Casio EX-F1 High Speed Camera test (300fps)

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jeremiahjw

Active member
EDIT: I've uploaded another video, this time shot at 600fps and featuring my shotgun

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Direct link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o6RXKEokFU


Today I received a Casio EX-F1 for an upcoming project. The reason for getting the camera is for the high speed video it can shoot. For those of you not familiar with the camera, it shoots at 60, 300, 600, & 1,200 FPS. Unfortunately it's at very low resolutions, but for the price, you can't beat that (next up from this is the Phantom Miro at 10k).

I've discovered that at 300fps with a lot of lighting and low ISO, your footage will look pretty good. Even when upscaled to 1280x720, it still looks good.

After I finish the upcoming project, I want to do an in-depth video review on the high speed aspect of this camera. Sadly, there isn't much out there on that part of the camera, and I want others to be able to decide if this would help them for anything or not.
 
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From what I recall, either it's the resolution or speed that's lower on the Casio EX- FH20. I don't know how it compares as far as still pictures and HD footage. All I needed the camera for is the high speed.

There are a couple of other cameras that shoot at 1,000fps and are under 1k, but they are in burst modes or limited time length (i.e. 10 seconds). There is even a cellphone that shoots at 1,000fps.

To get a higher resolution you'll need the Phantom Miro, which is 10k, but can be rented for a week for about $3,500.
 
I have this cam too and find it amazing..... if they can push the technology that to get, say, 300fps at ntsc... and 150fps at 720p, they would sell by the bucket load.

The 720p HD is admirable (far less jello than others) and the frameburst mode is great for 6 megapixel timelapse and very short 60p shots.

btw - the FH20 is superior for images, but the video is not very good.
 
The Phantom Miro is nice, but the Phantom HD is the best for producing cinema type video. The Miro is more of a reserach camera.

I am using the Phantom v710 in a few weeks, which shoots 1.4million fps.
 
Very nice. I'd love to have the budget for any of the phantom cams.. but no. :embarasse

I assume the real time to slow motion was done in post. Filming in slow motion and then using time warp or duration etc. to speed it back up?
 
Jeremiah,

We should collaborate on workflows over the Casio EX-F1.

I have one too, for the exact same reasons as you. Best high speed VT for the price for use on a particular upcoming project (music video)

Started compiling my shot list, but my primary concern is workflow -
I've played with the camera enough to get the best video look, but my concern is output.

I really want to work with what I know best, Premiere Pro CS4. but I'm finding a 2nd rate application, Vegas is encoding it better.

Also, have you tried slowing the 300fps even more using Twixtor or other digital slow motion affect? Using the 600fps option on the camera will lower the resolution (to unacceptable levels in my opinion), but if you shoot at 300 and use something like Twixtor to slow it even more, you can keep the resolution and gain even slower motion.

At the moment, I will soldier on with my experiments for workflow, but plan to shoot the MV end of the month.

Kris
 
Big question on this camera! Could you take the 300fps blow it up to Anamorphic 16x9 in Red Giant Instant HD and have good enough quality for stock video footage like on iStock?
 
Sorry, never heard of Red Giant Instant HD.

But i think in this case upscaling the footage won´t be good enough for iStock due to bad compression on the original material.
 
joyborch said:
Sorry, never heard of Red Giant Instant HD.

But i think in this case upscaling the footage won´t be good enough for iStock due to bad compression on the original material.
Click to expand...

The quality of the original material depends on settings and how much light you throw on it. Shooting anything high speed requires a significant amount of light or it will undoubtedly produce noise.

The type of compression it uses appears to be h.264 (when examined by media info). Whilst this is not a nice codec for editing, you can use a (free) program like MPEG Streamslip by Squared 5 (http://www.squared5.com) to change the container to something more suitable for the edit.

After much experimenting (weeks!), I think it is possible to achieve quality sufficient for istock, although only at the 300fps setting and using a good quality scaling tool (mixed reviews on Red Giant's Instant HD tool).

We're actually producing a professional music video with the camera right now. There's a 8 second test clip you can find here: http://www.vimeo.com/8482350

With a bit of creative experimentation, it's possible to get good results from this camera.


Kris
 
koster said:
The quality of the original material depends on settings and how much light you throw on it. Shooting anything high speed requires a significant amount of light or it will undoubtedly produce noise.

The type of compression it uses appears to be h.264 (when examined by media info). Whilst this is not a nice codec for editing, you can use a (free) program like MPEG Streamslip by Squared 5 (http://www.squared5.com) to change the container to something more suitable for the edit.

After much experimenting (weeks!), I think it is possible to achieve quality sufficient for istock, although only at the 300fps setting and using a good quality scaling tool (mixed reviews on Red Giant's Instant HD tool).

We're actually producing a professional music video with the camera right now. There's a 8 second test clip you can find here: http://www.vimeo.com/8482350

With a bit of creative experimentation, it's possible to get good results from this camera.


Kris
Click to expand...


koster, Can I ask you which colour correction software did you use for manipulate the image in your MV?.
Amazing footage BTW.
 
koster - man the colour on that 8 sec clip is one of the best that I have seen from this cam. It does come across abit plastic, did you apply a smooth/blur filter of some sort?

joyborch - thats a nice clip.

still trying to find a way to mix my friends casio footage with my gh1 footage at 720.
 
Does anyone have the service manual for this model? Casio EX-F1.

I want to remove the internal filter. The internal one conflicts with the external filter when we shoot video and it seems to slow down the resolution.

I have a custom made IR filter to put on the lens. That is why I need to remove the internal one. I know a piece of glass will have to replace the internal one.

Thanks
 
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