It is that time of the year again where we search the web for great camera deals and pass our research along. There have been dozens of price drops across the camera world and it is very encouraging to see gear being democratized for the holdout consumer that wanted to wait for better value for money. We focus on high-speed imaging cameras and accessories which weeds out the rest of the deals out there unrelated for this endeavor.
It is also a way to help this website survive by clicking on our links so we get a small commission at no cost to you. Be it any product listed below or by clicking and buying your favorite products we are thankful for your support. This way we can continue to bring you our best slow motion gear advice and reviews. Be sure to also visit our HSC Camera Guide which has recently been updated with dozens of new cameras ranked by performance over price. Continue reading for our gear deal picks!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Now that a few days have passed we now have the first few samples of what the Galaxy Note 9 is capable of in 960fps slow-motion mode. It shows about the same effective resolution as the Galaxy S9 and S9+ which share the same camera system. The Note 9 is supposed to increase the dynamic range but it is unclear how much benefit it will show in a resolution starved 720p high-speed mode.
The best selling factor for the Note 9 as a slow-motion device is the doubling of recording time to 0.4 seconds from the 0.2sec available on the Galaxy S9. This transforms into a 12.8-second video played back at NTSC 30p which makes it much more enjoyable than the 6.4 sec on the other Samsung phone.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Samsung has released the Galaxy Note 9 today and needless to say its a spec powerhouse with a familiar design and feel. No other Samsung has ever sported such amount of features and memory footprint up to 1TB with the 512GB internal plus an optional 512GB Micro SD card. Of course, a fully specced out phone will not be cheap when the handset starts at $1,000 USD in the USA or €1,000 in Europe.
Our interest and focus are the video features and we are far from disappointed. You get improved AF with scene recognition and an increase in dynamic range compared to the Galaxy S9. You get 4k UHD up to 60p and the usual competitive frame rates of 240fps and 120fps Full HD plus the 960fps mode that made its debut in the S9 and S9 plus phones earlier in the year. The extra checkmark in this phone’s sheet is that the slow motion at 960fps is now double the rec time of the S9 at 0.4sec instead of the 0.2sec in the S9 at the full frame rate.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Summer is usually a time of slow product releases with little to show for in the way of new products. That, however, means that the fall product cycle is close by and now releases should be picking up the pace. We have some rumors and information that may be valuable when considering upcoming high-speed capable devices.
Do note that rumors and speculation are subject to change or be completely incorrect so take a lot of this with a grain of salt. We strive to weed out the most outlandish rumors but concentrate on the most probable technology announcements.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Sony has released specs for a new IMX Cellphone oriented sensor that has a whopping 48 Megapixel photosite grid with a new Bayer altered pattern of quad pixel colors that aims to quadruple the dynamic range of the signal and increase detail retention significantly by supersampling every photosite and creating a final 12MP image with excellent characteristics.
As far as frame rates go we were glad to see very high-end read-out speeds for this sensor as full 4k video can max out at 90fps and other high fps settings include 1080p 240fps full area downsampling and 720p 480fps but with a cropped windowed frame extraction. At 48MP or 12 regular De-Bayered then we expect the crop to be quite extreme at the 720p mode unless they do a 4 or 6MP downsample.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
Both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones shipped with 720p 960fps slow motion capability but the recording was limited to 0.2 seconds which is just too short a time span. This made it difficult to capture things in manual mode since the reaction time of your finger is about the same as the recording time making you miss moments. Pre-record made it easier but still limited to just 6.4 seconds playback in regular 30fps video timelines.
The new S9 update allows for manual high-speed recording to be used in 480fps slow motion mode at 720p for now 0.4 seconds or twice the recording time. This allows for easier capture of moments but in real time playback at 30fps it is the exact same playback time of 6.4 seconds. Since only 192 frames are recorded in the 0.4 seconds same as in the 960fps mode of 0.2sec then the only thing you gain is double the time to capture the moment. It would have been ideal to get also double the playback time. Memory buffer seems to be the limiting factor here!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
