Shooting super-slow-motion movies (High Frame Rate)

By shooting with a higher frame rate than the recording format, you can record a smooth super-slow-motion movie.

  1. MENU → (Camera Settings1) → [Shoot Mode] → [High Frame Rate] → desired exposure mode.

    The shooting setting screen will be displayed.

  2. MENU → (Camera Settings2) → [HFR Settings] → Select the desired settings for [Record Setting], [Frame Rate], [Priority Setting] and [REC Timing].
  3. Point the camera at the subject and adjust settings such as the focus.
    • You can also change other settings, such as focus mode, ISO sensitivity, etc.
  4. Press the (Enter) button.

    The shooting standby screen will be displayed.

    • During shooting standby, [Shooting Standby] is displayed in the center of the screen. You cannot adjust the exposure, adjust the focus, operate the zoom, etc. while [Shooting Standby] is displayed. To change these settings, press the (Enter) button again to return to the shooting setting screen.

  5. Press the SHUTTER/MOVIE button.
    When [REC Timing] is set to [Start Trigger]:
    Movie capturing (shooting) starts. When the SHUTTER/MOVIE button is pressed again, or when the recordable duration of time has elapsed, movie capturing ends and the camera starts to record the captured movie to the memory card.
    When [REC Timing] is set to [End Trigger] or [End Trigger Half]:
    Movie capturing ends and the camera starts to record the captured movie to the memory card.

Menu item details

Record Setting :
Selects the frame rate of the movie from [60p 50M]/[ 50p 50M], [30p 50M]/[25p 50M], and [ 24p 50M*].

* Only when [NTSC/PAL Selector] is set to NTSC.

Frame Rate :
Selects the shooting frame rate from [240fps]/[ 250fps], [480fps]/[500fps], and [960fps]/[1000fps].
  • This setting determines the minimum shutter speed per frame.
Priority Setting :
Select from [Quality Priority] which prioritizes the image quality and [Shoot Time Priority] which prioritizes the duration of time of the movie.
REC Timing :
Selects whether to record for a set amount of time after you press the SHUTTER/MOVIE button ([Start Trigger]), or for a set amount of time until you press the SHUTTER/MOVIE button ([End Trigger]/[End Trigger Half]).

Frame rate

In super-slow-motion movie shooting, the camera shoots at a faster shutter speed than the number of shooting frames per second. For example, when [Frame Rate] is set to [960fps], the shutter speed per frame will be faster than approx. 1/1000 second in order to shoot 960 frames per second. To maintain this shutter speed, sufficient ambient light is necessary during shooting. If the ambient light is insufficient, the ISO sensitivity will become higher, resulting in more noise.

Shortest shooting distance

The image becomes out of focus when the subject is too close, such as during macro shooting. Shoot from the shortest shooting distance (approximately 20 cm (0.66 ft.) (from the lens)) or further.

Timing of recording

Depending on the [REC Timing] setting, the relationship between when you press the SHUTTER/MOVIE button and the recorded section of the movie is as shown below.

[Start Trigger]

Movie capturing (shooting) starts when the SHUTTER/MOVIE button is pressed. When the SHUTTER/MOVIE button is pressed again, or when the recordable duration of time has elapsed, movie capturing ends and the camera starts to record the captured movie to the memory card.

(A): The point when the SHUTTER/MOVIE button is pressed

(B): Recorded section

(C): Recording to memory card in progress (You cannot start the next session of shooting.)

[End Trigger]/[End Trigger Half]

Buffering (temporarily capturing a movie on the camera) starts once the shooting standby screen is displayed. When the captured data fills the buffering capacity, old data is overwritten sequentially. When you press the SHUTTER/MOVIE button, the camera starts to record a movie of the set duration calculated retroactively from that point on the memory card.

  • With [End Trigger], a movie of the maximum possible duration is recorded. With [End Trigger Half], a movie of half the maximum possible duration is recorded. With [End Trigger Half], the time it takes to record to the memory card is also shorter than with [End Trigger].

End Trigger

End Trigger Half

(A): The point when the SHUTTER/MOVIE button is pressed

(B): Recorded section

(C): Recording to memory card in progress (You cannot start the next session of shooting.)

(D): Buffering in progress

To redo shooting

You can cancel recording by selecting [Cancel] on the screen. However, the movie recorded up to the point you cancelled will be saved.

Playback speed

The playback speed will vary as below depending on the assigned [Frame Rate] and [Record Setting].

Frame Rate Record Setting
24p 50M * 30p 50M /25p 50M 60p 50M /50p 50M
240fps /250fps 10 times slower 8 times slower/10 times slower 4 times slower/5 times slower
480fps /500fps 20 times slower 16 times slower/20 times slower 8 times slower/10 times slower
960fps /1000fps 40 times slower 32 times slower/40 times slower 16 times slower/20 times slower

* Only when [NTSC/PAL Selector] is set to NTSC.

[Priority Setting] and shooting duration

Priority Setting Frame Rate Effective pixel number read out from image sensor Shooting duration
Quality Priority 240fps /250fps 1676×942 Approx. 2 seconds
480fps /500fps 1676×566
960fps /1000fps 1136×384
Shoot Time Priority 240fps /250fps 1676×566 Approx. 4 seconds
480fps /500fps 1136×384
960fps /1000fps 800×270

Playback time

For example, if you shoot for approx. 4 seconds with [Record Setting] set to [24p 50M]*, [Frame Rate] set to [960fps], and [Priority Setting] set to [Shoot Time Priority], the playback speed will be 40 times slower and the playback time will be approx. 160 seconds (approx. 2 minutes and 40 seconds).

* Only when [NTSC/PAL Selector] is set to NTSC.

Note

  • Sound will not be recorded.
  • The movie will be recorded in XAVC S HD format.
  • It may take time for recording to finish after you press the SHUTTER/MOVIE button. Wait until the display switches to the shooting standby screen to start shooting again.
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