Andrew Reid

Thanks to the first donator - Rich. jdv - I am not limiting discussion, but we need to focus on what is technically achievable and if Someone1.00 wants to go about things in a certain order, with a specific structure for technical reasons, I need to facilitate that in the community. The VG20 thread will be alive and well in the NEX Hack Forum so those who want that camera to be hacked like yourself will get a say. To my knowledge the VG20 is very similar in terms of hardware and in terms of the firmware encryption used to the NEX 5N. So I fully expect the patches to port over, once (if) the new breed firmware encryption is overcome by Someone1.00. At the moment, the first gen encryption is overcome so we must concentrate on patches and testing on the A55 until the new cameras arrive at his door, thanks to generous donations like the one Rich just made. Please everybody donate. I can't stress this enough! Even if you don't have a Sony camera. The hack could make a NEX, VG or Alpha so desirable you will want to buy one. This was certainly the case with the 'GH13'.

Please note: Download and install at own risk Donate now! It's real. Sony A55 owners rejoice, for Someone 1.00's first hack is now available and can be downloaded from the EOSHD forum. The patcher app is able to overcome the A55 firmware encryption and is the basis for adding bitrate patches and new menu options later on. The NEX 5 patcher I believe will also be offered down download soon. Now Someone 1.00 is looking for A55 testers (view relevant thread here) to test new features and find their way as a team with the firmware, plus donations for NEX 3, NEX 5N and A77 bodies for testing and opening up for analysis. The firmware will need to be dumped and decrypted, for that he needs the actual camera hardware in his hands and more than one body. So the more people who can donate, the better!

Quick update. Looks like we have found a member of the Magic Lantern team to oversee the donations. Big thanks to Malcolm for that. Once that is set up at PayPal, I'll put a donate button on the forums and once the funds reach the required amount our hacker will be getting his test bodies to sacrifice on the alter of NEX hacking :)

Here's my understanding of it in a nutshell and it is really quite simple. Bitrate is measured per second, so the more frames per second the more compressed and muddy each will be unless you use I-frames and higher bitrates. B frames and 'magic' can only get you so far. Sure you cam shift the bitrate allocation about, right down to even macro blocks within a single frame but eventually you will run out. Plus H.264 has a habit of shifting too much allocation away from areas of the image like the sky, causing banding. GH2 hack really helped with that.

Why does each frame in 1080p/60p look more compressed than the same frame in 24p then? It's not just about motion estimation but the amount of detail per frame, and more frames = more data.

Any news on this? Does it work with the Ninja and is 5:4 clean?

The FS100 has an implementation of AVCHD that is as good as it gets, for better you definitely need to double the bitrate no question. By the way it isn't so much 24p at 24Mbit which is the problem on the FS100 but 60p at 28Mbit, because bitrate is allocated variably per frame. The more frames the more the available data is thinly spread across them.

Hi Greg the camera isn't even finished or out of the factory yet so you won't find a review yet anywhere. Stay tuned.

Less megapixels don't equal more DR any more. Red confirmed this with the new Dragon sensor. 6K and 15 stops of DR! That is a similar megapixel count to the 22MP of the 5D Mark III or 24MP of the A99. It all comes down to pixel design not pixel count. And of course the way the data is read off the sensor and the way it is downscaled for video. And nobody would claim raw stills from the 22MP 5D Mark III lack for dynamic range.

There is a lot more work to do, yes. It was someone else who claimed the 46Mbit, so far not much more info is out about that. I prefer to concentrate on needs of the project, and achieving goals as laid out by Someone 1.00 so please keep the topics on that...

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/nex-5n-canon-samyang-and-sd.jpg[/img] [url="http://www.eoshd.com/comments/forum/12-sony-nex-hack/"]I have set up a dedicated forum for the Sony NEX Hack here[/url] A guy named Someone 1.00 is able to hack the NEX series of Sony mirrorless cameras for higher bitrates in video mode and more. [url="http://www.eoshd.com/comments/forum/12-sony-nex-hack/"]Discuss the hack here[/url] and support Someone 1.00 in his efforts. The video after the break shows the hack in action, and proof that it can be done.

What you list is pretty amazing, when you have all that (inc. peaking, etc.) what 'cinema quality features' are you referring to that would improve a DSLR? Raw codec? We have Blackmagic for that. 10bit colour, etc.? It doesn't make a huge difference. I'd be very happy with that list alone.

[quote name='RichST' timestamp='1344583553' post='15257'] Very interesting, I wonder just how Sony will improve its video capture ability? Best case scenario is that they do a full sensor scan and downscale it. But I just don't think that's possible at that price point. A c300 type readout would also yield excellent results but again I think that's too high end. Perhaps they've figured out how Panasonic grabs the video capture from its GH sensors and will use something like that. [/quote] My speculation: They won't do a full sensor capture or C300 readout because the 24MP count is too high for stuff like that, instead I think they will do something similar to the GH2 which samples intelligently on the sensor, outputs something like 4MP, then downsamples that to 1080p on the image processor side. Leica R: Good tips Samuel I have some of the same glass and it's great. Prices are steadily going up but you can still get some bargains, mainly outside of eBay in 2nd hand stores along the high street.

