RAW 4K Capture Feature Coming for Frame Grabs? [CR1]

[Canon Rumors]

We’ve been told about a new feature that Canon may be working on for silent shooting mode. It’s explained below.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">… a new canon design that can do very short bursts of raw 4k video, at less than regular video frame rate, to enable high quality frame grabs in silent shooting mode…</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p class="p1">Doing frame grabs from video for stills is something a few people have been playing with since the introduction of the EOS-1D C, and Canon has even <a href="http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/abraham_joffe_on_the_eos-1d_c.do" target="_blank">put some marketing muscle</a> behind the technique. It’s likely an area that will see some advancement going forward. This is from an unknown source, so treat it accordingly.</p>
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[JoeDavid]

Compared to the amount of data they are moving in the 5Ds for 5FPS RAW shooting it shouldn't be a problem should it?

 

[PureClassA]

Nope. It's just that IF Canon were to do this, they wouldn't not want to make it 24FPS for example to protect the higher end cinema line. That said, having 18-20 FPS in 4k for an 8.8MB RAW capture could do WONDERS for the sports and journalists folks I'd imagine. Having that flexibility to nail a fast action shot just got even easier. And when they need to get shots loaded to news sites within seconds to minutes, they don't need ultimate resolution. 8.8MB is probably more than adequate

Compared to the amount of data they are moving in the 5Ds for 5FPS RAW shooting it shouldn't be a problem should it?

 

[ahsanford]

Nope. It's just that IF Canon were to do this, they wouldn't not want to make it 24FPS for example to protect the higher end cinema line. That said, having 18-20 FPS in 4k for an 8.8MB RAW capture could do WONDERS for the sports and journalists folks I'd imagine. Having that flexibility to nail a fast action shot just got even easier. And when they need to get shots loaded to news sites within seconds to minutes, they don't need ultimate resolution. 8.8MB is probably more than adequate

Photojournalists getting the perfect still from an interview? Absolutely.

But for sports folks, I thought those folks were heavily reliant on strong tracking AF performance -- wouldn't switching to video to nab stills force them into a manual focusing world? (Forgive me, I never shoot video, so please set me straight if I'm misunderstanding something.)

- A

 

[PureClassA]

But for sports folks, I thought those folks were heavily reliant on strong tracking AF performance -- wouldn't switching to video to nab stills force them into a manual focusing world? (Forgive me, I never shoot video, so please set me straight if I'm misunderstanding something.)

- A

Not with a strong DPAF tracking system and quality EOS glass. Look at what the 7D2 can pull off. And with still capture, the USM system would be fine because the audio pickup would be moot. STM has brought quieter focusing lenses, but for this application, you wouldn't need them. I don't do much video myself, I'm merely making a logical guess here.

 

[gunship01]

I hope this camera takes good pictures. At this point, it is my number one desire in specification for this model. 8)

 

[jkkk]

disclaimer: i registered pretty much just to complain. read at your own risk.

In other words, doing what RED shooters have been doing for years. I can't believe how far behind canon is in tech innovation/implementation. Magic Lantern has allowed for raw video for how long now?

Many video shooters are completely proficient at pulling focus for live events...a whole generation of wedding DSLR filmmakers have been trained to shoot this way. It's not going to replace AF burst mode (not yet, anyway), but in the right hands...man, it can come close. Find a way to sync a flash burst with it and I think you've taken a BIG step towards merging photography and video on a meaningful level....if that hasn't happened already. It's not hard to see that push: Canon did it with their 1DC "micro expression" promo video (even though motion jpeg has very clear shortcomings) and RED essentially started it by calling their systems "digital stills and motion cameras" or DSMC.

If canon doesn't start implementing this, hopefully people at ML can tinker around and do it. honestly, I think the 1DC is probably already capable of it.

 

[PureClassA]

I think Canon will have that covered

I hope this camera takes good pictures. At this point, it is my number one desire in specification for this model. 8)

 

[sportskjutaren]

Not with a strong DPAF tracking system and quality EOS glass. Look at what the 7D2 can pull off. And with still capture, the USM system would be fine because the audio pickup would be moot. STM has brought quieter focusing lenses, but for this application, you wouldn't need them. I don't do much video myself, I'm merely making a logical guess here.

As a professional sports photographer i would not use that.
The major reason is shutter speed.
Normally i use a shutter speed that is 1/800 or faster.
White filming requires shutter speeds that are a whole lot longer.
Also, prefer higher resolution. Since i crop most of my images.
(My work can be found here: http://jkpg-sports.photo/ ).

 

[gsealy]

I would say that this rumor is very possibly true. This video/stills "blended" feature would really help in some situations.

 

[YuengLinger]

Ultimately, the overwhelming number of stills will be taken this way, with quality superior to anything we currently have.

Only reactionary holdouts, the same types who cling to film, will keep trying to capture the perfect moment one shot at a time.

Cheers!

