Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode at DVinfo.net

Adam Welz · February 22nd, 2011, 02:45 PM

Hi All

I've just put up a blog post on the NX5's Smooth Slow Rec feature. Take a look...

Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5′s slow-mo mode Adam Welz's NXCAM Blog

Cheers

Adam

Dave Luda · February 22nd, 2011, 06:44 PM

Thanks Adam!

I do like this feature. I don't think you can get an "over-cranking" option like this on any other camera in this price range, or can you?

The 3/6/12 is fine because honestly how long do you want to watch slo-mo? I think it's an effect that works well sparingly. I do however wish you could step the shutter speeds lower for some cool in camera effects. I would also think you need your subject well lit at 250+.

It's great for analyzing human movements, I wonder how well it would do in nature. We get hummingbirds at our lake home all the time. I'm going to have to try this and see if it can capture wing movement.

I will see if I can find anything interesting to use this on. Does anybody else have any interesting footage using Smooth Slow Rec?

Tom Hardwick · February 23rd, 2011, 03:20 AM

I've had fun with the slo-mo simply filming flowers in the garden. When you've got Steadyshot on your side as well as high shutter speeds and a four times slowing of the footage, you can be quite 'brave', as any bumps you inadvertently put into the clip will be smoothed beautifully.

So I've been filming hand-held at long focal lengths, using the 3 seconds mode. Anything longer is just party-piece stuff because of the image degradation, but cool for showing back on the NX5's top screen.

Anyway, when filming in those 3 seconds, do a quick track (walk) around the flowers, pulling focus at the same time. I use the 'focus assist' whereby you stay in auto-focus, but simply give the lens a quick twist in the 'closer' direction. You've only got 3 seconds remember - and you have to act 'unnaturally' fast.

As I say, slowed down 4x it's beautifully fluid and the enforced high shutter speed helps to keep the aperture wide for differential focus. Love it.

tom.

John Mercer · February 23rd, 2011, 05:06 AM

It is a useful feature but be aware that it interpolates and affects resolution quite heavily, it is not true progressive over cranking. It is similar to what you would do in a NLE by interpolating interlaced footage to smooth slo mo by using fields as frames. I used it on a commercial and I was very pleased with the smooth slo-mo upon playback but in the edit suite I had to de-interlace it further to remove line flicker.

Chris Adeyefa · February 23rd, 2011, 07:37 AM

Tom i'd love to see some footage of your 3 second walkaround method. Do you have a youtube or vimeo channel?

Tom Hardwick · February 23rd, 2011, 09:04 AM

Sorry Chris - all done for my own amusement and learning, now all erased. What you quickly learn is how surprisingly fast you have to move in those three seconds, and of course being digital it costs you nothing at all except your time.

tom.

Kyle Root · February 23rd, 2011, 11:19 AM

Good info. Thanks for sharing. I will definately experiment with this feature!

Tad Newberry · February 23rd, 2011, 01:49 PM

We "discovered" this feature AFTER i bought the camera! We were shooting a bird hunting show and ran across the setting, tried it, and loved the results (in the viewfinder anyway). We got some good medium shots of pheasants as they flush out of the brush, flapping their wings at 25% speed! Pretty cool! Then got it home and looked on the monitor and saw the sub-par resolution. I guess i'll shrink it a bit and use it only in a smaller window on the show. Do you know if there is anyway to improve the final look of these? Either way, it is still a pretty cool feature.

Tom Hardwick · February 24th, 2011, 02:07 AM

As I say Tad, the best way to hide the resolution loss seems to be to down-convert all the rest of the footage. In other words a DVD that includes these 3 (=12) second clips shows them off at nearly DVD resolution. Not one person I've shown them too has been anything but impressed by the 'fluidity of my walking while pulling focus', and with 12 seconds to play with I generally keep the best 8 seconds from the centre of the clip.

Of course you shoot MOS (mit out sound) and this is a shame. If I get the couple to do a twirl the bride usually gives a squeal of pleasure (fright?) and this is so useful to have in the finished film. I generally slow the real-time twirl to about 40% and add the original audio at 100% of course. But if I shoot in the super slow mode it's mute and herein's the balancing act.

Of course to match that slo-mo speed the real-time timeline would have to be stretched to 25% speed, and this is asking a lot on something such as a twirl with so much movement. To add to this I usually radially track the couple in the opposite direction, and under these circumstances the super slo-mo certainly gives the better picture quality.

tom.

