Camera
FiLMiC patents image remapping technology promising nearly 5x faster performance
FiLMiC has patented a new high-efficiency image remapping technology, Cubiform.
The newly-patented Cubiform is ‘an approach to applying a remap to each pixel in an image.’ Cubiform generates color look-up tables (C-LUTs) using a dynamic set of parameters, which can then be modified by users in real-time. By using C-LUTs rather than directly modifying images, a stream of C-LUTs can be applied to an image, or series of images, without placing high demand upon the CPU or GPU.
FiLMiC says that by eschewing per-pixel processing for chrominance and luminance modifications, Cubiform adjusts color and brightness using C-LUTs, which ‘look up’ new values from a pre-calculated table. FiLMiC writes, ‘This approach is significantly more efficient for complex remap operations as the C-LUT is treated as a static data-model and discarded if a different transform is desired.”
A traditional GPU shader pipeline. Image credit: FiLMiC |
When editing using Cubiform image processing technology, image-transform parameters are manipulated in real-time, which results in lower image quality. However, the lower image quality is only a consequence when edits are occurring. Once edits are complete, Cubiform generates a high-precision C-LUT, which FiLMiC states produces a high-quality image remap.
Just how much faster is Cubiform? Nearly five times faster, per FiLMiC. A task that a traditional GPU pipeline completes in 26.4 milliseconds can be achieved using Cubiform in 5.6ms. If you are rendering resource-intensive video, such as a long 4K clip, Cubiform’s gains are significant.
Cubiform pipeline. Image credit: FiLMiC |
FiLMiC Inc. CEO Neill Barham says, ‘FiLMIC’s Cubiform technology not only represents a significant technological advancement in image processing, it also represents our deep commitment to forwarding mobile cinema camera and professional mobile photography innovation. The entire team at FiLMiC recognizes the responsibility we have to our customers, and to the industry. This is no longer just about making great apps, this is about enabling an entirely new generation of filmmakers and photographers, and to do that well demands advanced technological sophistication and elegance. We’re extremely proud of this contribution.’
These are four key figures from FiLMiC’s Cubiform patent. Click to enlarge. |
The Cubiform patent is just one of FiLMiC’s recent advancements and innovations. Last September, an update to FiLMiC Pro added clean HDMI output to Android and iOS devices, giving users new options for recording and livestreaming. Just over a year ago, FiLMiC’s Double Take app allowed for multi-camera recording. In November 2019, the company branched out from just video with FiLMiC Firstlight, a still photography application for mobile devices.
Camera
Gear of the Year – Richard's choice: Leica D-Lux8
There’s a lot of gloom surrounding cameras and photography, in the past year or so. The devastating impact of smartphones on mass-market cameras seems to be being followed by a wave of AI-generated images that threaten to wash photography away as a creative form, if you believe those prognosticators with half-empty glasses. And yet it’s hard to think of a year in which I’ve found it so difficult to choose a piece of gear to call out, because so many of them have been so good.
Having chosen Nikon’s Z8 last year, the obvious decision this time round would be Canon’s EOS R5 II: a camera that’s almost unbelievably good at almost anything you might ask of it. The Nikon’s Z6III’s performance comes with a small footnote, but overall it’s also sensationally capable and costs over 40% less.
On the lens side of things, Sony has made a usefully small full-frame F2.8 zoom and Sigma has developed what is essentially a full-frame version of its 18-35mm F1.8, creating the world’s first AF F1.8 zoom for full-frame in the process. Then there’s Fujifilm: not content with updating probably the best kit lens on the market (albeit with a loss of speed and reach at the long end counteracting the gain of width at the other), it’s also replaced its premium standard zoom with a much smaller, lighter optic.
The Fujifilm 16-50mm F2.8 R LM WR II would probably be my choice in any other year. Its lightweight re-imagining meant it was small enough for me to take on a five-day hike across North Wales, and helped me assemble one of the best galleries I think I’ve ever shot.
“It’s just exciting to see anyone introduce an enthusiast compact”
And yet instead of any of these worthy winners, I’m going to choose a camera whose merits come with some appreciable caveats and that I’ll spend much of this article appearing to criticize.
