do we need 8K?

navastronia

R6 x2 (work) + 5D Classic (fun)
Aug 31, 2018
853
1,073
Hey there,

Arguments in favor of having 8K in new Canon bodies:

1) It's more future-proof (we will eventually have 8K displays and TVs) 2) It allows filmmakers to punch-in (crop) their shots without losing quality when everything is finished in 4K 3) It allows crisper video when downscaled and finished in 4K (just like exporting a 4K video to 1080p creates a crisper image)

Arguments against having 8K in new Canon bodies:

1) All other factors the same, the perceived jump in quality between 4K and 8K is miniscule or imperceptible at most display sizes. Some would argue this makes 8K unnecessary 2) 8K video is extremely storage-intensive 3) very little current hardware can even display native 8K.
 
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Mar 25, 2011
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While I don't do video, 8K definitely might change the way I shoot. If I wanted to capture a bird in flight for example, using 8K would potentially allow me to extract the best frames for a bird that was moving a lot and hard to capture with only a few frames per second. The resolution of the extracted frame will be plenty high to print. It basically turns a camera into a higher FPS unit. There may be issues doing this with a electronic shutter, as I understand it, the rolling sensor readout affects the images of rapidly moving subjects. I'd have to experiment and learn the limitations.
 
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SteveC

R5
CR Pro
Sep 3, 2019
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While I don't do video, 8K definitely might change the way I shoot. If I wanted to capture a bird in flight for example, using 8K would potentially allow me to extract the best frames for a bird that was moving a lot and hard to capture with only a few frames per second. The resolution of the extracted frame will be plenty high to print. It basically turns a camera into a higher FPS unit. There may be issues doing this with a electronic shutter, as I understand it, the rolling sensor readout affects the images of rapidly moving subjects. I'd have to experiment and learn the limitations.

My experience has been you'll see a LOT of motion blur in a particular video frame.

Maybe 8K isn't like that?
 
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navastronia

R6 x2 (work) + 5D Classic (fun)
Aug 31, 2018
853
1,073
While I don't do video, 8K definitely might change the way I shoot. If I wanted to capture a bird in flight for example, using 8K would potentially allow me to extract the best frames for a bird that was moving a lot and hard to capture with only a few frames per second. The resolution of the extracted frame will be plenty high to print. It basically turns a camera into a higher FPS unit. There may be issues doing this with a electronic shutter, as I understand it, the rolling sensor readout affects the images of rapidly moving subjects. I'd have to experiment and learn the limitations.

My experience has been you'll see a LOT of motion blur in a particular video frame.

Maybe 8K isn't like that?

Part-time video shooter here. Two main things will affect the motion blur you get in a video frame. 1) the shutter speed at which you capture your video clip (just as in photography, your shutter speed must be fast enough to freeze your subject and/or account for camera movement), and 2) the electronic scan speed of the sensor. The a9, for instance, scans at 1/160, which means that if 1/160 is fast enough to freeze your subject, you can also shoot at that speed and not have to worry about rolling shutter artifacts, which happen when using the electronic shutter, which is of course in use when you shoot video.

Most cameras are not that fast, however. The a7 series scans the sensor between 1/14 and 1/30. Much of the time, this is not fast enough to capture video without rolling shutter artifacts, unless you have very little motion in the frame (quite the opposite of a bird in flight).

My thinking at this time is, don't count on being happy with the 8K stills you pull from your video. This may change in the future, especially as global shutter cameras become more viable.

 
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Mar 25, 2011
16,848
1,835
My experience has been you'll see a LOT of motion blur in a particular video frame.

Maybe 8K isn't like that?
I don't have your experience, so I think you are probably right, or I might have to page thru 200 frames to find one that is a keeper. For me, that might be ok, but not paging thru 1000 frames.
 
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