[quote name='Rungunshoot' timestamp='1344547920' post='15234'] How bout IBIS? It would be amazing if the camera offered sensor-shift stabilization with little or no crop factor. [/quote] Good point, that would be great on legacy M42 adapted lenses if it worked with non-Sony stuff like the Olympus IBIS does. I am sure we will see IBIS as Alpha lenses don't have optical image stabilisation as standard.

[quote name='mike_tee_vee' timestamp='1344545168' post='15232'] Why mess around with the Alpha Mount? Sticking with it is extremely limiting, and just another example of Sony's insistance on proprietary products. It's a legacy mount. Traditional DSLRs are at a saturation point, while the mirrorless market share is growing. I can easily see Sony placing the Alpha mount on the backburner much like Olympus and Panasonic have with the original Four Thirds mount. In terms of workflow, many of the lenses used on the FS100 will not be usable on an A99. [/quote] Hmm it isn't really a proprietary thing, it is something they inherited from Konica Minolta. It is simply a short straw that's all. Because of all the mounts ONE has to be biggest doesn't it? As I said before, way for Sony to fix this is offer completely non-standard mirrorless full frame mount and create hot swappable mount which you can change. They already have the Alpha SLT mount hot swappable, you can use it on the NEX mount and FS100. You will never see an E-Mount sensor size larger than APS-C. The sensor will not physically fit into that mount circumference and the flange distance is too short to get decent optical performance in the corners. The Leica M flange distance is larger than E-Mount for same reason...optical performance in the corners.

[quote name='tungah' timestamp='1344520414' post='15200'] The "problem" I see with the Sony is the mount. Forget about using inexpensive Nikon AIS glass... and Alpha lenses is hard to come by here in Brazil, at least at reasonable prices anyways. Andrew, what do you know about the GH3? Any info on that? [/quote] Sure Nikon AIS glass is good value, but you know what - I don't have any. Prefer Contax Zeiss. Sadly those will have to be converted to work on the Alpha mount, rather than adapted. Yes the mount will be an issue for people heavily invested in non-Sony glass because they can't adapt it. Maybe Sony have something up their sleeve with the A99 to allow that. So far they have been very supportive of adapting lenses on NEX cameras, even showcasing third party adapter rings in the official Sony Centre here in Berlin and selling them alongside the NEX lenses. For those with smaller collection of lenses, well the solution is to do a bit of eBaying. Here's what I do if the A99 is the hit I think it will be for video. I'll sell my Samyang EOS mount stuff and replace it with Samyang's Alpha mount versions for same price, possibly the Cine editions that were announced today (14, 24, 35). Another lens I use on full frame is Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 at the 16mm end and that is available for same price as EOS mount version in Alpha mount too. Next up I will likely sell my 85mm Contax Zeiss and upgrade to the newer ZA Zeiss version, though of course it will cost £300 more. For those on budget the Samyang 85mm F1.4 is great value for money and in Sony mount too. Then we come to the Alpha glass, there might be some nice choices there (they have a telephoto lens optimised especially for awesome looking bokeh for example that I thought about using on my existing cameras) but really unless you want AF and some zooms you can save money and stick to non Sony stuff. As for ultra affordable, what about Minolta primes on eBay? See, there are options and it isn't the end of the world because of the Alpha mount unless you have tons of L stuff that you can't afford to swap out for the Alpha equivalent. I do agree that the biggest obstacle to Sony's success in the pro market for photography is indeed that people are locked into vast investments in Canon and Nikon glass. If I were Sony I'd make the SLT assembly and Alpha mount detachable from a new mirrorless full frame mount. Essentially imagine the NEX SLT adapter as part of the camera, and it comes off when you need to put on a Canon or Nikon mount instead.

[quote name='hoodlum' timestamp='1344518186' post='15199'] Sony seems to be the only one willing to cannibalize their own products. Every other camera manufacturer tries to project their higher margin products. The RX100 is another example where Sony put all of the latest processing technology and manual controls in a 1" sensor compact camera. It even has the same menu as the Alpha line. I wish others would do the same. [/quote] Too right. All the market segmentation is crappy, just let the individual products stand up on their own and let them be the best they can possibly be given the technology for the price.

[quote name='Germy1979' timestamp='1344514093' post='15195']"They are stills cameras @sshole!!!!" - already, lol.[/quote] Yeah, that got old a long time ago didn't it? Round about the time anyone with a clue started offering video production as well as just photography.

