Here’s a test comparing the 1080p HD video recording capabilities of the iPhone 4S and the Canon 5D Mark II. Vimeo user Robino Films shot the same scenes at the same time with both cameras using a special rig, and then synched the footage together. They also tried to match the exposure, shutter speed, frame rate, and picture style as much as possible.
The big camera corps are dumping a huge number of new compact cameras at CES 2011. While many are standard upgrades to bring their cameras up to par with what consumers expect nowadays, there are some that stand out for one reason or another. Some of Sony’s new compact cameras (the DSC-TX100V, DSC-TX10, DSC-HX7V, DSC-WX10 and DSC-WX9) are unique in that they can shoot 3D photographs with a single lens and sensor. The trick is that two separate photographs with different focus settings are captured and combined to produce a 3D look. The DSC-WX10 (shown above) is also the world’s first compact camera capable of 1080/60p video recording. These cameras will be available for between $220 and $380 starting in March 2011.
We’ve seen GoPro cameras in quite a few stories as of late, with people using them for things ranging from making friends with Great White sharks to capturing amazing home videos of space. Good news if you’ve been thinking of getting one for action footage — they’ve just released the cheaper HD Hero 960. You get 960p instead of 1080p, and you lose an expansion port for external displays and batteries, but you pay $180 instead of the $300 it costs for an HD Hero.
HD HERO 960 Camera (via Engadget)
Chuck Patterson was SUP surfing with friends one day when two sharks joined them and circled around for 15 minutes. Rather than have the encounter deter them from surfing there again like it would for mortals, he returned to the same place the next day at the same time with a Go Pro HD HERO camera at the end of 10 foot pole.
Within 5 minutes a Great White shark approached him, and this time he was able to capture the encounter on film. The footage is pretty creepy, and reminded me of a Godzilla movie I saw when I was younger, where a scuba-diver runs into a freaky looking Godzilla-tadpole thing underwater. No ocean swimming for me.
Canon and Nikon broke ground when they launched DSLRs that have HD video capabilities. Now Sony’s taking a different approach by offering a comparatively affordable HD video camera with all the attractiveness of interchangeable lenses, plus the ability to take high resolution stills.
Sony revealed its plans to release a camcorder with the same interchangeable lens system as their NEX series cameras this past May, but announced today that the NEX-VG10 will be available in September for around $2000.
Not only will the camcorder share the same Sony E-mount as the NEX series (it comes standard with a kit 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens), Sony DSLR owners will be pleased to know that with a separate adapter, the camcorder can be mounted with any A-mount lenses — including Sony G and Carl Zeiss lenses.
The camcorder also has the same Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor as the NEX-3 and NEX-5. The DSLR sized sensor alone gives the camera a lot of extra real estate to work with; Sony boasts the sensor to be approximately 19.5 times larger than the standard sensor of conventional camcorders.
The NEX-VG10 can shoot 1920×1080 high def video at 60 fps, which Sony says is ideal for Blu-Ray recording. And for stills shooting, it can capture 14 megapixel images with a continuous burst of up to 7 fps.
Some benefits of using the NEX-VG10 over a video DSLR is that the camcorder has the right ergonomics and image stabilization for shooting video, and doesn’t have the same limited clip time that plagues DSLR video shooters — it can shoot up to 315 continuous minutes. Also, Sony says the NEX-VG10 has a silent auto-focus system that could cut down on noise typical on video DSLRs.
Stills shooters may appreciate the camera’s Auto HDR mode, but the fact that it doesn’t shoot RAW images could be a dealbreaker.
You can pre-order the NEX-VG10 from Sony Style.
Nikon President Makoto Kimura says that in order to keep its “top position” in Japan’s DSLR market, it needs to create an “entirely new domain” that may go well beyond its plans for a mirrorless, EVIL camera.
In an interview with Pen News Weekly, Kimura said:
“Nowadays digital cameras take movies, performance of cameraphones is rapidly advancing and demand for simple movie cameras for uploading video on the Internet is on the rise. Redefinition of photography may become necessary.”
Much of this comes at the heels of Canon’s revelation of their future plans at the Shanghai World Expo, with its Wonder Camera presentation. With the introduction of cameras like the iPhone 4 and other smartphones with HD video modes, both companies suggest that there is a lot of pressure to keep abreast of the improving technology in typically lower-end camera competition from camera phones, as well as in higher end DSLRs with video capabilities. It seems that Kimura hopes to reassert Nikon’s product by marketing EVIL cameras to consumers primarily for higher quality video and video sharing, perhaps through a built-in internet mode.
However, it sounds like Nikon may have more up its sleeve than simply adding better video and internet. Kimura also said:
“It will be a camera that may take photos of the world that the traditional SLR cannot reach.”
(via Nikon Rumors)
A few guys in Los Angeles recently convinced their friend to let them borrow his new iPhone 4 (that he waited 4.5 in line for), and got onto a rooftop with the help of another friend. Using some large helium balloons, they attached the iPhone and started recording 720p video of downtown LA as it rose up to 1000 feet into the air on the end of a kite string. They also made a fun behind-the-scenes video of their project.
This setup is definitely cheaper than an RC plane or helicopter, and somewhat safer and more stable than a kite.
Here’s an interesting video by Take Zero Productions that compares the footage of the same scene recorded by both an iPhone 4 and a Canon 7D. You can also head on over to the Vimeo page to compare the footage in HD, since HD is disabled in this embedding.
Note that in the description, they write,
I was mainly focusing on the iPhone video here and didn’t have intentions of making this a comparison video so some of the 7D shots aren’t properly exposed and some aren’t even focused. But here it is regardless.
What do you think of the iPhone’s video capabilities compared to the Canon 7D?
(via Imaging Insider)
It looks like Nokia’s executive knew what he was talking about when he claimed that HD video will be hitting cell phones very soon. Preset values found in the iPhone 4 Beta SDK (software development kit) seems to show that the next iPhone will be capable of 720p resolution for video capture.
More specifically, one of the presets found in the SDK is called, “AVCaptureSessionPreset1280x720″.
It makes sense that the next iPhone would have HD video, since it’s no secret that the soon to be released Nokia N8 will have it. In fact, Nokia has already released a sneak peek clip showing the video quality.
Regarding the next iPhone’s sensor, the rumor is that it will be a 5 megapixel sensor produced by LG.
(via Mac Rumors)
Last week we reported that one of Nokia’s top execs made the prediction that cameraphones would soon make DSLRs obsolete, and that HD-video recording would be coming to mobile phones in the next 12 months. This video shows off the HD-video capabilities of the upcoming Nokia N8, captured at 720p. While we still don’t think cameraphones will win over DSLR users, this is pretty amazing footage, considering it was captured on a cell phone.
(via Gizmodo)
