Sony’s camera division is on a roll. They just recently introduced the α(alpha)6700, α7CII and α7CR models for the budding hybrid content creators who are looking for premium and reliable hardware that is also accessible and offers flexibility and shooting capabilities like no other. The α6700, while being an APS-C mirrorless camera, is still a rather capable camera that offers 4K 60p video recording capabilities alongside the S-Log encoding Sony is known for. If you have a little more money to spare and wants the best shooting experience at a more compact body, the α7CII and α7CR are perfect mirrorless full-frame cameras that can get the job done as well as their full-sized counterparts.
These are Alpha cameras though. They are made for the pro-sumers and enthusiasts more than anything else. What if you are serious about your contents? What if you are a professional videographer that often takes out time for documentary type shoots? You need to go for the Sony FX30 or FX3, no wait; maybe the FX6 will do, what about the Venice 2? Too much? Maybe something in the middle, something like the brand-new BURANO.
Welcome to the Sony CineAlta line-up, specifically to the VENICE 2, Sony’s flagship video camera that is made to shoot at 8.6K resolution, higher than what Netflix requires for their 4K certified movies. Well, to be fair Sony launched their VENICE 2 camera a while ago, and this is not the camera you are here to see. It is important to know the VENICE 2 camera though, because Sony’s latest film camera is sporting Sony’s best and most powerful full-frame film sensor ever made.
8.6K Sensor with VENICE Colour Science
Source: Sony
The BURANO sports an 8.6 full-frame sensor that is likened to the VENICE 2, except for a few missing features. You cannot record videos at the full 8.6K resolution, for example, but that is minor when you consider that the BURANO still records videos at 8K resolution at 30p. You can shoot at 60p, but you must dial it down to 6K. At 4K, the BURANO can record at a maximum of 120p for those impressive slow-mos. They are still more than what Netflix requires for their exclusive movies.
Perfect for Running About
Source: Sony
So why would you opt for a dieled down edition of the brilliant VENICE 2 film camera then? For one, it comes down to the weight and size of the BURANO. The Sony BURANO is 32mm shorter and 1.4kg lighter than the VENICE 2, meaning that it is more portable, comfortable, and easier to work around when you are constantly moving or when you need to shoulder mount your camera. Its lightweight magnesium body construction also means that you can shoulder and operate the camera for longer periods of time.
The cuts in effective resolution, weight, and size does not make the BURANO a slouch. It still packs some of the best Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) mechanisms you can find on a film camera, which makes it all the more suitable for a run-and-gun type of shoot. With an included PL mount bracket for the Sony BURANO, you have the world’s first PL-mount digital cinema camera. Of course, it is still an E-mount camera so you can pair it to Sony’s wide lens selection or third-party lenses of your choice.
Does Everything The VENICE 2 Does
Source: Sony
You still get variable ND filters built right into the camera body just so that you can trim your set-up down to a reasonable size and weight. With built-in ND filters too, you are able to quickly set-up for your shot to save on time.
Since this is a cinema camera with 8K recording capabilities, recording media is rather crucial here. The Sony BURANO supports up to two CF Express Type-B cards and VPG400 mediums for high bitrate writes especially with8K videos. You can even shoot at compressed RAW if you want even more control over colours and look. If course, you still can shoot at Sony’s S-Log3 or even S-Log.cine for the best-in-class log encoding and easy colour grading in post-editing processes. Since it offers the same colour science as the VENICE 2 camera, you can even use this BURANO as a secondary camera or back-up camera for your main driver, the VENICE 2 (if you are lucky enough to own a VENICE 2 anyway). But that is not all your camera can record in. To quicken your editing process and skip through the entire colour grading process, you can stick to the Warm, Cool, Vintage, Teal and Orange cinematic colour presets.
Price and Availability
Sony did not announce the Sony BURANO’s official pricing. It is a cinema camera though, so it is not technically a product that is sold publicly. They also have not mentioned any availability dates for the camera. If you are interested in procuring one, you might want to contact Sony. They are offering attendants to IBC 2023, Amsterdam a first look and feel of the BURANO though from the 15th to 18th of September 2023. If you wish to find out more about Sony’s latest BURANO cinema camera, you can head out to Sony’s website.
The world has changed drastically in the time of this COVID-19 pandemic. The future generations will look back at this time and wondered how we ever got through this odd year unscathed. The thing is, we did not go through this unscathed. We are still living through it and everyone in the world is affected in different ways.
