Krontech.ca the makers of the Chronos affordable professional high speed camera have released the Software version 0.4.0 Beta of the camera platform. The cameras will now be using an embedded build of the Debian operating system which was already the default OS for the Chronos 2.1 HD. All Chronos 1.4c cameras can now be upgraded to the new Beta version free of charge Follow this link for the official thread.
We tested the software briefly and found it to be responsive and solid. However as a Beta, you should be ready to find some glitches here and there, if you are doing mission-critical work you should wait for a full release before updating to be on the safe side, we recommend it for most users who are not shooting once in a lifetime events. If you do find bugs please contact them to help squash them out.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The latest beta version of One UI 2.0 which is the Samsung interface layer on top of Android 10, is featuring an initial selfie mode for the front camera in the Galaxy S10 and Note 10, to match Apple’s Slo-fie feature which debuted on the iPhone 11. The Samsung focused Sammobile.com has already tested the feature and has shown that it is working but with still some performance issues to be ironed out.
For starters, the footage stutters like it is losing some frames from what looks to be a 120fps 720p capture on the front selfie camera. Then there is no real adjustment at the moment of capture allowed on the interface but there are post-recording editing and speed stretching that should allow some level of control. It would be ideal to have access to a full manual feature on this mode, but it seems it is kind of a bolted-on software upgrade feature to allow a better feature for feature comparison with Apple. If that is the case Samsung should also allow all the cameras on the back to shoot slow motion video and not only the standard wide default cam.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Pocophone F1 by Xiaomi is an ultra-budget phone about $289 USD on some places for the 64GB model which feels anything but cheap. It has a 4000mAh battery, 6GB of RAM, dual cameras and a Notch screen all powered by a Snapdragon 845. Now the software updates will include a 960fps mode in 1080p for a very short rec time. Some initial tests put it at 25MB in size which might be about 0.2sec.
So you get a phone that also will shoot the 4k 60fps spec with the update but what about the video quality? Actually, it is not that bad and quite competitive with some mid-range phones. It will not be flagship quality like those $800 USD + phones but it will get the job done. When it comes to slow motion 120 and 240fps 1080p mode it does lower quality quite a bit which may be a preview of the quality that the 960fps mode will deliver.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The Chronos 1.4c Team has released the latest v0.3 RC2 software for testing. Be aware that this is not mission critical stable software so only use on your own private testing and not for recording mission critical shoots. The Interface can now be flipped to the left side though we would love to see an option to be concentrated on the lower part for better screen real-estate distribution.
We have tested over the last few days and are happy to report that the software has been stable and rock solid with no lock-ups and no sluggishness. The Color science was improved since the first v0.3 RC1 release to render the red colors among others more faithfully. In our testing, there was a definite improvement but we would like to see better treatment of the deep blues and magentas. We are happy to see White Balance is now supporting built-in presets!→ Continue Reading Full Post ←
The FUJIFILM X-H1 which offers 120fps 1080p slow motion was a worthwhile effort to offer high frame rates that are usable to their video-centric base. It still was not as good as the Sony or Panasonic slow motion options due to aliasing, moire, and noise but with a little post work, it could be used with success in an edited piece. FUJI then with a firmware update for their stills flagship the X-T2 allowed the camera to now shoot the same 120fps 1080p slow motion which makes sense considering they use the same sensor on both cameras.
The Chronos 1.4c Team has been ramping up software releases with the latest v0.3 RC1 being dropped just a few hours ago. Be aware that this is not mission critical stable software so only use on your own testing and not for recording once in a lifetime events. The big fixes are in the color pipeline and how the camera handles pixel color especially red tones which were a little pinkish in previous software releases. It seems the entire color acquisition pipeline has received an overhaul. This should improve the color rendition on all objects plus the added benefit of less tweaking in post.
There are also several UI improvements like the ability to clear some warnings, move the button layout pane around the main interface screen and the ability to auto-save clips after shooting. HSC will be testing the new software and report back when we get some new images. We are preparing a color test to see before and after the software update and how much color has improved with the release.→ Continue Reading Full Post ←