February 22nd, 2011, 02:45 PM	#1
Adam Welz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New York, USA Posts: 111	Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode Hi All I've just put up a blog post on the NX5's Smooth Slow Rec feature. Take a look... Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5′s slow-mo mode Adam Welz's NXCAM Blog Cheers Adam

February 22nd, 2011, 06:44 PM	#2
Dave Luda Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 63	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode Thanks Adam! I do like this feature. I don't think you can get an "over-cranking" option like this on any other camera in this price range, or can you? The 3/6/12 is fine because honestly how long do you want to watch slo-mo? I think it's an effect that works well sparingly. I do however wish you could step the shutter speeds lower for some cool in camera effects. I would also think you need your subject well lit at 250+. It's great for analyzing human movements, I wonder how well it would do in nature. We get hummingbirds at our lake home all the time. I'm going to have to try this and see if it can capture wing movement. I will see if I can find anything interesting to use this on. Does anybody else have any interesting footage using Smooth Slow Rec? Last edited by Dave Luda; February 23rd, 2011 at 06:27 AM.

February 23rd, 2011, 03:20 AM	#3
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode I've had fun with the slo-mo simply filming flowers in the garden. When you've got Steadyshot on your side as well as high shutter speeds and a four times slowing of the footage, you can be quite 'brave', as any bumps you inadvertently put into the clip will be smoothed beautifully. So I've been filming hand-held at long focal lengths, using the 3 seconds mode. Anything longer is just party-piece stuff because of the image degradation, but cool for showing back on the NX5's top screen. Anyway, when filming in those 3 seconds, do a quick track (walk) around the flowers, pulling focus at the same time. I use the 'focus assist' whereby you stay in auto-focus, but simply give the lens a quick twist in the 'closer' direction. You've only got 3 seconds remember - and you have to act 'unnaturally' fast. As I say, slowed down 4x it's beautifully fluid and the enforced high shutter speed helps to keep the aperture wide for differential focus. Love it. tom.

February 23rd, 2011, 05:06 AM	#4
John Mercer Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Spain Posts: 73	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode It is a useful feature but be aware that it interpolates and affects resolution quite heavily, it is not true progressive over cranking. It is similar to what you would do in a NLE by interpolating interlaced footage to smooth slo mo by using fields as frames. I used it on a commercial and I was very pleased with the smooth slo-mo upon playback but in the edit suite I had to de-interlace it further to remove line flicker.

February 23rd, 2011, 07:37 AM	#5
Chris Adeyefa Regular Crew Join Date: May 2010 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 60	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode Tom i'd love to see some footage of your 3 second walkaround method. Do you have a youtube or vimeo channel? __________________ Director / VFX Editor -- Sony HXR-NX5U, Canon 60D DSLR -- Premiere Pro CS5, After Effects CS5

February 23rd, 2011, 09:04 AM	#6
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode Sorry Chris - all done for my own amusement and learning, now all erased. What you quickly learn is how surprisingly fast you have to move in those three seconds, and of course being digital it costs you nothing at all except your time. tom.

February 23rd, 2011, 11:19 AM	#7
Kyle Root Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Decatur, AL Posts: 883	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode Good info. Thanks for sharing. I will definately experiment with this feature! __________________ Kyle KR Productions; www.kyleroot.com

February 23rd, 2011, 01:49 PM	#8
Tad Newberry New Boot Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 9	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode We "discovered" this feature AFTER i bought the camera! We were shooting a bird hunting show and ran across the setting, tried it, and loved the results (in the viewfinder anyway). We got some good medium shots of pheasants as they flush out of the brush, flapping their wings at 25% speed! Pretty cool! Then got it home and looked on the monitor and saw the sub-par resolution. I guess i'll shrink it a bit and use it only in a smaller window on the show. Do you know if there is anyway to improve the final look of these? Either way, it is still a pretty cool feature.

February 24th, 2011, 02:07 AM	#9
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Smooth Slow Rec: The NX5's slo-mo mode As I say Tad, the best way to hide the resolution loss seems to be to down-convert all the rest of the footage. In other words a DVD that includes these 3 (=12) second clips shows them off at nearly DVD resolution. Not one person I've shown them too has been anything but impressed by the 'fluidity of my walking while pulling focus', and with 12 seconds to play with I generally keep the best 8 seconds from the centre of the clip. Of course you shoot MOS (mit out sound) and this is a shame. If I get the couple to do a twirl the bride usually gives a squeal of pleasure (fright?) and this is so useful to have in the finished film. I generally slow the real-time twirl to about 40% and add the original audio at 100% of course. But if I shoot in the super slow mode it's mute and herein's the balancing act. Of course to match that slo-mo speed the real-time timeline would have to be stretched to 25% speed, and this is asking a lot on something such as a twirl with so much movement. To add to this I usually radially track the couple in the opposite direction, and under these circumstances the super slo-mo certainly gives the better picture quality. tom.