In Malaysia, the government decided to act fast and locked down the country to control the viral spread. They introduced the Movement Control Order (MCO) to limit the amount of movements and people exposed to the outside world and each other. Everyone had to be wearing masks, and everyone had to distance themselves from each other.
Even after the whole MCO period which lasted nearly three months for Malaysia, in a period Malaysia calls Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), plenty has not recovered, or completely adjusted to the world that came out after. What better moment then to go for a photo walk? It was at a perfect moment too; Canon just launched their new Canon EOS R5.
Source: Canon
The Canon EOS R5 is Canon’s latest mirrorless high-end photography tool. The new mirrorless camera has a 45-Megapixel sensor that can shoot at 20fps (very impressive). It packs Canon’s latest Digic X image processor as well. Best of all, at least as hyped by Canon themselves, is the fact that it now shoots videos at 8K resolution, uncropped.
It sounds like a recipe for a production powerhouse. It also sounds like Canon is taking the mirrorless market seriously, taking the fight to Sony. With the introduction of the Canon EOS R5, they are one-upping Sony in their video capabilities. But the improvements do not just end there. They have introduced some improvements in their video stabilisation capabilities. Finally, you have an in-body image stabiliser. Imagine using that with a compatible Optical Image Stabilised lens, the result should look amazing.
In all seriousness though, while it does look like an ultimate content creator tool, it is not priced as such. It will set you back MYR 17,999. That is the price of its body only. You add up the mirrorless RF lenses that Canon makes, and that will easily go up to MRY 20,000 for a set of content creation kit that is ready to go. If your first reaction is “it is so expensive,” we agree. For comparisons sakes, a Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema 6K camera will set you back about MYR 10,000 without lenses.
We do not think that the Canon EOS R5 is a tool that you might want to rely on for 8K videography though. We see it as a photography first device with some impressive video shooting capabilities. We also almost never relied on anything higher than 4K resolution in our production so far because we post our videos in 1080p Full HD resolutions. That also means that 4K videos are more than enough for us. Of course, with 8K you have more resolution and pixels to play with. Which also means you can capture more detail and you can pick any fames across the 8K frame to create 1080p videos.
Source: Canon
Still, the Canon EOS R5 is a photography first camera in our opinion. That is what we are going to work with in these 24 hours with the camera. To be fair, we only have a few days with the camera from Canon and we could only spend a whole day with the camera. We chose to take the camera around Kuala Lumpur after the three months of MCO, just to see what the town looks like after the big pandemic scare. Of course, we want to see what the camera can do.
We have to apologise a little bit. We were so focused on taking photos using the Canon EOS R5, we forgot to take photos of the camera itself. Most of the photos of the camera comes from Canon’s website. There is virtually no difference between the camera and its pictures from the website. We do apologise for this oversight, but what matters is the end result, right?
The First Few Hours – Preparation in The Night
We had planned out a whole day, essentially to get the Canon EOS R5 in different kinds of shooting conditions and different times. It is also a test of its battery life because we are left with only one battery. In that case, we had to ensure that the battery packs a full charge for the next day of use.
That is the first thing we did, get the battery charged. But before that, we had to familiarise ourselves with the camera before taking it out for a spin, just so that we do not need to spend an hour to set the camera up the next day. Of course, we could just leave it on Auto mode and let the camera do its thing. Thing is, Auto mode does not do the review justice enough, as excellent as it is.
First Impressions
Source: Canon
First things first, the Canon EOS R5 breaks all the rules or the conventions of a mirrorless camera. The Canon EOS R5 is big and bulky. It is lighter than the conventional DSLR, yes, but not by that much. Compared to what we are used to from Sony, it is a hefty camera in our hands. It is a much bigger camera compared to the Sony Alpha cameras as well.
That is not necessarily a bad thing though. It feels familiar to Canon user, and that is important. It also means that the ergonomics are quite excellent for a camera, something that Canon has always been particularly good at. Thanks to the larger body size as well, your grip on the camera is more firm, more assured. Of course, the larger grip also means you can fit larger batteries that can last a whole day. True enough, I did not need to switch battery or even need to worry about battery life the whole day.
If you came from a Canon platform from before, every button is where they need to be and where you are used to. The touch sensitive button and slider thing that was on the Canon EOS R is gone to be replaced with a joystick, which is better in our opinion. Thanks to the bigger body too, the buttons do not feel cramped and compacted. Overall, the Canon EOS R feels good in the hands, albeit a little hefty for a Mirrorless camera.
