Report on the Yi 4K+

[Mark Rosenzweig]

Originally Posted by Darren Levine

I'm noticing a fair amount of micro shakes in some shots, did you post any videos where you had the EIS turned on?

cheers

Can you cite some specifics? All the shots were from camera + gimbal. It is a fantasy that EIS can stabilize effectively when the camera is moving, and also does not severely impact resolution. For that reason, all the clips are gimbal shots precisely to avoid resolution loss and to minimize shakiness.

[Bruce Dempsey]

Hey Mark you've prolly mentioned this somewhere so forgive the question pls: Clean hdmi output?

[Bryan Quarrie]

Hi all - sorry to interrupt the thread, but this is a response to how the Yi 4k+ can perform in concert (indoor) settings (with low-ish lighting).


Here is a sample of a video of a concert I recorded last Saturday. It uses two cameras; Sony AX100 (in 4k25p, cropping in post) for the front wide shot / medium close ups shot from the back of the hall, and the Yi 4K+ (recording in 2.7k25p mode) shooting a wide-angle of the audience from the back of the stage.

(Please excuse the lighting - we don't have fill-lights yet).

I've used the 2.7k mode because it was a sort of "half-way house" between full HD and 4K (and also because you can correct the lens distortion on the camera in this mode unlike the 4K50p / 60p mode).

YouTube (Short URL)

The Yi 4k+ was actually recording for 265 minutes non-stop, and was still warm when I turned it off. This camera was connected to the mains using a long USB cable attached to a Samsung phone charger.

Note that these clips have been colour-corrected in post, but for your information some of the settings on the Yi 4k+ were as follows:

White balance: Native
Shutter speed: 1/25
No lens correction
Sharpness: low
Video Quality: medium
ISO: 1600
EV: -0.5
Flat colour.

The hall was quite warm for such a large space (even though it was about 2/3rds full).

This camera has passed the long-recording test with flying colours :). The concert went on for about 4 hours. I really REALLY like this camera! :D

[Bruce Dempsey]

Hey Bryan, could you post a clip (just a few seconds) right out of the yi camera completely un-touched in post please and thank you

[Bryan Quarrie]

Hi Bruce - Here is a raw segment from the end of the concert (unfortunately I couldn't take the cut from the clip that I originally supplied, as it would mean that I would have to re-render that section in my NLE).

The Yi 4k+ created this raw segment, as I've set the camera to record long takes as 3Gb segments, but this segment lasts about 2 minutes - Of course you don't have to watch all of it).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nztcbfjqzh...01924.MP4?dl=0

[Bruce Dempsey]

thanks Bryan

[Bryan Quarrie]

You're welcome.

One other thing to mention is that the lights were a mixture of sodium (white) and tungsten lights (the spotlights on the pulpit/stage). Also they were on constantly throughout the evening, so no changes in lighting even at the end.


PS - There is no HDMI port on this camera.

Bryan

[Mark Rosenzweig]

Originally Posted by Bryan Quarrie

One other thing to mention is that the lights were a mixture of sodium (white) and tungsten lights (the spotlights on the pulpit/stage). Also they were on constantly throughout the evening, so no changes in lighting even at the end.

Thank you for the video and clip. What is "Native" white balance? And why did you use it?

[Bryan Quarrie]

Hi Mark - To be honest I just chose Native because it seemed close to the colour look I was after. I suppose I could’ve chose Auto as the colours of the lights didn’t change throughout the concert.

Oddly the manual didn’t really say much about the Native setting either (it just says "the original colour" without a more detailed explanation), so if anyone knows, please enlighten us!

[Bryan Quarrie]

post deleted

[Bruce Dempsey]

I hate to be the one to ask but did butter from the rolls or something get smeared on the lens by accident because this is so much below what I expected from this little camera. There must be some explanation.

[Bryan Quarrie]

post deleted

[Bryan Quarrie]

Originally Posted by Bruce Dempsey

I hate to be the one to ask but did butter from the rolls or something get smeared on the lens by accident because this is so much below what I expected from this little camera. There must be some explanation.

If 2.7k mode zoomed in is still not good for you, there's always 4k mode. I havent got any indoor examples to show - maybe someone else can chime in...?

[Bruce Dempsey]

Hi Bryan
Ah zoomed in. But that is a fixed focal length lens.
By any chance did you shoot any footage without the zoom?
Thanks
Bruce

[Bryan Quarrie]

Hi Bruce - check out the original raw footage. It was already shot at its widest setting (in camera).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nztcbfjqzh...01924.MP4?dl=0

The last two clips I did post (I've taken the 2nd one down now) had "zoomed" sections that were actually cropped digitally in post (I use Magix Vegas Pro as my video editing software).

The Yi 4k+ camera is a fixed focal lens camera, but it has 3 different field of view settings built-in, depending on the video mode - Narrow, Medium and Wide. These settings basically crop the sensor to "zoom" the image to the 3 field of view settings.

Still, it is a good way to simulate multiple "angles", especially when recording in higher resolutions.

BTW - I dont know if it has been mentioned before, but the lens distortion can be corrected in-camera in 4K! (but not in 4K50/60p though). Still, the fisheye isnt as much as on other action cams I use (I also have a sony X1000V and X3000).
To me this is excellent as it means I could crop the image without making it look as if it were cropped from a fisheye image (especially when cropping or"zooming" at the corners of the footage - i.e. the Livestream Mevo "look").

Regards,
Bryan