by
Mike Tomkins
posted Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 1:59 PM EDT
Last week, I was in the delightfully quirky city of Portland, Oregon on a shoot with Sony's latest 4K-capable cameras, the Sony A7R II and Sony RX10 II. I'm back in the office now, and having had a chance to filter through the thousands of images and videos I shot on the trip, I've added even more stills from both cameras, as well as a healthy selection of videos.
Updates to the A7R II and RX10 II galleries
For both cameras, I focused on low-light and high ISO imagery in my second gallery update. My Sony A7R II gallery also got some images shot using prime lenses, while my Sony RX10 II gallery update added more portraits. But while both of these are still cameras first and foremost, it's with the videos that I had the most fun.
Following below, you can see a selection of the ultra high-def 4K and Full HD videos shot with both cameras as well as the oh-so-cool high frame-rate video I shot with the RX10 II. All of these videos are unedited and straight out of the camera, and if you want to see them prior to YouTube's recompression, you'll find links to the original videos beneath each one.
My first field test for each camera will be coming soon, so watch this space. In the meantime, you can find our previews and side-by-side comparisons with each camera's predecessor at the links below:
Sony A7R II videos
Helicopter takeoff shot at 4K resolution with a frame rate of 30 fps using the Sony A7R II in XAVC S format. Some 20 minutes later, my own flight in the same helicopter began with a turbine outlet temperature warning on takeoff, then ended rather sooner than planned. (We immediately returned to the landing zone, and in the rather gusty conditions, dropped like a brick from around 3.5-4 feet while preparing to land.)
Click to download the original file!
Lacking any gymnastic abilities myself, I'm amazed by anyone capable of performing a standing somersault. Shot in XAVC S format, 4K resolution at 30 fps with the A7R II.
Click to download the original file!
Breakdancers are cool to watch. Doubly so when they're splashing around in the water. Shot in AVCHD format, Full HD resolution at 60 fps using the Sony A7R II.
Click to download the original file!
Sony RX10 II videos
With the helicopter out of action, we used a ski lift to scale Mount Hood. Shot in XAVC S format, 4K resolution at 30 fps using the Sony RX10 II.
Click to download the original file!
An inch or so of water also makes boxing practice look a lot more visually impressive. Shot in XAVC S format, 4K resolution at 30 fps using the Sony RX10 II.
Click to download the original file!
Action is the obvious choice to slow down, but even less active subjects can benefit from high frame rate capture. Here, the same 4x slow-mo as above coupled with a shot that starts out of focus and ends up sharp gives a rather dreamy effect.
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The two-second default clip length of the RX10 II's High Frame Rate mode might seem limiting, but it's really not. For anything interesting enough to slow down, the action is usually over very quickly, and since you can let the camera record continually until you stop the video (saving only the last couple of seconds), it's easy to get everything you want in such a small window without the need for light-speed reflexes. You can, however, trade off some image quality for a longer four-second clip length, as I did here. (Again, this is 240p capture and 60p playback, for a 4x slow-mo effect.)
Click to download the original file!
Although the pocket-friendly Sony RX100 IV can also shoot HFR video, the RX10 II's more powerful lens makes the capability much more useful. I couldn't have gotten this tight crop on the boxers' footwork without getting in their way (and getting totally soaked) with the smaller camera. This particular shot uses 480p capture and 60p playback for an 8x slow-mo effect.
Click to download the original file!
I mentioned above that the RX10 II allows you to precapture video and then save only the last two or four seconds once you hit the shutter. That's great if your reflexes aren't superb, but you'll still need quick reactions to frame the shot. Here, I just lost the biker out the top of the frame, but I think the handlebar spin still makes it a cool shot. (240p capture, 24p playback, 10x slow-mo.)
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Try, try and try again: That's the order of the day with HFR video. It took a good dozen attempts to get this clip. Every time I wasn't ready or lost my framing, the skateboarder would stick his landing perfectly; every time I tracked with him, he'd lose the board. Finally, we both got our timing right in harmony, and the result was probably my favorite HFR clip of the day. (240p capture, 24p playback, 10x slow-mo.)
Click to download the original file!
You can go too slow: This breakdancer looks very cool in 20x slow-mo, but even a two-second capture time just feels too long to me, resulting in a 40-second clip that starts to get boring half-way thru. (480p capture, 24p playback, 20x slow-mo.)
Click to download the original file!
Some subjects do lend themselves to such high rates, though. Here, vibrations and flexing in the skateboard become apparent which are completely invisible to the naked eye. Expect to edit out a lot of unneeded video with such high frame rates, though. Here, I'd throw away the last three-quarters of the video, were it not for the fact that we like to show out-of-camera results here. (480p capture, 24p playback, 20x slow-mo.)
Click to download the original file!
