.ca Showing the benefits of using RAW vs the camera’s internal de-bayering to H.264. There is a substantial difference along with the ability to white balance the images after the fact. We estimate near 11 stops of dynamic range using RAW and a little under 9 stops is using H.264.

Download the Chronos 1.4 RAW data to DNG File Converter tool here in the official Forum Post.<<< Download Software Here

Quick User guide available here at Github!

New Light Recommendations from Krontech:

Krontech has now posted a light recommendation store page based on their own tests for inexpensive and good quality lights for slow motion shooting.

We have heard good things about the recommended lights and fall right in line with our own recommendation for the RPS Studio 100w lights which in our tests offered no flickering at full power for any frame rate shot by high speed cameras up to 32k fps. The Godox lights should be comparable in performance and dependability.

We will test out the RAW format in the coming weeks and report back on our findings. The Chronos Camera is maturing day by day to a more dependable product for professionals.  With the RAW update, it could bet the best price/performance camera deal for high-speed capture in the world today. -HSC

Announcements, Availability, Camera News, Firmware/Software, Hardware Development, Media Showcase, Slowmo Samples

Chronos 1.4 RAW Video Frame Samples!

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Chronos 1.4 RAW

We received a set of Adobe DNG image samples from Krontech to check the resolution, dynamic range and grading potential of the camera when using the  RAW recording mode. As of now the utility to convert the raw data is still being tested but we were impressed by the results the camera was able to achieve by offloading the de-bayering process to a more capable converter like the Adobe Camera RAW module.

The Chronos files were already good when properly exposed but did suffer from some aliasing and moire in fine detail while resolution also took a hit by saving in a compressed H.264 format.  Now with the DNG RAW capability, we are glad to see that the camera image quality made an enormous improvement in the resolution, color fidelity, and dynamic range. It really brings out the real potential of the camera for a variety of applications, also creating a cleaner result in the noise department when processed correctly.

Chronos 1.4 DNG RAW Power:

By our calculations using the 6 dB = 1 stop rule of dynamic range the Chronos 1.4 RAW Files contain 56.7 dB (Sensor Spec) worth of information at 12 bits or close to 10 stops of dynamic range.   So you are gaining more or less 1.5 extra stops of highlight recovery and or shadow amplification when using RAW/DNG compared to H.264 . Not too shabby.

The test setup above by Krontech.ca is serving as a testbed for rolling out the feature. They provided HSC with a series of RAW/DNG files and h.264 equivalent samples for us to test.

The enlarged area sample below shows the huge amount of quality retention by using RAW/DNG and why it really looks like an entirely different camera when it comes to image quality. The in-camera de-bayering of color information for h.264 does a pretty bad job on edges and color fringes making the files look just too pixelated and artifact prone compared to the incoming sensor data. The RAW, however, cleans all that and allows for a plethora of adjustments that really bring out the true resolution of the 1.3MP 1280*1024 2/3ds sensor for the first time. The 12 bit DNG files also recover highlight and shadow information while allowing for de-noising which make the image quality just burst out.

Click on the image below for original / large sample:

After using the DNG samples we now feel inclined to scrap h.264 as our file saving codec in turn for RAW output for all our Chronos shoots. Krontech tells us that while RAW data is already saved by the camera in the latest experimental firmware which needs conversion with a tool RAW2DNG in Linux “and soon windows”, a direct DNG saving option is planned for a future firmware update for the Chronos 1.4 to streamline the workflow.

Each frame in RAW DNG is now 2.5MB at full 1280*1024 resolution which means a 1-second recording will be about 2.64GB at the full speed of 1057fps.

Download and play with the DNG RAW Samples on your own.  Krontech is also sharing the samples with our readers so they can experiment with the quality.

Download them Here: Chronos RAW DNG Test Samples!

We will keep covering the software evolution of the Chronos 1.4 camera and will inform you when new developments like DNG in camera and remote operation become available.

Chronos 1.4c Starts Shipping 32GB model with 16-second Rec Time:

As you can see the Chronos team has been busy building and shipping new cameras. The latest 32GB model for $3,999 which will be capable of over 16.5 seconds of record time at full resolution is gaining popularity due to the very large buffer.

So now the Chronos Camera is priced in three model options based on the depth of memory buffer:

  • 8GB Chronos 1.4 Camera Body: $2,999
  • 16GB Chronos 1.4 Camera Body $3,399
  • 32GB Chronos 1.4 Camera Body $3,999

The cameras remain the same in the internals so if you don’t need the extra memory recording buffer you can go for a standard 8GB model which will record just over 4 seconds at full speed.

For more information about pricing and availability of the Chronos 1.4c camera visit: http://www.krontech.ca

Crushing REAL High-Speed Camera by Hydraulic Press Channel: → Continue Reading Full Post ←