Source: Canon
Then you dig into the settings to get familiarised and do a little bit more settings so that you are more comfortable with the camera. There are a few customisation options, which we did not touch, which means most of the buttons work just as the factory intended. In that case we just need to know what buttons and knobs do what and test them just to know they work. Of course, we had to see if we can get our viewfinder to see what we should see when we take photos. It does that by default too though, we just need to be sure.
The settings menu is as simple as you can remember though. Canon’s menu system makes plenty of sense and is simple to understand. Everything is where you expect them to be and you do not need to dig too deep into the menu system to find what you want.
Walking Through Kuala Lumpur
I would say that the best way to tell you about the camera is via the photos that we take through the streets of Kuala Lumpur. But of course, we cannot just do that. While we are going to still show you the photos that we took, we are going to walk you through the camera as well.
15mm f/4.5
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The Set-Up – Versatility, Convenience, Best Compromise
First, we are going back to the weight of the camera again. In terms of an interchangeable lens camera, this is one of the lightest full-frame cameras that Canon has made. In that sense, it is less hefty than carrying a large Full-Frame DSR kit. That also means that it is less cumbersome. The lenses we have with us were more cumbersome, in fact. We had with us an RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM and RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM lenses loaned with the EOS R5 so that we can shoot a variety of things.
Why did we choose these two lenses? Good question. The most general lens than any photographer can get is the 24-70mm lens. In the case of the Canon EOS R5, only the RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM is available for the mirrorless camera. I could go for the 28-70mm option, but that will add MYR 3,000 to the shopping cart. Well, not like we bought this anyway. We are going with sensibility and practicality here.
The 24-70mm was a must have, so that was settled quickly. We had to think of the perfect set up to got for a walk through the city. In that case we also had to think about heft. So, we decided that we needed only one more lens. Usually, you want to go for three lenses for the perfect set up.
Initially we thought of getting a prime lens, a portrait 50mm or 35mm lens. We also wanted a wide frame, so we thought the 35mm could be perfect. But what if we wanted to capture an even wider area? What if we want the extra width on the frame to capture something like the Petronas Twin Towers properly? We decided to go for a zoom lens then. The RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM is the perfect choice.
We wanted to see if the extra stabilisation from the body would work nicely with image stabilised lenses, that is why we went with the RF IS lenses. The total price of the kit we tested totals to MYR 28,437. That is still a lot of money, just for a photo walk. But the lenses we pick are not just lenses you can use in a city. They are some of the most versatile lens lengths you can get for any set up. You can take the set up for a video shoot, for landscape photography, portrait photos, and more.
Keep in mind that these are the choices we made based on what we feel is the best choice for our use case. You may have a completely different perfect set up from what we pack in the gear bag, and that is not wrong either.
The Canon EOS R5
We left most of the settings default on the camera and switched our camera mode to manual to have full control of whatever the camera has. We switched between the two lenses constantly in different situations as well. We also went around KL the whole day, starting from the most iconic skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, all the way to the weirdly pretty intersection of Bukit Bintang.
Source: Canon
Source: Canon
Source: Canon
Source: Canon
Source: Canon
Source: Canon
Source: Canon
Source: Canon
In this write up we are going to be focusing on its photo taking abilities more than its video capabilities. While there is enough time for us to work on a video with the 8K video capabilities, we will not have time to work on its photography aspect in that case. We had to choose.
But we also want to know if the interchangeable camera market is dead. We want to know if the Canon EOS R5 still has its place in a photographer’s kit bag. We want to know if it is worth spending all that money on the Canon EOS R5. 24 hours is not a lot of time, but we recon we have enough information after a whole day of walking through the city with the EOS R5.
We started in the morning where lighting is not an issue. One of the rules in photography and videography alike is knowing how to work with lights and getting enough lights for your subject. If you are using a smartphone camera, you leave it to auto and it will adjust itself in Auto mode and AI to help you. On the Canon EOS R5 or any other interchangeable cameras you might want to practice working with as much manual controls as possible for practice. Mastering those also allows you to create more creative looking photos. After all, it is all about making your subject look good.
Speedy Autofocus
Canon cameras has always been known for their accurate and fast autofocus speeds. They have no problem following a subject or change depth quickly depending on your subject. The same can be said on the Canon EOS R5 too. Autofocus is fast and responsive, and very accurate as well. They say that the autofocus is a little faster than before. In our tests, we cannot tell because we do not have another Canon DSLR to test it against, and the speed difference is minute.
