One of the appeals of TikTok videos and other video services like it is that the videos are short. This lets users enjoy a video and move on to the next video without having to spend too much time. It also lets creators come up with creative ways on putting together a cohesive video with a limited amount of time.
However, TikTok has been experimenting with the idea of allowing for longer videos, with some tests even allowing users to upload videos as long as 10 minutes in length, and the reason for this is ad revenue. The idea is that by allowing videos that are longer in length, there will be more spaces for ads to be inserted, and in turn it lets the company make more money.
Interestingly enough though, a report from WIRED has revealed that according to a survey of nearly half of TikTok’’s user base, it seems that a good many find that videos that are over a minute in length are “stressful” to watch, but despite this, the company seems to think that longer videos are the way to go.
Like we said, in this day and age where people are seemingly having shorter attention spans, short videos are certainly the way to go. Plus, users can already go to YouTube for longer form content, so we’re not sure if 10 minute TikTok videos are the way to go, but we’ll have to wait and see what the company does.
After a bit of a delay, Panasonic has finally revealed the 25.2-megapixel GH6, the highest-resolution Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera to date. One can think of it as a mini version of its S1H “Netflix camera,” as it’s loaded with pro video features like 5.7K ProRes V-Log video, a tilt-swivel display and CFexpress capture. However, it’s still stuck with contrast detect rather than phase detect autofocus like most modern cameras. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on a preproduction unit to check out the new features and get an early feel for it.
First, let’s talk about the most interesting changes. As mentioned, the GH6 has a 25.2-megapixel sensor with a high-speed readout, though it isn’t stacked like its Micro Four Thirds rival, the OM-1. That obviously gives a much-needed image resolution boost, though photo burst performance is actually down a touch from the GH5 II (8 fps with continuous AF compared to 9 fps).
The GH6 still uses a contrast detect autofocus system (what it calls “depth from defocus” or DFD) rather than phase detect like nearly all its rivals. As with the GH5 II, it also includes face/eye/head/body/animal AI recognition. While Panasonic has pretty much perfected its DFD system, it’s still not as fast or reliable as phase detect systems.
When shooting people pictures in relatively low light, it sometimes failed to get focus quickly enough to nail the shot, for instance. By comparison, Sony and Canon’s latest cameras (the A7 IV and EOS R6) have no such difficulty, even in low light. And I still saw some wobble or hunting with video AF.
In terms of video, things are more positive. The GH6 can now shoot 5.7K video with V-Log at up to 30 fps with internal capture to either ProRes or ProRes HQ, or 5.7K up to 60 fps to MP4 10-bit H.264/H.265 recording (all-intra or longGOP). You can also shoot 10-bit 4:2:0 4K at up to 120 fps using the longGOP codec. All of these modes use the full sensor width with super-sampled video, though the 4K 120p setting introduces some pixel binning.
It will also be able to record ProRes RAW to an external Atomos recorder via a future firmware update. More interestingly, the GH6 is one of the first mirrorless cameras with HDMI 2.1 output, so it’ll eventually let you record 4K RAW externally at up to 120 fps via a future update. When it first ships, it’ll support 4K at up to 60 fps, with simultaneous external and internal recording.
Steve Dent/Engadget
In terms of video quality, Panasonic is promising 13+ stops of dynamic range using ProRes and V-Log recording. It also claims you’ll see less noise at higher ISO settings (ISO 6400 and up). For both video and stills, it wasn’t quite as good in low light as the GH5s (which has less than half the resolution) but it wasn’t far off.
Capturing 5.7K video at up to 30 fps in ProRes HQ uses internal data rates of 1,903 Mbps, far beyond SD UHS II capability. As such, the GH6 is the first Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera with a CFexpress Type B card slot. That’s required for ProRes recording and many of the MP4 high-frame-rate codecs.
The drawback right now is that there’s only one CFexpress slot, so you won’t be able to get a backup for certain video resolutions unless you use an external recorder. However, the GH6 will eventually support recording to an external SSD recorder via the USB-C 3.2 port, which also allows you to power the camera while shooting.
If you’re concerned about rolling shutter with the extra resolution, the high-speed sensor readout is supposed to reduce that more than ever. I confirmed that rolling shutter was very manageable, even at the highest 5.7K and 60p resolution. However, it is present if the camera or subject move too quickly.
As with past GH models, video quality is outstanding, with the 5.7K video particularly sharp and useful for editing. The ProRes option has also saved me an extra step compared to the GH5s, as I no longer need to transcode video. The drawback is that the video files are 4-5 times the size — so you’ll want to invest in high capacity CFexpress Type B cards, which can get very expensive.
The GH6 has five-axis in-body stabilization like the other models, but now offers up to 7.5 stops of shake reduction with supported lenses, just behind the 8 stops on Canon’s EOS R6. With boosted IS and E-stabilization, it really smooths out video well even for situations like walking, better than most mirrorless cameras I’ve used.
The GH6 kind of looks like the GH5 II, but it’s quite a bit heavier (823 grams compared to 727 grams with a battery and memory card), and the body has changed in several notable ways. It’s much thicker, to start with, thanks in part to an active cooling fan that ensures the GH6 doesn’t suffer overheating issues like Canon’s EOS R5 and R6. To that end, Panasonic is promising unlimited recording in all video modes, including 5.7K 60p and 4K 120p.