[quote name='Samuel H' timestamp='1344510187' post='15189'] I wouldn't be THAT optimistic. "We wanted to put real great PRO video into this camera" and "we added a continuous LED light on top of it" are somewhat difficult to mix together. I'd bet they've put more effort into AF than in using a great codec. As usual, wait and see... [/quote] Just the focus of the product planner on video is enough to make it better than the current stuff. It will be first time any DSLR has been optimised for video performance. All the Canon video modes are a hack. And the GH2 is a good attempt but weak sensor relative to full frame.

The price that has been rumoured so far has been in $2500 range. Please bear in mind what a properly video optimised full frame sensor is capable of. We're talking massive amounts of dynamic range, incredible low light, full frame depth of field and much better colour than any of the sensors with smaller pixels. People have a common misconception that we have that already with the 5D Mark III and D800. You don't at all. You have 1/10th of that it could be. Because they are optimised for stills not video.

Haha nice analogy. Well the Alpha mount is not the most adaptable, certainly true. Expensive depends on what is in the box though really, and I think it will be explosive. Not literally I hope! GH3 and A99 have major possibility of providing far better image quality and all-round usability / featureset than any of the current favourites, be it FS100, Blackmagic Cinema Camera or 5D. Some on Twitter have been underestimating the significance of product planning too. They say it is just a rumour and proof is in the pudding. But for me the pudding is mostly in the cooking and the 5D Mark III was cooked up for photography not video. The chef in this instance is a videographer. That news alone is enough to have me very excited for the A99.

[url="http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sony-a900-a99-full-frame.jpg"][img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sony-a900-a99-full-frame.jpg[/img][/url] [i]Above: Sony's previous foray into full frame, the A900[/i] With Canon this year failing to capitalise in my view, on their huge gains in the video market following the successful 5D Mark II, I have long wondered when one of the big 3 would get it right and give us what we need - a full frame DSLR with equal emphasis on pro video and stills. My friend Sony Alpha Rumors, a blog so often the recipient of genuine information rates this news highly because it is from multiple trusted top sources and I myself have heard whispers of Sony's approach which match, so I don't doubt it. Professional filmmakers and videographers were involved in the planning stages of the camera for 2 years. The A99 strategy is one of convergence and not only will the camera have the best possible video image quality but Sony are building a video infrastructure around the product to support it. These developments are incredibly significant... http://www.eoshd.com/content/8709/top-sources-say-sony-developing-full-frame-a99-as-hybrid-gh2-like-dslr-targeting-professional-filmmakers

[quote name='jgharding' timestamp='1344425319' post='15132']Just as with microphones, where the physical size of the diaphragm simply is a contributing factor to the sound no matter what other tech is strapped around it, it seems the same is true of the image-capture area: you can't fake the physical reality of the size of that part however hard you try. Will there ever be a way to make photo-diodes behave more like film? Some kind of pseudo-lightfield microlens technology but used for traditional capture not gimmicky post DOF control? to broaden their angle of absorption and the spread of light in an organic way? Am I being intuitive here, or absurd? [/quote] I think a lot of the feel of video is the fault of the display technology rather than the actual camera side. I think the sensors we have today are all very closely matched and there's no reason, lens aside, that a smaller micro four thirds or BMD sensor cannot look as cinematic as a one in a camera that is considered 'soft, organic and film-like' like the 5D or C300. Certainly upping the bitrate doesn't make for a less cinematic image or a more electronic video feel. What I believe is happening here is that sharp and detailed images are done a disservice by laptop screens, LCD monitors, even some high end TVs and projectors because they are too clinical, too punchy and too vibrant. The fact that the modern lenses are also this way, conspires against the sensor and yet we too often blame the camera for giving us a 'video-like' image! Certainly there are some cameras that are more cinematic than others but the bigger varying factors are almost certainly in the display side of things, and the lensing. Remember the film guys even accuse the Alexa and F65 of looking 'too digital', and we know that is not the case. Lots of beautiful organic and soft cinema out there shot on the 5D and GH2 let alone the Alexa. It is all about hiding the digital nature of an image with the right projection format and the right lenses. As a DP at least you can fix one of those, the other you unfortunately don't have as much control of!

The camera in handheld twilight mode is completely insane in low light. Layering 6 shots together is done so intelligently that even if you have moving crowds and traffic in the shot you don't get ghosting, just amplified signal to noise ratio and cleaner images. These were shot handheld(!!) in extremely dark areas of Berlin in the middle of the night. Shutter was as low as 1/8 in some cases, and I was still getting pin sharp images with no tripod. In fact the images look like long exposures on a tripod, because before the RX100 that was the only way you'd be able to get shots like this, frankly. [url="http://www.eoshd.com/comments/gallery/image/68-dsc00810/"]http://www.eoshd.com...ge/68-dsc00810/[/url] DSC00810 Album: Sony RX100 Handheld Twilight Shots Uploaded 08 Aug 2012 - 07:55

Forget the hack, you are no longer going to need it. Cannot say any more. Photokina... I will be there!!