What we appreciate though is the wider autofocus points on the camera. The amount of autofocus points on the Canon EOS R5 also means that autofocus works on almost every part of the frame. That also means that even if your subject is way off the frame, the EOS R5 should have no problems getting it in focus. You might want to tap on your touchscreen though, if your subject is that far off to the side, just to help the camera a little bit.
35mm f/4
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ISO500
If your subject is a person or animal though, Canon EOS R5 has Eye AF (eye autofocus). The Autofocus automatically recognises an eye on your subject and adjusts the autofocus to the eyes. The result is always sharp faces kept in focus.
Overall, there is nothing too surprising from Canon’s brilliant autofocus technology. It does not mean that it is not special either. Imagine trying to keep up with a moving subject while shooting 45-Megapixel photos in 20fps, then that sounds more impressive. The Canon EOS R5 can really keep uo with that.
Bigger Touchscreen, Better Viewfinder
Of course, because this is a mirrorless camera, the only preview you get from the camera is what is being fed to the lens. You have to rely on the EOS R5’s large 45-Megapixel sensor to feed what it ‘sees’ to either your 3-inch LCD display or the electronic Viewfinder (EVF). Here comes the small problem of mirrorless cameras.
EVF, in its early days in the first of Sony’s very famous line of mirrorless cameras are not great. They are a little slow, they tend to flicker a little bit, they are also not very colour accurate in that time. These are still perceived to be problems on mirrorless cameras today. That is also because you are looking at a screen instead of a mirror.
Thankfully though, EVF has taken a major leap since its first inception and its use in the first of Sony’s many mirrorless cameras. EVFs are now in a league of their own with added flexibilities and advantages of their own. In fact, some people might find that an EVF could be better than the traditional see through viewfinder.
Source: Canon
Yes, you are mostly looking at pixels through the viewfinder window. You are also looking at very tightly packed pixels in a small space, which also means you should not see the individual pixels sticking out to you. For the Canon EOS R5 at least, the EVF is something you are going to rely on quite a lot.
The EVF on the Canon EOS R5 is reliable though. The display is bright, accurate, and fast. It easily keeps up with you and what you need it to do. What you see on the EVF is what you most likely will get once you press the shutter button.
That is another advantage of the EVF, you see what the sensor sees. While that is also true for a traditional DSLR, the traditional DSLR does not necessarily adjust itself to the changes in the sensor sensitivity. The EVF, by default, does. That also means that the EVF can present to you the most accurate photo once you press the shutter button at the current settings, which I always find very helpful in all kinds of conditions.
You can set your EVF also to adjust itself to the surroundings so that you can see through the EVF even if your normal eyes cannot. It takes a little bit of digging through the settings to get the EVF to adjust itself to ambient lighting, but it is worth it if you work in the studio and rely on the flashes for your main source of lighting. It at least helps you frame your subjects in low-light conditions. Sadly, the Canon EOS R5 does not have the same low-light shooting capabilities of the Sony α7S line-up.
Clever Protection
The Canon EOS R5’s big body has some advantages though. Of course, Canon will keep saying that because of the more compact form factor they can fit a bigger lens flange and therefore create lenses with bigger aperture. They also say they can fit higher quality glass and have more creative possibilities with new mirrorless lenses, since the glass distance from the sensor to the lens is much shorter.
Beyond that though Canon has fitted something they probably forgot to mention plenty of in their press releases and statements. They can install a curtain in front of the sensor without sacrificing weight and space to protect the sensors from debris and what not when you need to change lenses. This is quite clever for us.
Source: Canon
We were going around shooting photos on the street of Kuala Lumpur. The place is not necessarily the cleanest place in the world. There is pollution from everywhere, and quite dusty due to the never-ending construction projects, and the overwhelming traffic.
If you are a photographer, you know how important it is to keep dust and grimes away from your sensors. A spec of dust can potentially damage your sensors and ruin your camera. Its most vulnerable moment is when you change lenses. We were toying between the longer lens and the shorter lens.
At least with the cameara on, the curtain comes down whenever we detach the lens from the body to swap to the other lens. That also means that your sensor is protected behind a layer of plastic to ensure we do not ruin the expensive kit. But we find that we will not be the only ones benefiting from this set up. Wedding photographers, or even studio photographers can benefit from this, since their work requires them to switch between multiple lenses all the time.