Steve Dent/Engadget
The other major change is with the grip that’s considerably deeper than on the GH5 II (or GH5 and GH5s. With that, the GH6 is considerably more comfortable to use than any Micro Four Thirds camera I’ve tried, particularly with large lenses. Panasonic has made a number of other changes to the button and dial layout as well, most notably with the addition of a dedicated audio button that let you change things like gain levels and quality. It also has an extra record button on the front of the camera that’s extremely handy for vlogging .
The GH6 now has a tilt-swivel display like the SH1, with the same 1,840K dot resolution as the one on the GH5 II. That makes the camera thicker, but more practical for low angle and other types of shooting, and the tilt option keeps the screen from being blocked by cables if you use an external recorder. It’s also Panasonic’s brightest display yet, and was highly visible even in sunlight.
The 3.68 million dot OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) is unfortunately unchanged from the GH5 lineup. While it’s true that the GH6 is more of a video than a stills camera, a lot of shooters prefer to use an EVF in bright sunlight, so a sharper image would have been nice. Also unchanged is the BLK-22 battery that delivers fewer shots than the GH5 II (380 compared to 410) and slightly less shooting time — likely due to the fan and extra resolution.
Steve Dent/Engadget
The GH6 has a couple of other serious downsides compared to rivals. One of them is the relatively small sensor size compared to a full-frame camera. That offers fewer creative possibilities, though it’s also more forgiving in terms of focus and makes for cheaper, lighter lenses.
The biggest flaw, however, is the contrast-detect autofocus. The good news is that Panasonic seems to have finally realized that buyers want phase detect and hinted that it’s not out of the question for future models.
The GH6 was rumored to be priced at $2,500, but there’s some good news on that front. It will go on sale in March for $2,200 (body only), making it relatively cheap to models that can match its video specs. It looks a solid choice for that, with video quality on par with any rivals. We’ll take a closer look at everything in our upcoming review.
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For the last couple years, Instagram and Facebook have offered ways to see how long you spend using the apps each day as well as an option to set a daily usage time limit. Now, it seems Instagram has increased the minimum daily time limit setting to 30 minutes, up from 10 or 15 minutes.
An Instagram user told TechCrunch that the app asked them to “set a new value” for their daily time limit, though noted that they could retain their existing setting. “The available values for daily time limits are changing as part of an app update,” a pop-up read. The Instagram app currently offers me a minimum time limit of 30 minutes. Engadget has asked Meta for clarification on when and why it made the change.
The settings in the Facebook app are more granular. Users can choose any time limit in increments of five minutes. When a user reaches their chosen time limit in either app, a notification pops up to tell them, though they can ignore it.
At the time it rolled out the feature, Meta said the idea was to give people more control over the length of time they spend on its apps and to “foster conversations between parents and teens” about healthy online habits. In November, Instagram started testing a “Take a Break” feature to remind users, particularly teens, to put down their phone every so often.
It’s unclear why Instagram seems to have increased the minimum daily time limit. However, the timing is interesting given Facebook daily active users dropped for the first time last quarter while user growth across Meta’s family of apps (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) remained almost flat.
Meta expects slower revenue growth this year due to more competition for people’s time and users paying more attention to features that generate less revenue, such as Reels. Upping the time limit, and keeping users scrolling through Instagram and viewing ads for longer, could be one way of counterbalancing those revenue concerns.
It remains to be seen what politicians may make of the move. In October, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Meta (which was still called Facebook at the time) “knows its products can be addictive and toxic to children.” Earlier this month, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the Senate with the aim of asking the Federal Trade Commission to study ways to reduce “the harm of algorithmic amplification and social media addiction on covered platforms.”
The Power Rangers have been around for 29 years now, giving generations of superhero fans nearly three decades of giant robot fighting, evil moon witch cackling, and the inherent joy of color-coded superhero transformation sequences. But they’d be in a very different place without, of course, the series that helped…
Amazon is finally acting on a 2020 promise to let Twitch viewers quickly play games on Luna. As The Nerf Report‘s Bryant Chappel and 9to5Google report, Twitch has added a “Play on Luna” button that lets you hop into games on Amazon’s cloud game service. If you’re a Luna subscriber in the service’s early access program and have linked to your Twitch account, you’ll see the option to start playing titles available through Amazon’s platform.
We’ve asked Twitch for more details, such as platform support. The button only appears on a game’s overall page rather than those of Twitch channels. You can forget about trying Rainbow Six Extraction while watching a favorite streamer, at least for now.
The addition probably won’t spur much interest in Luna given the effort involved in seeking it out. It brings Luna a step closer to Amazon’s original vision of seamless Twitch integration, though. Moreover, it gives Amazon a slight edge over Stadia. Google has yet to fully tie its own game streaming service into YouTube, and only enabled Crowd Play (joining online games from a YouTube stream) in 2021. Don’t be surprised if Twitch expands access to ‘Play on Luna’ in the near future.
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