Let’s get this straight out of the gate: in many respects the Leica D-Lux8 is refresh of a seven year old camera. And its price tag of $1599 lands somewhere between fanciful and absurd.
And yet, in an age when second-hand Panasonic LX3s often attract 40% of their original price on eBay, despite their wonky skin tones, outdated performance and 2008-vintage batteries, it’s just exciting to see anyone introduce an enthusiast compact.
And while the D-Lux8 shares the bulk of its hardware with the LX100 II, it gains one of the most photo-focused user interfaces I’ve had the good fortune to use in the seventeen years I’ve been writing about cameras.
It also gains a much less distracting viewfinder, which I also appreciate, and its AF tracking, while not coming close to the standards of modern mirrorless cameras, is also improved.
There’s a nagging doubt whenever I’ve used a recent D-Lux or LX100 of why it doesn’t feel even more special, given its dial layout and aperture ring suggests it should feel like a smaller X100, but with a zoom. Personally I think the added lag of waiting for the motor-driven zoom to respond helps to distance your input from the camera’s reaction. Or it could just be that the photos don’t look as good, thanks to its less sharp lens, deeper minimum depth-of-field and absence of Film Simulation fairy dust.
But the 8’s new interface is delightfully shutter speed and aperture focused. There aren’t many custom buttons and you don’t need a great many: it’s a good-looking little camera that focuses your attention on taking photos. And that’s something I’ve really missed.
Maybe there’s still time for another blossoming of enthusiast compacts, now they’re starting to find an audience, retrospectively. Or maybe I just need to accept that my own preferences don’t match those of the wider market.
But even if the D-Lux8 doesn’t herald a new Spring for the serious compact, it’s not a bad note for the category to go out on. Price aside, it’s a lovely little camera.
Leica D-Lux8 sample gallery
Camera
Canon makes Super35 global shutter sensor available to third parties
Canon’s LI5070SA sensor delivers 4K at up to 60p with no rolling shutter, with Canon suggesting ‘Cinema’ as one of its potential applications.
Image: Canon |
Canon has made a 4K/60-capable Super35 (∼APS-C) video sensor with global shutter available to third-party buyers.
The 10.3MP sensor added to the product page of its industrial equipment and semiconductor business unit is 27.4 x 15.3mm, making it a 1.34x crop, relative to a full-frame stills camera, but in a roughly 16:9 aspect ratio.
Its 4288 x 2398 pixel count is clearly designed for delivering 4K footage. We’d usually expect Canon to have already offered it in a camera, if it planned to, before offering it to external users.
Canon sold a 4K/60 Super35 ‘GS’ global shutter version of its EOS C700 camera, back in 2017, though available specs suggest its sensor was slightly smaller, so presumably wasn’t the same as the one now being offered to external companies. Notably, Canon claimed its dynamic range was one stop lower than the progressive scan Super35 chip in the regular C700 model. There’s still a chance this new chip will underpin a successor to the C700 GS.
An image of Canon semiconductor’s LI7080SA sensor: a progressive scan Super35 sensor that closely resembles its global shutter cousin.
Image: Canon |
At present, we’re not aware of any other consumer camera maker using Canon sensors. Specialist industrial / security camera makers such as Illunis have used its sensors to make high-speed and high-resolution cameras for applications such as aerial photography and machine vision applications, but we’ve not seen its 120MP or 250MP APS-H chips in consumer cameras, including those from Canon itself.
Canon said it was developing a DSLR based on its 120MP sensor, back in 2015. Prototypes based on EOS 5DS bodies appeared at trade shows, but no final product ever emerged.
Canon’s semiconductor business also offers a “full-frame” global shutter sensor. Again this has a roughly 16:9 aspect ratio and proposed uses include microscopy, factory automation and traffic surveillance. This sensor has been available since early 2023.
Camera
Gear of the Year – Mitchell's choice: ThinkTank Retrospective 30 V2
The Retrospective 30 V2 is a big ‘ol bag. |
The ThinkTank Retrospective 30 V2 is not a new product by any means, but it’s new to me. Earlier this year, I went looking for a camera bag to replace the one I had since high school and landed on the Retrospective 30; the largest option in ThinkTank’s well-known lineup of canvas shoulder camera bags.