Super Photos, Super Quiet
The Canon EOS R5 may be advertised as an 8K video recoding powerhouse with a stellar built-in stabilisation. In our eyes, the Canon EOS R5 is a photography first camera with a steal 45-Megapixel sensor that is also paired to a built-in stabilisation mechanism that can be paired to image stabilised lens platforms too. The results of this combination? Nothing short of breath taking.
Source: Canon
The first thing you have to notice on photos that you take on the Canon EOS R5 is the sharpness in details you get on the 45-Megapixel photos. If you shoot in RAW, you get huge photos to work with on the Canon EOS R5. You also get detail like no other with RAW.
Thing is, you are going to be posting most of your photos in JPEG file format. In most cases too, when you are doing things quickly, you are going to work with JPEG file formats too, they are smaller and quicker to work with, they are ready for presentation. RAW has its advantages, but you might want to take some time with the images for post edits and other creative things you want to work with on the photo.
We Took photos in both RAW format and JPEG format. We can tell you that even in JPEG format, the amount of detail is quite amazing if you get your focus right. Everything in focus of the camera is super sharp even when you zoom in. With Eye AF, you are really a step above in your portrait game. Of course, some of the details in the photos are thanks to the make of the lenses Canon borrowed us as well. They are RF lenses with f/2.8 after all. These are also lenses that costs about MYR 10,000 in total, mind you.
Because this is a 45-Megapixel photo too, you can manipulate your frame a little bit more just because you have more pixels and detail to play around with. You can zoom in a little bit and your photos will still look stellar. We managed to select a few photos and edit them through a smartphone as well, to be posted on Social Media. With a little bit of colour tweak, they can look stunning.
Since this is a Canon camera, skin tones are as expected. Skin tones are very natural to work with and some photos look like they are perfect for posting right out of the camera. Of course, we prefer to edit them a little bit first before posting. If you work with RAW photos, you can compensate under or overexposure very quickly, you can even change the colour profile a little bit just to make correct some lighting effects on skin tones and objects. Then again, you can make your photos look like anything in RAW format. Malaysia is also blessed with multiple cultures and various skin tones though. In that department too, we are happy to report that the Canon EOS R5 can make any skin tone work.
The first thing that we noticed with the camera also is just how quiet it is. Because there are no mechanical moving parts, the camera shutter action is a virtual one instead of an actual actuation of a shutter mechanism. That also means you can operate is silently and quickly at that. This can shoot at 20fps stills after all. We took advantage of that, but we have to remember to release our shutter button as soon as we snap a photo. Plus, the quiet shutter does not alarm others during out street photography session.
At this point we would say that it is easier and better for you to judge the photos on your own. The selected photos are in JPEG format and they are not altered in anyway before uploaded.
The Canon EOS R5 is nothing short of breath taking in its touted abilities and capabilities. It is the most feature packed Canon high-end camera to hit the market too. On paper, the Canon EOS R5 seems to bridge the difference or deficit they had against the other mirrorless giant, Sony. In some sense, the Canon EOS R5 seems to be the company’s answer to the mirrorless camera market.
35mm f/2.8
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ISO10000
At the same time though, the Canon EOS R5 does cost quite a little bit more than the traditional DSLR. It is sold as an all-rounder too, which seems a little counter-intuitive to what the market is used to with mirrorless cameras. We also think that the communication efforts also deviate from what the camera does best; take breath taking photos without breaking your backs. We also think that Canon could also use some variations to different focuses in their mirrorless camera line-up.
We love their lenses though because they really know what they are doing with their lenses. Of course, that should be quite expected since they have been working with lenses forever. They are the world’s largest camera lens manufacturer for a reason.
We also love the fact that Canon is fitting even more technology in their camera than we could possibly ask for. The in-body stabilisation combined with the lenses that we had at our disposal made taking photos seem easy. You could take photos while walking and the photos will come out stable and clean. Of course, you might want to consider holding steady when you are taking photos in low-light conditions. But running and gunning is possible with the Canon EOS R5.
We would like to have a little bit more time with the camera, obviously to test out its 8K video recording capabilities. We did a quick timelapse video manually, but that was not in video mode. There are a few more functions we would like to familiarise ourselves with too with the camera. We did not get to test out plenty of the modes that the camera offers, because we had a crammed schedule with the camera.
Would we recommend the camera? With just about a day or so with the camera under our belts, it is hard to say. We would say that it really depends on what you want from your camera. If you have access to about MYR 25,000 and is a Canon enthusiast, I will say you could.
