FS100 HDMI Delay

[Tim Tyler]

I just finished a 2-day short film shoot with the FS100.

 

Overall I think it's a pretty amazing camera, but the HDMI lag made some active shots difficult to operate on.

 

To determine the actual delay from sensor to screen, I aimed the FS100 separately at three different screens, each displaying the camera's own output with a camera-generated SMTPE timecode burn. 1080, 24p. After importing the clips into a 24p timeline I burned the actual SMTPE timecode onto each clip and exported the frame grabs you see in this post.

 

The results illustrate that both the HDMI and YPbPr print an image to the screen that is three frames old.

 

Using the Zacuto EVF adds another two frames of delay, which at 24p makes the EVF display 1/5th of a second late.

 

The three frame delay, although annoying, is mostly fine, but the five frame delay makes following quick action gracefully surprisingly difficult, especially if hand-holding the camera. It's very unnatural.

 

YPbPr

 

HDMI to 17"

 

HDMI to Z EVF

[Guest Owen Parker]

Digital delays do add up and can be a real pain.

 

I'm curious though Tim, did you find this a problem because you had to use an external monitor?

Due to remote operation?

 

If so from an operational point of view, did you notice any problem with the on board LCD?

[Phil Rhodes]

Five frames is a bit harsh.

 

What to Zacuto charge for that EVF?

 

I ask because this is an aspect of monitoring that has become an issue for people who play computer games competitively. Almost all TFT monitors suffer from it to some extent. It's become common for reviews to include high-shutter-speed photography of 60p BITC displayed on a TFT side-by-side with a CRT, since CRTs typically suffer from near-zero delay.

 

Thus it is one of the lower-level issues that a really careful engineer with a willingness to bloat the budget will look at, but someone who's buying a COTS driver card from some far-eastern box shifter will not.

 

P

[Tim Tyler]

The on-board LCD is probably the same 3-frame delay. It's hard to tell.

 

I tried turning the on-board LCD 180 degrees and shooting it in a mirror, but when it reaches 145 degrees the SMTPE timecode display turns off. All the other items remain like Shutter Speed, FPS, White Balance, etc... but no timecode!

 

I used the Zacuto EVF for handheld work when I needed the camera on my shoulder.

[Tom Guiney]

The on-board LCD is probably the same 3-frame delay. It's hard to tell.

 

I tried turning the on-board LCD 180 degrees and shooting it in a mirror, but when it reaches 145 degrees the SMTPE timecode display turns off. All the other items remain like Shutter Speed, FPS, White Balance, etc... but no timecode!

 

I used the Zacuto EVF for handheld work when I needed the camera on my shoulder.

 

So how did you deal with that while operating? That sounds like a pain! Attempt to end your moves a fraction of a second early? anticipate the action's end point? I've been considering getting an fs100. How much of a dealbreaker do you figure this is?

 

Tom Guiney

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