Tag Archives: slowmotion

Google Pixel 3 Slow Motion is Lackluster!

Google Pixel 3 Slow Motion

The newly announced Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones do impressive things with machine learning when it comes to their camera app. The ability to do resolution comparable 2X  zoom to an optical lens by using exposure merging is genius.  Their portrait mode is also the best ever made on a phone with incredible separation of background and foreground depth of field based on learning algorithms that can tackle hair transitions and other objects all with only a single lens.

When it comes to video however it is not as good as either the Samsung’s or Apple’s latest flagship phones. The pixel tops at 4k 30p and the slow motion while doing 240fps which matches the iPhone XS it is only 720p instead of 1080p. Google seems to have beefed up the phone for still images and selfies and left the video features on a secondary plane. The slow motion mode is essentially identical to last year’s Pixel 2 and 2 XL at 120fps 1080p and 240fps 720p. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Chronos 1.4 Firmware 0.3.1 b9 Unleashes New Features!

Chronos 1.4 Firmware

The Chronos 1.4c team based in B.C. Canada has been hard at work unleashing the features of the camera hardware and adding software features that should make the camera more valuable to video professionals everywhere. The new firmware adds HDMI live mirroring support for monitoring which is clean and lets you record its output. Another feature is the inclusion of native CinemaDNG save format image sequences which retain 16bits of color data and allow you to really streamline the workflow without time-consuming conversions.

In our testing over the last 4 days, we have really put the firmware “available here” through its paces and found very minimal issues in the software related to usability but no freezes and rock solid operation over around 14hrs of operation.   By saving to CinemaDNG we have no issues with cards getting write space errors due to saving the 1.8MB files individually. We feel this format is really unleashing the camera’s quality fully with a faithful sensor capture representation. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Sony FS5 240fps Full HD Camera Gets $750 Price drop!

Sony FS5

The original Sony FS5 not the Mark II which does 240fps and 120fps full HD recording with excellent quality as well as 4k 240fps with an external recorder has dropped in price precipitously. The -$750 price drop makes the camera only $3,498 for the body only which is now competitive with pro SLRs and higher-end mirrorless cameras.

The FS5 camera has been used in productions all over the world and it is a favorite of many videographers for its form factor and dependability. We like it here at HSC by retaining the 10th position on our guide with excellent quality 120fps and 240fps full HD 1080p and pristine quality in 4k 240fps using a recorder like the Atomos Shogun series. The camera also allows 480fps and 960fps @ 1920*270px for short bursts much like the Sony RX series but slightly behind in quality to those latest cameras in those higher modes. Is an FS5 Mark III getting ready to launch or just end of product life rebates? → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Insta360 One X Breaks the 3k 100fps barrier!

Insta360 One X

The Insta360 seems to be on a roll by delivering several products this year in quick succession. They want to own the 360-degree video market and they have no plans of letting go of that goal by making some very cool new features available to the masses.  The new Insta360 One X camera is able to stabilize the footage on the fly with incredible accuracy and steady-cam like feel without gimbals with its high-resolution capture and by using cropping along with telemetry data and a proprietary algorithm they are able to deliver rock-solid imagery in heavy motion environments.

The small camera is also able to shoot 100fps at 3k which is a first in the segment will let you crop if needed to get a better frame of the action.  There is also a very clever rubber housing that is designed to be thrown aerodynamically  “Drift Shot” while leaving the camera well protected on impact. This revolutionary technique is really something out of the box and what this camera will probably be known for. Expect to see an explosion of these shots in TV and film pretty soon as others copy the technique. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Fujifilm X-T3 Slow Motion Samples!

Fujifilm X-T3 Slow Motion

Fujifilm continues to further evolve their high-end mirrorless offerings by releasing the X-T3 which is a souped-up X-T2 with much of what was missing like 4k 60p and a new  X-Trans Sensor now with 2 more megapixels and lower base ISO of 160. The new camera also has a touchscreen with the ability to use up to 425 Phase and Contrast hybrid Autofocus points which is their most advanced AF yet.

Others will point out to the new blackout-free burst shooting much like that in the Sony high end a9 for example. What is really remarkable here is that the 4k 60p mode is 10 bit 4:2:0 vs 8 bit on competitors, as to what big advantage that will be remains to be seen considering 4:2:0 is not exactly ideal. For slow motion fans, the camera now records 120fps 1080p at 200Mbps bs 100Mbps on the X-T2 → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Panasonic S Series Could Taper Slow Motion Curve!

Panasonic S Series

The announcement of the Panasonic S series is a complete acceptance that smaller m4/3 sensors are not the future but the past. As now Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony, Leica and now Panasonic have shifted priorities to Full Frame Sensors as mirrorless has allowed the smaller form factor without compromising low light performance and absolute stills image quality.  Fuji is also going strong on Medium Format stills oriented cameras like the new portable GFX 50R which meshes a rangefinder camera with a huge MF sensor.

The move by Panasonic, which had been leading in mirrorless frame rates in continued recording with their Lumix GH5 and GH5s Series up to 240fps 1080p,  will now focus on larger sensors that produce more heat and may be much slower to read at high speeds.  Sony has so far been able to only have 120fps 1080p recording in their a7 series for example.  If the Panasonic S1 at 24MP can only do 120fps 1080p which is still unknown, it will not bode well for slow motion frame rates for some time. → Continue Reading Full Post ←