But the decision must come into its own considerations as well. You have to think of you lens ecosystem. Remember that the Canon EOS R5 works on RF lenses. You need to buy an adapter to make your EF lenses work with the camera. That is extra expenses if you already shoot exclusively on EF lenses. It is still better than porting from a Nikon or a Sony ecosystem though. If you are already on RF lenses since the Canon EOS R, I will ask you to reconsider your decision properly. The Canon EOS R is not a bad camera on its own. Sure, the Canon EOS R5 can shoot at 8K resolution, but would you use that in your workflow?
27mm f/4.5
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If not, you can also see this as a chance to jump ship. If you are running on Canon’s EF lenses ecosystem and you want to transition to a mirrorless camera, you could either look at what Nikon has to offer or even Sony. Sony’s lenses are already made to work with their mirrorless camera, and they have been in the game for a long time. That also means that their lens selections are currently more vast too. At the same time, you might spend a little less if you switch platforms, depending on what you want from your camera. If you are a photographer first, the Sony α7R III is about MYR 5,500 less than the Canon EOS R5. The α7R IV with a 61-Megapixel sensor in tow is MYR 2,700 less than the Canon EOS R5.
The choice, ultimately, is still yours. We like all they have done to the Canon EOS R5 to make it a huge and real contender in the mirrorless camera market. The only issue is that it is still more expensive than what most of its competitors can offer. We also think that Sony’s vast experience in the mirrorless market still means something. We are not taking anything away from the canon EOS R5, it is a formidable piece of kit to work with. But we would still rather fall back on Sony for mirrorless cameras, sad to say.
The next era of console gaming is here! Oh wait, we are not in December 2020 yet; my bad. We got a little carried away with some of the interesting things that Sony promises with their upcoming PlayStation 5 (PS5) console gamer. We are not expecting to see the console until we are closer to December 2020 though.
While the gaming console is not yet coming, it does not hurt to prepare for its arrival. As per Sony’s claims, the next generation Zen 2 gaming console from the Japanese firm will support 8K resolution gaming or even 4K resolution at 120 frames every second. Right out of the box, there is a small issue with those numbers.
Source: Sony
Most Televisions(TV) you can buy in the market today does not have the grunt to take full advantage of the power that the Sony PS5 boasts. The only TV that sort of came to mind that might take full advantage of Sony’s new console gamer is Samsung’s 8K Television which was launched last year. It is no Sony though, so it is not necessarily turned and made for PS5.
Of course, it only makes sense then that Sony makes TVs that would be fitting of the next generation gaming console. Sony launching TVs with this kind of power should not come as a surprise though. Still, what amazing devices they are.
Sony BRAVIA X90H
They have launched two new BRAVIA TVs to really take advantage of Sony’s PS5. The Sony Z8H and X90H TVs. The Z series, being the higher-end model will sport 8K resolution while capable of downscaling itself to 4K 120Hz resolution and refresh rate. You get up to 85-inch too for both models for the perfect immersion at home, even when you are not necessarily gaming.
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
We start with the X90H series of TVs. At the smallest, it measures at 55-inch. In that case, you get to choose between four sizes for the high-end TV at 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch. All of them sport 4K resolution with HDR as well, so you are still not missing out even if your home may not have as large a space. The best part is that it refreshes at 120Hz still to take full advantage of the upcoming PS5’s 4K 120fps capability. All this is thanks to the new 4K X-Reality processor that Sony put into this thin TV.
Sound from the X90H is handled by Sony’s always brilliant X-Balanced speakers for superior sound quality. The speakers are even Dolby Atmos certified. That also means a highly immersive sound from an amazingly small package. Couple that with Dolby Vision on the TV and you get full immersion without needing an extra speaker system set. That also means you save some money there.
Sony BRAVIA Z8H
Since every other TV maker is getting to 8K resolution, Sony cannot be missing out. They are one of the biggest and more successful TV manufacturers to date after all. That gap is now filled with the Sony BRAVIA Z8H TV.
8K from the Z8H is amazingly rich. To fully take advantage of the many pixels you need a large display. You can appreciate the Full Array LED panel that stretches 85-inch.
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
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Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
At 8K though, you are limited up to 60Hz in refresh rate, which also means you cannot play games at 120Hz at full resolution. That is okay though, even the PS5 can only do 8K in limited fps. Turn it down to 4K though and you can harness a full 120hz and therefore run your PS5 at 120fps and still enjoy great images. The refresh rate advantage alone is already an advantage for the Sony against other TVs.
