Originally posted by emr I was looking for info on the video properties of this cam. A Pentax website mentioned 1280 x 720 resolution but didn't get any further in details. According to a review it's only 15fps at that resolution and 30fps for lower resolutions. Is that really the case? How does the 15fps video look then? Can you see the low fps? I hope it doesn't look like films from silent era.
Here is a sample of the 1280x720x15fps video mode.... it's just a few seconds long but it will give you the info that you need.... the video quality is good, but choppy when you pan, as it is to be expected at that frame rate.
1280x720x15fps video on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Click on the HD button in the video window to see full resolution version.
I'm seeing an issue in the conversion that Flickr creates when it converts the AVI into Flash... frames are lost during panning and the lateral moving is very choppy. I may have to find a video sharing site that does not convert AVI into flash in order to see the unaltered video.
A lower resolution video is here.... 40 second video of a dancer at Olvera Street in Los Angeles, at 640x480x30fps... a thought has occurred to me that if panning appears choppy, it could be that the image stabilization system may be trying to lock onto a scene, holds onto it for as long as it can within its range, then jump to the next position, which results in slight choppiness..... I may have to see the difference with the stabilization system off.
Aztec Dancer on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Here are some samples at 848x480x30fps with SR turned on and also off...
SR off
848x480x30fps SR off on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
SR on
848x480x30fps SR on on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
IMHO, it appears that SR is useful only if you're going to be holding the camera steady at a subject who is moving very little or if you're zoomed in, otherwise, if you're going to be doing any panning, SR should be off for smoother viewing with less choppiness. This is typical of a video camera that offers image stabilization. I used to notice lateral choppiness when I used to pan side to side on my video camera, especially at slow pan speeds. This would explain it.
Alex