 

[Besisika]

Now you get me curious.
I said that nothing would push me to upgrade my current 1DX but this kinda wakes me up.
Bring it on!
I wouldn't say "no" for sport until I play with it. I see the potential for sport like goalball. Then, how about panning at night or dark places?
Since it is not for pure video purposes, I guess you would adapt your parameters accordingly. 4K is not that small for web, it still gives you room for cropping.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Not with a strong DPAF tracking system and quality EOS glass. Look at what the 7D2 can pull off. And with still capture, the USM system would be fine because the audio pickup would be moot. STM has brought quieter focusing lenses, but for this application, you wouldn't need them. I don't do much video myself, I'm merely making a logical guess here.

As a professional sports photographer i would not use that.
The major reason is shutter speed.
Normally i use a shutter speed that is 1/800 or faster.
White filming requires shutter speeds that are a whole lot longer.
Also, prefer higher resolution. Since i crop most of my images.
(My work can be found here: http://jkpg-sports.photo/ ).

Thanks for the comment and the link - very impressive work for sure!

Jack

 

[ahsanford]

Ultimately, the overwhelming number of stills will be taken this way, with quality superior to anything we currently have.

Only reactionary holdouts, the same types who cling to film, will keep trying to capture the perfect moment one shot at a time.

I appreciate the value of this kind of shooting, and I concede many still-only shooters will eventually use video (or super high speed shooting on/around the shutter depression) at some point, but this is still in its infancy.

Consider: as much as 8 MP is more than many folks need to share on instagram or FB, how many of us are currently taking stills with 8 MP sensors? (I mean on our dedicated rigs, not on cell phones.) So as much as I concede this will be a part of my future, I'll happily keep snapping stills for now.

- A

 

[douglaurent]

Not with a strong DPAF tracking system and quality EOS glass. Look at what the 7D2 can pull off. And with still capture, the USM system would be fine because the audio pickup would be moot. STM has brought quieter focusing lenses, but for this application, you wouldn't need them. I don't do much video myself, I'm merely making a logical guess here.

As a professional sports photographer i would not use that.
The major reason is shutter speed.
Normally i use a shutter speed that is 1/800 or faster.
White filming requires shutter speeds that are a whole lot longer.
Also, prefer higher resolution. Since i crop most of my images.
(My work can be found here: http://jkpg-sports.photo/ ).

The solution would be something like the HDRx mode in the Red cameras, who mix together two frames with two different shutter speeds. To be able to do photos and videos at the same time, every first frame could simply have the shutter speed and ISO that is best for video (like 1/50th), and each second frame is the one for photo (with for example 1/800 and automatic higher ISO). Of course this would require to have at least 48-50 frames a second, so that the video at least gets 24/25fps dedicated frames.

As annonying as the Nikon DSLRs can be regarding video, at least it's sometimes helpful to have two seperate modes for video and photo, which include different settings you can access with a switch. Shooting photo and stills of the same scene can be done with suitable settings pretty quickly, while the switch is not something you want to do 500x a day.

 

[douglaurent]

This would be a welcome feature. The future will not be photo or video anyway, it will only be photo - and if you do 1, 5, 14, 24 or 60 frames a second, or 1, 3, 24 or 1000 photos in a row to receive 1 still, a timelapse or a minute-long video out of your settings depends on the camera user.

Already 20 years ago it was clear that at some point you can stand at the loneliest place of the planet with one device, and still have access to any imaginable content ever produced. The question is always how long it will take until technology is able to deliver limitless results. Photo and video is not quite there yet, but the end can only be having raw 8k-16k pictures with 200-500fps and lowlight capabilities of an A7S2. My 2011 Red Epic MX was able to deliver 5k raw frames with 96fps, so I don't see why in the next dedace that shouldn't be possible.

Canon probably already could build such a machine or build it in the coming 2 years, but they will think that too much innovation too soon might kill their business in the longterm.

 

[thepancakeman]

I hope this camera takes good pictures. At this point, it is my number one desire in specification for this model. 8)

Fairly certain that Canon already makes a camera or two that takes good pictures.

"Wow, your camera takes great pictures!" :

 

[takesome1]

When the 1Dx and 1DC were released Canon also released stories and press releases on doing Frame Grabs.
This isn't new and I would expect you will see it.
I think Canon sees this as the way of the future, but the quality of the frame grabs from video is not high enough yet to make it appealing to the masses.

 

[kozakm00]

As a professional sports photographer i would not use that.
The major reason is shutter speed.
Normally i use a shutter speed that is 1/800 or faster.
White filming requires shutter speeds that are a whole lot longer.
Also, prefer higher resolution. Since i crop most of my images.
(My work can be found here: http://jkpg-sports.photo/ ).

It depends whether you shoot for video and later you decide to take grabs or you shoot video in order to take grabs. In the second case you can set short exposure time.

(My work can be found here: http://www.artofsport)

 

[preppyak]

Normally i use a shutter speed that is 1/800 or faster.
White filming requires shutter speeds that are a whole lot longer.

It doesnt require it, though certainly most videographers shoot shutter speeds that are lower than that.

Also, prefer higher resolution. Since i crop most of my images.

But I do think this is the reason the feature may be self-defeating. If the 1DXII already shoots 14fps or something similar, does getting 18fps or 20fps instead of 14mp make transitioning from 22MP to 8MP worth it. I think the answer for most, if not all users would be no.

I guess they could put a 24fps 4k Raw option that only records for 5s...but that probably causes more issues than its worth