It is not a regular HDR that we have here though on the 8K display. It is an Extended Dynamic Range (XDR), instead of High Dynamic Range that we are talking about. That means even more details in the dark, and even better contrasts from your pictures. This is only possible with Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor fitted into the TV. Of course, this being Sony’s highest end TV, it is Dolby Vision certified too.
Source: Sony
That is not all this TV is capable of though. It has S-Force speakers which also means that sound comes from multiple parts of the TV. This is quite expected from Sony’s highest end TVs though.
The S-Force speakers means that the Z8H produces sound like no other TVs in the market. Without a full array of speaker sets, the TV itself can produce a true Dolby Atmos experience with virtual surround sound, including the low frequencies. If you have a speaker system, this would be the center firing speaker. In some sense though, if you want your TV space to look clean, you may not even need a soundbar or other speakers for this.
Android TV + Apple AirPlay
Source: Sony
Since both the BRAVIA X90H and Z8H TVs are Sony’s line of Smart TVs, they pack Android out-of-the-box for your enjoyment. Sony has been on the Android TV platform exclusively for a while now. That also means that you get to enjoy Netflix, Amazon Prime and even use Spotify on Sony’s amazing speakers built-in with the TV without needing an extra TV box. This is nothing new though.
What is new is the AirPlay compatibility that the new TV comes with. Apple AirPlay, before this, is a feature exclusive to Apple TV Boxes. There were only a handful of TVs in the market that supports the feature. Sony will now fully embrace the Apple ecosystem with AirPlay. This also means you can watch Apple TV and Apple TV+ programs on your TV without an Apple TV Box. You just need to have your Apple iPhone or iPad.
Full Array LED
What is new is Sony adopting Full Array LED panels instead of the usual direct lit OLED panels of the new high-end TVs. While they look similar, there are differences. Bear with us as we get a little bit technical.
Sony’s BRAVIA TVs are known for championing OLED technology even when other manufacturers are moving away from OLED. There is a very good reason for their adamance to their stubbornness though. No, it is not because they are Japanese.
OLED is very expensive, more so than IPS. The price alone is a small reason to other manufacturers choosing to go on a different route to their TVs. The high price is partly due to the limited amount of production in OLED panels.
Source: LG
The price is also still justified by the unparalleled colour contrast, brightness, and accuracy in the display industry. There is a reason why plenty of colour accurate monitors and reference displays still use OLED panels. The only panels that can achieve true black in the modern market are still OLED panels. That is what Sony wants, an unparalleled colour clarity and accuracy compared to any other TVs, while ensuring that you are not blinded.
There are downsides however, besides its high price point. It is not as durable as a regular LCD panel. While you can make OLED panels thinner than your exam papers, It may not last as long as a regular LCD panel. You might want to replace your TV or OLED panel in 3-5 years at a time, and that is just not as feasible in your home.
Source: Reddit
They call it LED burn in. This is also the reason why Sony did not include the always on function that Samsung has made popular in their wallpaper TVs. This happens especially when you leave an image on the panel for too long. You start seeing silhouettes of the image that is burned into the panel even when you want other images on your TV. This is an annoying and quite uncurable for OLED TVs.
To handle the problem, Sony has an LED ‘cleaner’ program built into their TVs. That does not completely eliminate the issue though. The program just extends the life of the panel a little bit with minimal loss of clarity and quality. The damage can be accalerated with leaving your display on for a long time without anything playing on it. It can be exaggerated with bright colours.
Source: Sony
This is where Full Array LED comes in though. If you look through Sony’s specification sheet for the new high-end TVs like the Z8H and X90H, you will notice that it is not an LED panel anymore that is stated in the display. Instead, you find an LCD panel with LED backlighting as its description.
No, it is not false advertising. Full Array LED panels are generaly LCD panels with LED backlight behind the LCD panels. The only difference between a regular LED backlit panel and Full Array LED panel is the amount of LEDs there are in the panel.
Full Array also means that each pixel is individually backlit as well by an LED array. There are plenty of benefits for this. Among which, a Full Array LED panel’s black is the closest to a direct lit OLED panel’s black so far. Though it may not be true black, as far as technicalities are concerned, it makes very negligible differences in a normal human eye.
Everything else is also pretty similar in terms of picture and colour quality. Sure, there is a little more colour bleeding from the edges of the image. That also means there might be a slight smear in the images. Again, they are very negligible to the naked eye. One thing for sure, these panels are cheaper than regular OLED panels to produce. That said, the new high-end TVs from Sony are not exactly on the affordable side.
