Paralenz is about to launch a new Camera, WOW

[Diving Dubai]

While I love my Paralenz (and their HQ is walking distance from my home) I am a bit skeptical about 4K HDR in this price range. I am really curious if they can pull it off as something that makes a difference vs. the good ol' Paralenz. I think it will have more to do with limiting exposure issues in cases like exiting wreck (dark) to the sea (very bright), where now you have one of part of the scene over/underexposed than achieving the "true" HDR vibrant colors that people would love to see (which is, I am guessing, beyond the HW limits of the camera)

It depends what market they're really aimiing at user wise.

My old camera before it died, was a G15 it did everything I wanted it to and I especially loved that I could one touch adjust the white balance. But it was big and bulky in its housing (for us)

We have a Go Pro 7 - its okay but nothing special, and suffers from the old issues under water, requiring filters etc. We're not they type of people who are interested in putting together all our clips into a smart video with colour grading etc -we have neither the time, patience or interest. Our intent is to grab a few nice clips suitable for say a 1 min social media post.

The normal drawback is colour in poorer vis. As digital tools get better it will be easier. I guess what I'm saying is there cannot be one tool for all. Part of me wants a black magic but I know that it'd be a waste because I'd do nothing with the footage - so a quick easy tool that grabs a decent image of something special is what I'm looking for - others will have different requirements and I'm sure that there are cameras that better suit their needs and desires

 

[mafi]

I fully agree. There are many considerations. Personally, I'd love to see a flat profile option from Paralenz, but as you say, most of what I do is short social media clips anyway and in terms of handling, simplicity and moving video from the camera to insta/FB, Paralenz wins over GoPro. What I really like it the no-housing/no-filter and DCC (with the option to easily switch to WB) + convenient "torch" style grip.

 

[CuzzA]

I imagine the conductivity sensor is to appeal to research organizations as it doesn't have much practical use for non research divers.

I own the Paralenz and am a little disappointed to read about this model. Battery life is an issue for the repetitive diver so unless they've increased the amp hours I don't see an improvement there. It will be fine for the two tanker trips with time limited dives. A fix would be a bigger battery, or user replaceable, or at a minimum Qi charging. I would trade the viewfinder for user replaceable batteries. A viewfinder on this frame doesn't make sense.

Second, which is yet to be determined is the depth color correction. Although the original Paralenz was better than a GoPro for correct color, it wasn't better than the Dive+ app.

A final note, even though the current camera shoots 4k @30fps, I never used it because the files were too large and took forever to edit. Not to mention, even if you shot at 4k 90fps, sites like YouTube and Facebook are going to reduce the quality making your efforts worthless for sharing. I think the dive profile superimposed on the screen is cool, but it only works on their crappy app and they haven't developed an editing software to compliment the camera so it too is almost pointless.

 

[Glenn Williams]

While I love my Paralenz (and their HQ is walking distance from my home) I am a bit skeptical about 4K HDR in this price range. I am really curious if they can pull it off as something that makes a difference vs. the good ol' Paralenz. I think it will have more to do with limiting exposure issues in cases like exiting wreck (dark) to the sea (very bright), where now you have one of part of the scene over/underexposed than achieving the "true" HDR vibrant colors that people would love to see (which is, I am guessing, beyond the HW limits of the camera)

All current video outlets like YouTube and Facebook are setup for 1080. The 4K on Paralenz and GoPro are cool but really can only be viewed at home on your 4K tv.

I wouldn’t get to wrapped up in the capabilities of any 4K camera until media outlets allow you to view in 4K.

Glenn

 

[DiveTucson]

Price will be $749 USD. If you want to get one I know a guy ;-)

 

[kelemvor]

While I love my Paralenz (and their HQ is walking distance from my home) I am a bit skeptical about 4K HDR in this price range. I am really curious if they can pull it off as something that makes a difference vs. the good ol' Paralenz. I think it will have more to do with limiting exposure issues in cases like exiting wreck (dark) to the sea (very bright), where now you have one of part of the scene over/underexposed than achieving the "true" HDR vibrant colors that people would love to see (which is, I am guessing, beyond the HW limits of the camera)

If you look at the specs for that sensor, it's only capable of HDR in 4k if you drop down to 30fps or lower (according to sony's datasheet). It does appear to have some kind of on-chip tone mapping feature for stills. That's pretty exciting if paralenz chooses to support that mode. The spec sheet does not indicate the number of stops that they support for dynamic range. Other sensors of this size support roughly 12 stops, so I'm guessing it's around that.

Personally I think I'd go for full 4k60 without HDR.

Keep in mind that both the sensor and processor support 10 bit color depth. It also supports 12 bit upscaling. I thought that was pretty impressive personally. I just bought a new 10 bit monitor last month and it was obscenely expensive. Well over $1000 bucks.

Cell phones have supported 4k and HDR for three generations now. I think it will work just fine in the paralenz as it's not exactly cutting edge technology. It's not going to compare to a DSLR or high end video camera but for a tiny action camera I bet it will be really good.

The question in my mind is how will this compare to the latest gopro.

 

[dalpe933]

any news on release date yet?

 

[BoltSnap]

any news on release date yet?

"We would expect to ship in April"

 

[Manatee Diver]

All current video outlets like YouTube and Facebook are setup for 1080. The 4K on Paralenz and GoPro are cool but really can only be viewed at home on your 4K tv.

I wouldn’t get to wrapped up in the capabilities of any 4K camera until media outlets allow you to view in 4K.

Youtube has supported 4K for a while now, and support 60fps and HDR. Googling will tell you the best compression settings for Youtube.

Facebook also supports 4K, but the settings that work best aren't widely published. So it is a bit of trail and error to get it to look good.

 

[kelemvor]

Youtube has supported 4K for a while now, and support 60fps and HDR. Googling will tell you the best compression settings for Youtube.

Facebook also supports 4K, but the settings that work best aren't widely published. So it is a bit of trail and error to get it to look good.

Yeah, youtube added 4k video support in 2010! Pretty much everything video related product or service these days supports 4k or better. The only exception really is traditional cable companies. They're still on the outdated 1080p format. Heck even modern cell phones do 4k, and have for several generations.

If you're selling a video related product that doesn't do 4k or better in 2020 you're screwing your customers.

I didn't realize how mainstream 4k was until i replaced my tv's last year after a lightning strike. Most content (shows, movies, etc) are available in 4k. Even random cat or catfish videos on youtube. If you haven't upgraded your displays/tv's then you are really missing out. It's a lot like the move from SD to HD (1080p).