In most other devices I've used that have an option for 120fps files, it records natively in 120 fps.

The smoothness in a 120fps file is wonderful, the framerate is delicious, and if I so choose to slow it down for a 24fps OR a 30fps sequence/clip, I'm good to use it.

The problem is that the video is captured at 30 fps in 4x the slowmotion, which seems ludicrous to me:
- Doesn't this require more processing power and battery to make this file 30fps?
- What if I don't want a 30 fps file?  I now have to manipulate/render the file with several more steps to get into 120p or 24p.

Is there (at least an option for) a way to make it record natively 120fps?

The MA does not natively record in 120fps. The recorded framerate is determined by your settings on the app. In order for it to record 120fps, the minimum shutter speed you could use is 1/120. The drone can do this, but it automatically puts it into slow motion.

The 120fps file is never actually saved on the device, it is immediately processed and saved at 30fps.

You can change your setting to 24p as well.

MA does natively record 120 frames per second (at 1080p) to the device/card if you choose so. The phone on the other hand only records the realtime screen preview, which obviously is not high speed.

How you are going to use that 120 frames is up to you after that. You can choose to play it back at 120 frames per second if your hardware allows it, which would give you a very high frame rate, real time video. Or you can choose to play it back at standard 30 frames per second, which would make it slow motion, as every second recorded will take 4 seconds to play back.

There is no such thing as slow motion 120fps or real time 120fps recording; if you are recording 120 frames per second, you are recording 120 frames per second. The rest is all about the way you play the stream back.

The 120fps files out of the device are marked as standard 30fps playback files, so if you double click them they will open and play back at 30fps. This is why they play back as slow motion by default. And this is also why a lot of people get confused.

If you want to play them back in real time, use any editing software and drop them into a 120fps timeline.

Hope this helps

Cheers,

CemAygun Posted at 2018-7-14 23:54
MA does natively record 120 frames per second (at 1080p) to the device/card if you choose so. The phone on the other hand only records the realtime screen preview, which obviously is not high speed.

How you are going to use that 120 frames is up to you after that. You can choose to play it back at 120 frames per second if your hardware allows it, which would give you a very high frame rate, real time video. Or you can choose to play it back at standard 30 frames per second, which would make it slow motion, as every second recorded will take 4 seconds to play back.

Thank you for this good explanation.

Wachtberger Posted at 2018-7-15 00:26
Thank you for this good explanation.

Glad to be of any help

CemAygun Posted at 2018-7-14 23:54
MA does natively record 120 frames per second (at 1080p) to the device/card if you choose so. The phone on the other hand only records the realtime screen preview, which obviously is not high speed.

How you are going to use that 120 frames is up to you after that. You can choose to play it back at 120 frames per second if your hardware allows it, which would give you a very high frame rate, real time video. Or you can choose to play it back at standard 30 frames per second, which would make it slow motion, as every second recorded will take 4 seconds to play back.

So... the answer is, “No.  Your only option is 30 FPS at 1/4 speed.”

Really wish that wasn’t the case/could be a feature request.

SouthpointCCC Posted at 2018-7-16 19:36
So... the answer is, “No.  Your only option is 30 FPS at 1/4 speed.”

Really wish that wasn’t the case/could be a feature request.

Well most people edit their videos one way or another; so if you ever edit your videos, it is just a matter of setting your final output format to 120 fps playback, simple as that...

If you don't edit your videos, there still is a solution. The playback frame rate detail is stored in the container, not the video stream itself. So it is relatively easy to change it without touching the actual video (=no render time, no generation loss). All you need to do is to "remux" the video (repackage it in a container with the new frame rate). You can use one of the free mkv remux'ers for the job if you are comfortable with that container for instance....

In any case please bear in mind that a lot of devices won't be able to play 120fps back in real time....

The playback rate is the only thing that makes it 30fps. There are still 120 frames every second so the 30fps playback indicator is only used to tell the player to play it at 1/4 of the "normal" speed. Recording wise there is no difference. And what does it matter if you need to change the playback rate in the editor to 1/4 or to 4x? It is just a matter of usage. The quality / processing power / storage is always the same. With the current format it only is easier to playback in 1/4 slowmotion.  Also, some players / PC might have an issue with 1080p at 120fps.