Price and Availability
The more affordable Sony X90H that is ready to take on your Sony PS5 will set you back MYR 4,299 (starting from). Considering that there are not many TVs that would be boasting next-gen gaming console support, the price is somewhat acceptable. The X90H is now available from Sony’s retailers and Sony Centre’s across the nation.
The Z8H is a pill that is quite difficult to swallow. You would want to have a considerable space for the TV itself, thanks to its enormous size at 85-inch. You will need to spare another MR 79,999 for the TV though if you really want it. Yes, the price is quite similar to their competitor, Samsung’s, offering. You get 4K at 120Hz on this thing though. This is a testament of; “with money, anything is possible”. The high-end 8K TV will be available sometime this month as well, well before PS5 launches.
Samsung’s QLED TV line up has been one of the first that have been pushing 8K and large form factor TVs. Last year, we saw the company push boundaries with a flagship series which capped at a whopping 98-inches. That said, Samsung’s line up isn’t just about size, they tend to also push the boundaries when it comes to technology. With the 2019 QLED TV line up, the company introduced a whole slew of features to help make content more immersive and also stand out. This year’s line up is no different.
Spearheaded by the new Q950TS, the new line up of Samsung QLED 8K TVs continue to bring more enhanced technologies. These technologies are focused at providing better picture quality, more immersive sound and a better, more well-rounded experience when it comes to content consumption.
Smarter AI Upscaling Augmented by Deep Learning
Samsung’s introduction of AI upscaling started with its 2019 line up of 8K UHD QLED TVs. The line up was the first to boast a dedicated Quantum processor to help with upscaling to help address the content gap. This year, Samsung ups the ante with an improved AI upscaling. While still backed by a Quantum Processor, the 2020 Samsung QLED 8K TVs will have better upscaling capabilities thanks to machine learning and deep learning algorithms.
The new machine learning and deep learning algorithms are supported by a new neural processing component in the Quantum processors. It is thanks to this neural processing that Samsung’s Quantum Processor is able to upscale content with machine learning and deep learning. The new two pronged approach to upscaling allows better, more natural upscaled content for the large factor QLED TVs.
The first prong of the two prong approach is Samsung’s Machine Learning Super Resolution. This upscaling technology focuses on upscaling content based on identified objects. The company has specified in an online briefing that the upscaling done by this technology preserves the characteristics and details of the objects or subjects of the scene or picture.
To ensure the natural detail of the shot is better preserved during upscaling, Samsung has introduced what they call Deep Learning Super Resolution. It enhances the details and fills in the pixel gaps when the image or video is upscaled. Accessing a neural network, the algorithm intelligently restores details which are lost during the upscaling process. It does this by upscaling the image pixel by pixel. Samsung’s engineers have assured us that the algorithm doesn’t introduce artificial details.
These AI technologies augment the enhancements Samsung has introduced physically in their displays. The new QLED displays come with Array Elite. This new technology allows finer control of the pixels which make up the TV. It allows finer contrast control and better power efficiency as pixels individually powered.
More Immersive Sound with Object Based Surround Sound
Samsung’s new line up of QLED 8K TVs also bring a refreshed approach to sound. In the past, sound seemed to be in the background when it came to TV development. However, Samsung is taking a more holistic approach with their 2020 QLED TVs.
It starts with a redesign of the integrated speakers. Samsung’s new line up comes with six speakers. It has two front firing speakers on the top corners of the screen. It’s placed behind the high resolution QLED panels. More significantly, Samsung has moved the tweeters to the side of the TV. In addition, Samsung is also using wider left and right channels for more complete sound experience.
The redesigned sound system has allowed Samsung to introduce a new, enhanced feature called Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+). This allows regular consumers, like you and I, to experience sound the way it was designed. OTS+ essentially allows sound to be tied to an object instead of the channels available. This approach allows sound to move as an object moved on and off screen. Dolby refers to this as “audio objects” and is an essential part of its Dolby Atmos certification.
These new technologies enhance old features that came with the 2019 line up as well as enable new ones. The 2020 QLED TVs from Samsung could be one of the most exciting tech that come from the company. This is thanks to the company’s focus on enhancing and augmenting the user experience in its line up with meaningful new features. The new line up is set for its debut soon in Malaysia and has already been introduced in select counties around the world.