While anyone can make a messenger bag with a few dividers and call it a day, it feels like this bag was really designed and refined by and for photographers. All its velcro flaps can be covered or tucked away to silence them if you don’t want to draw attention to yourself while shooting on the street or at an event like a wedding. The top can be zippered closed for maximum protection or left open to let you quickly access gear, and it has what I think is just the right ratio of open space to built-in organization.
Some of the velcro patches have covers to keep you from ruining a quiet moment by ripping them open.
Photo: Mitchell Clark |
There are also subtle touches that I’ve found really useful: one of the front pockets has a bright red fabric loop that I clip my keys to so I always know where they are, the water bottle pocket can be cinched tight when you’re not using it and there are plenty of places to hook carabiners onto if I need to hang additional gear on the outside of the bag.
I also just like how it looks. The olive green fabric matches the antique-looking metal hardware well.
My favorite thing about this bag, though, is that it’s monstrous. It’s the station wagon – nay, Honda Odyssey – of messenger-style camera bags. I’ve used it to carry two camera bodies, a few lenses, a 14-inch MacBook Pro, an iPad, and a bunch of other bits and bobs like a notebook, an army of SD cards, a Clif bar or two, power adapters and rain jacket. Is that a sign of overpacking? Perhaps, but it’s part of the job; I’m frequently testing out one camera for a review and using another to shoot a sample gallery of some variety.
Even when my camera load isn’t as heavy, I’ve found the Retrospective 30 useful as a commuter. I live in Spokane, Washington, but travel to DPReview’s offices in Seattle relatively frequently. Because I keep my entire photographic life in it – my SD cards, various cables, white balance cards and rolling shutter tester – I can just pick it up and go without having to run around making sure everything I’ll need for the next week is packed.
I took a bit of a chance buying this bag: DPReview was sending me to Japan as a freelancer to cover what ended up being the Panasonic S9 announcement, and I knew the Lowepro bag I’d gotten with my first camera in high school was on its very last legs. I hoped to turn reviewing cameras into my full-time job, but I wasn’t 100% sure I was cut out for it.
Me, very tired, returning home from Japan.
Photo: Mitchell Clark |
If it turned out I wasn’t, the 30 would be way larger than I’d ever need; my personal camera consists of a Fujifilm X-T3 and two lenses, which would get absolutely swallowed by this bag. But if I did end up at DPReview, I worried that a smaller bag might not be able to carry all the gear I assumed I’d be carting around.
I was also concerned about the price at the time: at $240, it’s far from the spendiest bag out there, but I still didn’t feel great telling my wife that I wanted to spend that much on anything when I’d been largely unemployed for the last year – I’d quit my job as a news writer at The Verge in April 2023 to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. I spent some time working at a ski shop after I got back and did various odd jobs, but it’d been a long time since I’d meaningfully contributed to our household’s budget.
But I went for it anyway; the prospect of going on a press trip and juggling cameras in a backpack that’s not at all designed for them seemed like a nightmare. And obviously, it worked out: I’m working at DPReview now, and am reminded pretty much every day that it was a good idea to get something with this much capacity.
Despite its carrying capacity, the Retrospective 30 is a reasonable size to carry around on a photo walk.
Photo: Mitchell Clark |
Of course, I have a few nitpicks. No bag is perfect, which is why the market for them is nearly infinite. I haven’t figured out a graceful way to attach a tripod to it, even one as small as the Peak Design Travel model, the main zipper can be a bit hard to start closing if it’s all the way open, and I needed a tutorial video to figure out how to use the included rain cover. I’d rather the bag’s top flap was made out of waterproof material, though the canvas alone has been enough to protect my gear through short walks in light rain – phew!
The bag can also rub a bit uncomfortably on my hip when it’s fully loaded, but I suspect that’s more of a limitation with the messenger bag form factor as a whole. Realistically, if you’re carrying over 7kg (15+lbs) of gear, you should be doing it on your back, not slung over one shoulder.
Despite my complaints, I still love this bag, and I suspect I’ll continue using it for years to come. The same’s true for the job, by the way – and if I’m lucky enough for that to happen, I’ll have the Retrospective 30 as a reminder of where it all began.
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