New iPhone perhaps to get 120fps video recording?

[nevets88]

I thought I heard or read this somewhere, as a 64 bit cpu (I forget, all iOS devices are 32 bit, yes?) would make higher fps rates feasible on iOS? I'm surprised I don't see more high speed video taken by Android smartphone users or did I just miss them. How would having high speed video on a smartphone change the way you record the golf swing?

[clutchshot]

Currently, all iPhones are 32 bit and have 30fps cameras. When they switch to 64bit chip sets, they will obviously be able to handle a 120fps camera easier, however, whether or not they will implement this change any time soon is questionable. Obviously, a higher fps camera would help record golf swings... What is your question? haha

[iacas]

32/64 bit makes almost no difference in quadrupling the framerate of the camera. The bandwidth of the storage and the channels from the camera and so on is far more important.

In other words, my Casio likely doesn't have a 64-bit CPU.

[mchepp]

Samsung Galaxy S4 has a pretty good slow-mo video. It definitely has 120fps, and might even do 240fps, but I had to take it apart before I could figure out how fast the frame rate was. The 120fps is going to be a standard I think on most high-end smartphones. Samsung, iPhone, HTC, etc will all have it. The big guys first because they have the memory buffer space.

None will have manual exposure sadly. They just don't see the value. Most people are just taking video of water droplets or people walking slowly.

[dsc123]

Samsung Galaxy S4 has a pretty good slow-mo video. It definitely has 120fps, and might even do 240fps, but I had to take it apart before I could figure out how fast the frame rate was. The 120fps is going to be a standard I think on most high-end smartphones. Samsung, iPhone, HTC, etc will all have it. The big guys first because they have the memory buffer space.  None will have manual exposure sadly. They just don't see the value. Most people are just taking video of water droplets or people walking slowly.

That's worth upgrading in itself if works well. I'll have to play around with my wife's s4 and post a video.

[mchepp]

Originally Posted by dsc123

I'll have to play around with my wife's s4 and post a video.

Yes, please do. I can't remember if it had a timer on the slow mo recording. Some do that to reserve buffer space.

[nevets88]

Originally Posted by iacas

32/64 bit makes almost no difference in quadrupling the framerate of the camera. The bandwidth of the storage and the channels from the camera and so on is far more important.

In other words, my Casio likely doesn't have a 64-bit CPU.

That makes sense as the biggest bottleneck will limit the max speed. I just wrote verbatim what I heard. Anyways, hope the rumor is true. Need an excuse to upgrade :-)

[iacas]

It may very well do 120 FPS, but it won't be because the chip goes to 64-bit. That's all I'm sayin'.

[dsc123]

So here's what the Galaxy S4's slow motion video looks like.  Its probably safe to say the new iPhone's slow motion will be similar.

Its a bit harder to work a camera on your phone.  For the face on videos I had a friend hold the camera.  For the DL view I wedged my phone into my putter head cover and wedged that between some clubs in my bag.

It certainly loses resolution at that speed, but I think that's less important than actually capturing the shaft position with little blur.  My only real complaint is that this camera adds 30+ lbs.

It plays back at that speed too, which is helpful when you're at the range.  And you can trim the clip very easily on the phone.  These videos are each about 3MB, which is significantly smaller than the files I was uploading previously.

I think this is a game changer.  You've got to spend over $250 to get a camera that will do this, and here you can have a top end phone that does it for $200 (with a 2 year contract, of course).  I was on the fence between getting the new Samsung or the new HTC and this seals it for me.

[TourSpoon]

That video slow mo is good enough for what I would need it for. Much better than the iPhone that I am using now.

[Beachcomber]

So here's what the Galaxy S4's slow motion video looks like.  Its probably safe to say the new iPhone's slow motion will be similar.

Its a bit harder to work a camera on your phone.  For the face on videos I had a friend hold the camera.  For the DL view I wedged my phone into my putter head cover and wedged that between some clubs in my bag.

