There is an aura over the Panasonic GH5s that has not been seen in a m43 camera possibly ever. It is mainly due to the outstanding low light quality in 4k 24, 30p and 60p that beats full frame cameras like the Canon 5D Mark IV and competes head to head until ISO 25,600 with the king of low light the Sony a7s Mark II. But as always, our focus is on the high frame rates which the camera also does quite good on.
The 4k 60fps quality is very close to the 30p quality which means excellent and you can shoot at 60p at night without worrying about noise. The 240fps mode which is a first for a Lumix camera in full HD means that the camera aims to compete with Sony RX series cameras that have stacked sensors. We believe the quality to be acceptable but not good enough to be broadcast quality as stair stepping jaggies are all over the frame with the occasional moire pattern on fine detail that can break a shot.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Z Cam E1 which delivered excellent quality 4k footage from a tiny package and was able to do 720p 240fps frame rates “at less than ideal quality”, however, a new Rumor from 4/3 Rumors here shows a Twitter message that hints at a new Z E2 m4/3 camera that is able to do 120fps at full 4k resolution. If this turns out to be true it could yield further performance improvements in 1080p and 720p along with higher quality that could be usable.
As far as linear specs go a 120p 4k pipeline could in theory yield 480fps 1080p and 960/1000fps 720p without going out of spec. As we have come to know over the years, however, it is usually wrong to extrapolate these specs to the maximum possible metric as the sensor or memory could be bottlenecks that limit the performance. So this rumor could have some legs to it and NAB 2018 could be the show that makes 4k 120p a regular feature for cameras.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
After several camera announcements where slow motion was a main feature instead of an afterthought, things have been calming down until the next wave which will break closer to NAB 2018 from April 7th to 12th in Las Vegas. There will probably be quite a few announcements in the professional space which is mainly where things heat up when it comes to higher quality resolution at higher frame rates.
We expect Sony to steal the show with probably the a7s Mark III which by any measure will probably retain the low light king title for the foreseeable future. If the a7 III released recently is any indication then a lower megapixel sensor anywhere between 12-16MP Full Frame with the same technology in a stacked sensor will give us a camera so capable that room for improvement will be mainly on the ergonomics, interface and higher frame rates going forward.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Has Canon finally woken up from the deep slumber that has crippled the progress in their camera line when it comes to video performance? On paper, the Canon EOS M50 a mirrorless camera that seems to improve in almost every way to previous efforts by the company. We have 4k recording at 24/25 but where is 30P? 120fps slow Motion 720 HD Video in a lower cost body and their excellent Dual Pixel AF System which is one camera feature where the others are playing catch-up.
If the rumors are solid; which seem to be considering the images leaked and detailed information then Canon may finally be releasing cameras that will be worth your while and a clear path out of the EF mount into a mirrorless future. We remain detached until we have image samples and slow-motion footage but its clear Canon and possibly Nikon will not remain still for much longer and let Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, and smartphones eat their installed user base little by little.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The folks at Mirrorless Rumors have a new story based on an anonymous source that claims to know information about a super camera being tested at Samsung’s labs that can do among other things 480fps at 1080p resolution. Its also claimed to be 4k 120fps ready and using the Exynos 9810 SoC which is reserved for their high-end phones up to now.
These claims are too detailed and too extraordinary to be believed but the Exynos Chip should be able to process all of that data. The Rumor also states that it will be an APS-C chip with ISOCELL Technology on a stacked design capable of 30.1 Megapixels or 6720*4480px at 30p frame rates. The camera is a prototype according to the source and it is not known if it will be released as a real product in the future.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Vision Research the creator of the Phantom, has posted a new Christmas Ornament slow motion video that hints at a new camera release for January 2018. From the looks of it, it may be capable of 20,000fps at 1080p resolution. When you look at the footage sample the resolution does look very well but it may be 720p if you really nitpick the edges which look somewhat aliased when played back at 1080p. Whichever the case may be 20k fps at HD resolution brings in an amazing performance and probably a high price alongside it. Happy Holidays! -HSC
