Warning: The parent company of FPS cameras “The Slow Motion Camera Company Ltd.” went out of business and entered liquidation proceedings. No further development of cameras is expected. More information here on Google Search! 

The fps1000 camera created by Graham Rowan on Kickstarter has had a few setbacks but seems to be getting close to shipping form with the latest update.  The early Kickstarter backers of the Gold, Silver and Platinum will probably be the first to receive the camera with a C Mount metal port as seen in the image released by Rowan.

The case is now in final form and it is ready to be shipped in battery only configuration. Notice the fps1000 brand on the upper right corner. For those wishing to go stealth, a small piece of dark gaffers tape can cover the brand name easily. The AC adapter version is still yet to pass EMC certification due to some leakage issues in the last test.  For owners that are content with the dual 18650 Li-Ion battery only version of the camera, shipping will start as soon as packaging arrives.

Image Format DNG!

The most important aspect in our view to the info release today is the DNG image sequence format being supported by the camera which can be easily converted with Adobe Camera RAW or other RAW converters that can use the DNG open standard. The quality of the conversion will be left to the end user which opens all sorts of possibilities for great image quality. As long as the sensor data is there, we should be able to have pristine RAW images from these cameras.   There is still fixed pattern noise removal to be performed by the camera software to deal with the CMOS sensor production of noise from the operation of the camera.  Cameras with CMOS Sensors need to perform a calibration step on the sensor to remove the inherent noise produced by the sensor which can vary from part to part which can be done by a quick calibration dark frame among other methods.  Rowan is close to finishing this aspect of the software as the update suggests.

The 4k Version?

There is also a bunch of info regarding the fps1000 4k which will require a different mount and case since it has to match the much larger Micro 4/3 sensor.

There was a problem with a memory control line that is faulty due to production manufacturing and not design. The camera is evolving and appears to be performing close to it’s expected performance even in it’s current state. Since the board design is done and it is compatible with the other fps1000 main board platform and software it should in theory follow closely behind the other lower spec cameras.

Below is the full update by Graham Rowan for you to read:

“Production

It has been another very busy month. The fps1000 production cases arrived and they look very nice. This was a nervous time for me since I placed the order for hundreds of plastic LCD bezels and battery covers several weeks ago. Tooling costs for these parts were a major investment and any mistakes here could have been costly. There were a few teething problems as expected, mainly with minor things such as screw lengths but these have been sorted out. The camera is finally ready to ship. The last touch will be packaging which should arrive any day. I hope you like the final item

Software

On the software I have managed to complete the DNG file export. Images saved from the camera are now saved in Adobe’s DNG format – there is no need for a conversion program, the files come straight from the camera in DNG format. Images can be imported into a RAW conversion program such as the freely available RawTherapee which has a selection of de-bayer algorithms. There is one more element to the image saving process that I need to complete – this is the fixed pattern noise removal that is required by all cameras with CMOS image sensors. I am in the final stages of implementing this. I will complete this before posting images from the new image pipeline. There are a few software tasks to complete but this will not prevent shipments from starting – I will provide updates to software as new features are added.

Platinum 4K

The 4K sensor board is now fully working. In fact no changes were necessary to the board – most of the time has been spent customizing the firmware. This sensor board is compatible with the current motherboard and I have it running in a modified case with a Canon EF lens mount. I will post some pictures of the modified camera and images soon. Although fully working, the prototype sensor board has a manufacturing fault affecting one of the memory control lines. I will send this to the factory to be x-rayed and fixed but in the meantime I will hold onto it to complete software development while I get more made. I expect to have more boards back in just over a week. Early signs are this camera is living up to its expected performance. I will post more details soon.”

We will have more information about the fps1000 as it becomes available!- HSC

More info on the fps1000 and ordering one for yourself at the kickstarter project site!