Sony A6100 / A7000 rumors

Vitaliy_Kiselev

To achieve true HDR video recording, the advanced Exmor RS camera sensor in Xperia Z changes the exposure every two lines of pixels. This creates a spatially varying exposure (SVE) array image, which is then used to make an image that is perfectly exposed in both dark and light areas.

To simplify the concept, for each frame the camera shoots one picture with two different exposure levels at the same time, one light and one dark. Then, an intelligent software algorithm is used to combine (synthesize) the two shots into one picture, pixel by pixel. This allows you to see the details of both the dark and the bright parts of the picture.

Idea is extremely obvious, useful for 1080p video, but this will also mean that aliasing, most probably, will be worse.

joethepro

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sony-china-teases-new-e-mount-camera-and-new-e-mount-lenses/

joethepro

Who wants to guess whether Sony listened to the complaints about the a5100/a6000 inability to control noise reduction and face smoothing (when face recognition is active) in video mode for the next release? Im guessing.... NO.

joethepro

Im hoping this cam will have a fully rotating screen viewable from the front.

Aria

I think Sony just re-thought the release to give their other new cameras some breathing room. They've been moving kind of fast.

Manu4Vendetta

Vitaliy, I dont know what think about. The new AXXXX has been announced and delayed several times.

Could it be true that Sony has not beaten the problem of overheating or just interested in the full frame, of course, based on the rumors.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@Manu4Vendetta

Something tells me that we can see new announcement date and reverse of it few times before February.

Manu4Vendetta

@joethepro, has been delayed for february 2016. :(

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr4-a6xxx-announcement-again-delayed-til-february-2016/

joethepro

Any word on when we can expect more deets?

Manu4Vendetta

Tomorrow we will know the truth.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Recently the rumors about this camera are contradictory; 24MP, 32MP, 4K, not 4K, if 4K, 3 axis, 5 axis, body sealed, not body sealed.

Sony fully cut leaks. Reviewers and people who has access to information had been told that any suspicion will lead to full ban on any new stuff.

Manu4Vendetta

A mini A7RII?

Recently the rumors about this camera are contradictory; 24MP, 32MP, 4K, not 4K, if 4K, 3 axis, 5 axis, body sealed, not body sealed.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@joethepro

It is clear that we are at new round of megapixel wars. Logic has nothing to do with it.

joethepro

32MP on APS-C?!?! We are in crazy times. I assume this is only possible (with acceptable noise levels) due to the BSI? We just dont need 32 freaking MP, though. Give us the same 24 MP with less noise...

Definitely excited about the other specs, though. We are going to see a hefty price spike with this model.

mpgxsvcd

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

Some more specs:

32mp BSI sensor with 285 PDAF points 5-axis IBIS 4K video Improved EVF 14.5fps in photos Mic-input

That is disappointing...... Said no one, ever.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Some more specs:

32mp BSI sensor with 285 PDAF points
5-axis IBIS
4K video
Improved EVF
14.5fps in photos
Mic-input

joethepro

I just hope they add an option to control noise reduction in video mode. Their current mode of ON FULL BLAST is horrendous.

mpgxsvcd

Sounds similar to interlacing. I hate interlacing on progressive displays. There is no way this is going to look better with all of that interpolation going on.

Just give me 10 bit losslessly compressed RAW video output already. I will figure out how to record it onto whatever media I want to store it on.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Well, rumor sites think that camera can be announced this Friday. But they have no clue about anything :-)

apefos

The idea of using two alternate lines for HDR video is not new.

Automotive and Security cameras are using this idea from some time ago because this kind of cameras needs to see shadows and bright areas. Dark garage and bright outdoor, dark tunel and bright road in front are examples.

Also the magic lantern firmware has the dual iso for photo and video which uses this same approach, but they does not have a good reconstruction to avoid aliasing...

I was thinking about how the algorithm could reconstruct the image without aliasing. I started with two ideas: first the simple interpolation to recreate the missing lines using the information from lines above and below, and , to improve the anti-aliasing, using the information from some pixels from each side also. Second the algorithm could get the information from the dark lines and multiply the pixel values using the exposure difference to recreate the missing bright lines, and divide the bright lines using the exposure difference to recreate the missing lines in shadows. 3 fstops difference => shadow lines x 8 = missing bright lines, bright lines / 8 = missing shadows lines. This can give bad results if shutter speed is different for each exposure, but if the difference is in ISO with same shutter speed this can work. A good low noise sensor will be welcome for this. A third option would be to use the two approaches in a more complex algorithm for a better image reconstruction.

If the sensor record 4k video using 3840 x 2160 pixels as the GH4 and A7S are doing, it will be possible to do a good 4K HDR using 3840 x 1080 lines for shadows and 3840 x 1080 lines for bright areas and reconstruct both images and merge. If the sensor uses more pixels in a full readout maybe the reconstruction will be even better.

As I said before: they can do it well, they just need to be willing to do.

I believe the Nikon HoneyComb sensor and Fuji/Panasonic and Samsung organic approaches can be better to avoid aliasing, but there are just patent/initial tests showing it, they are not real yet, not ready to implement, will take more time.

nomad

@apefos

Most good sensors these days can "see" much more DR than our display technologies can show. So, you can either reduce the contrast in camera – that's what "looks" or Rec709 are doing – or decide in post what you want to keep and what to throw out. This process is called color grading.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

I think this kind of hdr is much better solution compared to s-log2 and v-log because there is no need of post production grading to recover the image, saves time and effort.

I think you confuse two different things.

Log formats exist only because source have much more information than final encoded file. Normal and log approaches are just two different methods to pack this info.

With HDR you, actually, have bigger problem, as you still have 8-bit final file and even wider DR :-)

Proper approach not used now by manufacturers (for consumers and individuals) was to have two independent streams, one non-log normal video and another specially processed and formed video representing all remaining information. So editor can get necessary information in case of grading.

apefos

@nomad I just do not know... but maybe the processor from old cameras was not fast enough to do it, today some cameras are doing full sensor readout instead of line skipping because the processor is fast enough, or it was just market decisions to keep the image not so good in cheap cameras...

if they allow change the iso instead of shutter speed difference the time arartifacts will be solved, but some amount of noise will be present, maybe the two approaches together... some shutter some iso... who knows...

nikon honeycomb sensor is better design than this lines alternation to avoid time artifacts. there is also the waited organic sensor from fuji/panasonic...

I think this kind of hdr is much better solution compared to s-log2 and v-log because there is no need of post production grading to recover the image, saves time and effort.

we are in the beggining of hdr video solutions, lots of poor or "so so" results will come, until the perfect solution shows up within some years... so people will keep buying a new camera each year...

nomad

@apefos If it were easy to rebuild missing lines, why is nobody doing it for those pixel-skipping moiré prone cameras?

Anyway, Red with their temporal approach to HDR is showing artifacts in fast movement and I expect the same from this concept, since they also take two different exposures.

Arri's Alexa is doing something similar, and you can see it (albeit in rare situations).

Vitaliy_Kiselev

This means both images and recorded video are capable of 15.5 stops of dynamic range!

And this is mostly fantasy part (as it can be in quite wide range). We'll see after release.

kurth

from the sonyrumors page -

This means both images and recorded video are capable of 15.5 stops of dynamic range!

if true...sony is unstoppable ! this camera will take over the midrange market .

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