It certainly loses resolution at that speed, but I think that's less important than actually capturing the shaft position with little blur.  My only real complaint is that this camera adds 30+ lbs.

It plays back at that speed too, which is helpful when you're at the range.  And you can trim the clip very easily on the phone.  These videos are each about 3MB, which is significantly smaller than the files I was uploading previously.

I think this is a game changer.  You've got to spend over $250 to get a camera that will do this, and here you can have a top end phone that does it for $200 (with a 2 year contract, of course).  I was on the fence between getting the new Samsung or the new HTC and this seals it for me.

Thanks for posting this dsc123.  Color me impressed... Nice swing bud.  Looks like the S4 is a great phone for capturing the golf swing, and agree that for the price, it is going to eat into a niche market that the GoPro was carving out.

I used to film my golf swings using the 30fps iPhone 4 all the time (see myswing thread for examples).  And was never happy with the shaft blur, and issues seeing what my hands/wrist/arms/elbows were doing at A6+++.  So this past Christmas my wife got me the GoPro Black which films at 240fps at WVGA (800 x 480) resolution.  And I couldn't be happier with the GoPro.  But after seeing your videos, at 120fps, I'm glad to see that technology is improving, and phones are now getting beefed up to handle videoing the Golf swing.

All-in-all, a $200 phone with contract being able to film a golf swing is pretty impressive.  I've got ~ $700 (guesstimate) in my GoPro setup once I purchased all the supporting gadgets, chargers, etc. etc.  So while it would be a pain in the ass to mount the S4 - I think there would be creative solutions to overcome the mounting issues.

Hopefully by the time I go to get my next phone purchase (I just upgraded to the iPhone 5 earlier this summer)... Which will be in ~ two years... By that time they have increased the performance even more of the mobile phones camera/video ability.  I'd love to see a phone that could do 720p resolution at 240fps or higher - and eliminate the fisheye effect that is found on the GoPro.

Regarding the resolution of the S4... What does it support at the 120fps?  Looks like native VGA (640 x 480)?  Does anyone have the actual resolution specs on the S4 vs iPhone 5S at 120fps?  Just curious what native res will be supported by these phones.

Oh, and I got a great laugh out of the 30+lbs comment!

[dsc123]

Regarding the resolution of the S4... What does it support at the 120fps?  Looks like native VGA (640 x 480)?  Does anyone have the actual resolution specs on the S4 vs iPhone 5S at 120fps?  Just curious what native res will be supported by these phones.

I found it frustratingly difficult to find specs on the camera.  I couldn't even find anything official that confirmed it had 120fps--it all said 30 fps plus a "slow motion" mode.  I get the sense that they don't realize that they've stumbled onto a huge selling point for golfers.

[mchepp]

So here's what the Galaxy S4's slow motion video looks like.  Its probably safe to say the new iPhone's slow motion will be similar.

I think in the slow motion mode there is a setting that allows you to slow it down even further. Did you set it at the slowest setting?

[dsc123]

That's the slowest it goes, 1/8 speed, which I imagine is 120 fps based on 30 standard. If I load it into eriks analyzer software I can go frame by frame and it looks more impressive. If you have the software import my video and check it out.

[mchepp]

That's the slowest it goes, 1/8 speed, which I imagine is 120 fps based on 30 standard. If I load it into eriks analyzer software I can go frame by frame and it looks more impressive. If you have the software import my video and check it out.

I wasn't sure what the max was. I never verified. Good to know it is 120.

I do have the software, and I have checked it out.

I think now that the only advantage of the still camera for video is manual exposure which is all but gone except for a few older models. I could make an argument that battery power could be an issue with using the phone for golf swings. Maybe not right away but it may run your battery down where you need to charge it before the day is over.

[nevets88]

Shot with iPhone 5S 120 fps

[mmoan2]

Shot with iPhone 5S 120 fps

I don't see the link here. Can you post it again please?

[iacas]

I don't see the link here. Can you post it again please?

It's a video (on Vimeo). Look at it on your computer if you're on a mobile device or something.